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Television rating Point- TRP is the criterion that indicates the popularity of a channel or programme and this data is very useful for the advertisers. In a highly clustered market targeting audiences it is very problematic because in the market there are numerous channels with a variety of programmes catering round the clock to a vast and scattered population. Television ratings provide information about the viewers TV watching habits and the socio-economic background of the audience. This helps advertisers and corporate media planners in selecting the right media at the right time.
Presently, INTAM (Indian Television Audience Measurement) is the only electronic rating agency functioning in India. INTAM uses two methodologies for calculating TRP. First is frequency monitoring, in which ‘people meters’ are installed in sample homes and these electronic gadgets continuously record data about the channel watched by the family members. ‘People meter’ is a costly equipment, which is imported from abroad. It reads the frequencies of channels, which are later, decoded into the name of the channels and the agency prepares a national data on the basis of its sample homes readings.
Second technique is more reliable and relatively new to India. In picture matching technique people meter continuously records a small portion of the picture that is being watched on that particular television set. Along with this agency also records all the channels’ data in the form of small picture portion. Data collected from the sample homes is later on matched with the main data bank to interpret the channel name. And this way national rating is produced.
Presently, TRP is based upon only a small urban sample of 5500 homes spread all over India.
Many times channels misrepresent the TRP facts in their favour. For example, if a channel gets top ratings during a specific time slot it advertises this fact as number one channel. While in terms of average ratings another channel is on the top. Actually, leading in ratings for a long time has become very difficult to achieve now-a-days. There would be continuous fluctuation in the top positions. TRP has become such a big issue for channels that it is almost dictating the content of television programmes. Once the TRP crosses six points, the producer feels no dearth of advertisers. Unless and until a new and more reliable mode of ratings is evolved advertisers, channels have no other option but to rely upon the present system of TRP only and viewers to suffer it.

The Nokia N96 will be going against the Apple iPhone next month. The release date of N96 has been advanced — it was only expected sometime past October. The N96 has all the right specs to go against the iPhone, which will be officially available on August 22nd.

First things first — price? Well, the official price of the N96 is currently unknown. The N96 can be priced anywhere between Rs. 28,000 and Rs. 36,000, and the iPhone will sell for Rs. 31,000 for the 8GB version and Rs. 36,100, for the 16GB version. Although, as we note later in this piece, it would be wise for Nokia to price the N96 significantly less than the iPhone 3G — it is, after all, Nokia’s market share to lose.

On to the comparison then. While the iPhone includes a 3.5-inch screen, the N96 comes with a 2.8-inch one — the iPhone’s is a multi-touch screen, while the N96’s isn’t. The iPhone seems to enjoy a better footing as far as its user interface is concerned; especially with that 3.5-inch screen. In every other aspect however, the Nokia N96 seems to have an upper hand.

- The Nokia N96 has dedicated keys for dialing and SMS. The iPhone 3G comes with a virtual keyboard.

- Both devices will come with 16GB of internal memory. However, the N96 supports the microSD format which will allow for an additional 8GB of storage. The iPhone has no expansion slots.

- Both devices will support 3G.

- The N96 supports Bluetooth with A2DP, the iPhone does not offer A2DP support. Both phones offer WiFi.

- The N96 sports a 5MP Carl Zeiss lens with auto-focus and an LED flash. Compare this to the iPhone’s 2MP camera. Both support photo geotagging.

- Both devices will support A-GPS. The N96 adds value to this feature by bundling maps from three countries along with the unit. India, Singapore and the UAE will come bundled with a 3 month navigation license across eight Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and Pune.

- N96 comes preloaded with Wave Secure, a S60 security application that allows consumers to track their handset in the event it is lost or stolen. It also allows them to backup their phone data over the Internet.

- Both devices support multimedia features and play videos and music. Here too, the N96 will add value to its proposition: it will come bundled with a full-length Hindi feature film — Om Shanti Om, 50 music videos, and a mix of 100 Hindi and 100 English songs.

- The N96 will also pack along three N-Gage games, with an unlimited license on for the 3rd edition of Asphalt Urban.

- The N96 also comes with an additional VGA camera on its face for making video calls. Handy when we do get 3G connections.

- The iPhone has the App Store for third-party applications, while the N96 has the plethora of apps made for the Symbian S60.

If you are wondering which of these phones to pick up, we suggest waiting a bit until our labs does a thorough job of testing both of them. The iPhone’s review should be ready for your perusal on the 22nd of August; the N96’s not too long after that.

It’s a shame that we have no official word on Nokia N96’s price — that would make a value comparison much easier at this stage. It looks like both parties are playing the price card very close to their chest.

Our take on the price equation: Nokia cannot afford to let the iPhone get the upper hand in the consumer market that both are targeting. While Nokia holds about 60% of the market in India, it will certainly need to guard against the Apple juggernaut. Note that the same retailers that pushed Nokia products will now be carrying the iPhone as well. Considering that, it would be wise if Nokia prices the N96 at a significantly lower point than the iPhone 3G.

Which one would you go for — the iPhone 3G or the Nokia N96? You can book your Nokia N96 at www.nokia.co.in/N96. Note that you will need to pay a pre-order amount of Rs. 4,000. The N96 will be available come September.

8800 Rs.36399

E90 Communicator Rs.34900

N95 8GB Rs.30000

N93i Rs.26749

N95 Rs.24950

N81 8GB Rs.22500

9500 Rs.21566

N77 Rs.20000

9300i Rs.17274

E61i Rs.16969

E61 Rs.16000

N76 Rs.15895

N73 Music Edition Rs.15136

E65 Rs.14420

N73 Rs.14338

3250 Rs.13996

N80 Rs.13800

5700 Rs.11100

5310 Rs.10800

N70 Music Edition Rs.10319

N70 Rs.10319

E62 Rs.9487

7500 Prism Rs.9450

N72 Rs.9149

6300 Rs.8556

E50 Rs.8233

6233 Rs.7941

5300 Rs.7072

3230 Rs.6827

7610 Rs.6807

3500 Classic Rs.6400

3110 classic Rs.5800

5200 Rs.5653

6151 Rs.5500

6085 Rs.4716

2630 Rs.4450

2760 Rs.3960

6080 Rs.3949

5070 Rs.3713

6070 Rs.3552

6030 Rs.2577

2626 Rs.2531

2310 Rs.2220

1208 Rs.1900

1600 Rs.1800

1112 Rs.1630

1200 Rs.1480

1110i Rs.1396

1110 Rs.1390