Here, there and everywhere (K2 #81)

Question of the Week
I bought the Galaxy Grand Duos smartphone but found out that it does not work in Bhutan. What can I do? Will it help if I “root” the device?
— Samten Dhendup, Sr. Survey Engineer, NLC

Answer
The Galaxy Grand Duos model that is sold in India supports the 3G bands of 900, 1900, and 2100. The bands used for 3G by Bhutan’s operators are 850 and 2100. Thus, wherever 850 is used (Thimphu, Paro and a few other locations), your phone will not be able to use 3G. This is a limitation of the phone’s hardware, and “rooting” the phone – which means gaining complete control of the smartphone’s software – will not help. In fact, it often means voiding the manufacturer's warranty as well as running others risks, including making the phone totally unusable. Due to BICMA’s user-unfriendly decision to use the North American band of 850 instead of the standard Asian 900 band, quite a few other Bhutanese customers are in your situation and will need to buy new, expensive phones; if it’s any consolation, they say shared sorrow is half a sorrow.

Question of the Week
Is the Sherig Collection available online? How can I download it?
— Yeshi Choden

Answer
The Sherig Collection is a set of educational resources for teachers and students in Bhutan. It includes offline Wikipedia, thousands of educational videos, Dzongkha dictionaries, e-books, audio books, exam banks and more. It can be installed on any Windows computer - no Internet required. The size of the collection is pretty big - it’s about 25 GB, and it is not available online. Why? Given the speed and stability of broadband Internet in Bhutan, it would take days to download the Collection (assuming that the connection or the power did not drop half way, in which case you’d have to start all over again…). The only practical way to get the software is by copying it using an external hard drive or a 32 GB pen drive. You can get the software in many schools in Bhutan. For more information, register at sherig.rigsum-it.com.

With the new school year starting soon, let me take the opportunity and wish all teachers, students and parents a happy year of learning!

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

3G Phones (K2 #73)

Question of the Week 
Will the new Micromax Canvas 4 phone support 3G in Thimphu?
— Namgay Rinchen, JDWNRH

Answer
Dear Namgay,

The Canvas 4 is the best Micromax yet,
but no 3G in Thimphu for you!

Had you asked me this question a year ago, my answer would have been an earsplitting “yes”. But today, surprisingly, the answer is a painful “no”. Let’s see why. As people cannot even reach a consensus on paper size (A4 vs. Letter), it won’t come as a complete shock that four different 3G bands are used around the world. The most popular is 2100 MHz. The other three are 1900, 900, and 850 MHz. Most phones support the popular 2100 band, and often support one or more of the other three.

Once upon a time in the Kingdom, the only band used for 3G was 2100, and this meant that 3G phones as well as 3G data cards (and their owners) were kept happy. Then, in November 2012, Bhutan Telecom decided to change the band used for 3G in Thimphu to 850. This was done to improve reception in urban areas (the lower the frequency, the better the signal penetrates buildings). But it also meant that many existing phones and data cards that did not support the 850 band were suddenly rendered useless, and their owners became quite unhappy. I found this move baffling, as telecoms and other utility companies are commonly required – and usually make a special effort – to ensure that their upgraded systems will be compatible with existing equipment used by customers. Imagine BPC suddenly changing the voltage to 110V! In the case of Bhutan Telecom, they could have perhaps kept the old band (2100) alongside the new one (850) in order to ensure that their users’ investment will not be lost. But all that is ancient history. Currently, Thimphu (as well as Bajothang, according to a BT representative) use the 850 band, while other locations in the country that support 3G use the 2100 band.

Oops! 3G on the Micromax Canvas 4 can only operate on 2100.

To check whether a phone will support 3G in Thimphu, you need to verify that it supports the 3G 850 band (this is different from the 2G 850 band). You can look for the information on the phone manufacturer’s website. Or use gsmarena.com, a very popular phone comparison website: Select the phone manufacturer on the left bar. Then, click on your desired phone and see whether the 850 band appears under “3G Network”. As you can see in the attached screenshot, the Canvas 4 supports 2100, but not 850. Thus, the Canvas 4 will work in many 3G locations, but not in Thimphu. Unfortunately for Micromax, TashiCell’s upcoming 3G network will also be using the 850 band, and thus the fate of the Canvas 4 phone in Bhutan has been sealed.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Feeding your smartphone (K2 #70)

Question of the Week 
My Samsung Galaxy phone runs out of battery pretty quickly. What can I do?
— Letho at Ambient Cafe, Thimphu

Answer
Dear Letho,

FEED ME!

The most popular grievance about smartphones is their abysmal battery life, and justly so. Most need to be plugged into a power socket at least daily. So what to do? First, note that it’s the bright and shiny display that sips up most of the juice, so turning down the brightness will get you major energy savings. Also, make sure the display turns off as quickly as possible after using the phone (there’s a setting for that). You can also turn off hardware that you don’t use, such as Bluetooth, GPS or mobile data, as well as many of the apps that run in the background. If all this sounds like too much of maintenance, you’re right. Luckily, there are apps that can help maximize the battery life automatically. For android, try “Easy Battery Saver” (search in the Google Play Store, or visit goo.gl/QypmuQ).

One common misconception is that it’s better to wait until the battery is depleted before recharging the phone. This is not true for the type of batteries used in today’s phones. So connect your phone to the charger whenever you have the opportunity.

So is this what technology is all about? This hassle and others remind us that instead of smartphones serving us and making our lives simpler, we now have to serve them! We should therefore think carefully how, when, and whether smartphones are improving our lives and when they become a major burden or an unwanted distraction.

A new disease
Can’t bear the thought of your smartphone running out of battery? You probably suffer from nomophobia - the fear of not having access to a working mobile phone. Other symptoms of this modern phobia (which got its name from NO MObile) are the fear of losing your phone, running out of balance, or being in an area with no network coverage. If any of the above rings a bell (or your connected phone) - you’re in good company. While there are no statistics about Bhutan, a survey done in the UK shows that more than half of the British mobile users are nomophobics.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com