Mobile communications have become an integral part of everyday life. Gone are the days where surfing the internet was associated with noisy dial-up modems and corpulent desktop computers. This technological era is all about the mobility and portability of the internet into gadgets rightfully dubbed as smartphones. Among different models with different possibilities, one name will always stand out: the BlackBerry phone.

If you own one of these marvelous pieces of technology, we have some more good news for you: Facebook (FB), one of the world’s most beloved social networks, is easier to use than ever before with the help of a tiny and inexpensive application named Chit Chat. To put it simply, Chit Chat will aid you greatly in checking online contacts, checking the unread message list and conducting online conversations with your friends through its nifty interface. All that and you only have to pay 1.99 dollars for it! Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, let’s review a few of its features and you can be the judge of that.

Setting up Chit Chat and running it

Chit Chat is really easy to install on your Blackberry phone. In fact, all you will be required to do once you have downloaded it is to specify the language (the default one is English). Next, you will need to enter your Facebook account and password and opt whether you want Chit Chat to remember them and whether you want to be signed in automatically whenever you start the app. Obviously, in order to use Chit Chat, you will be required to have an active Facebook account. Therefore, if you are not yet part of this amazing social network, then it’s high-time you create an account.

The buddy list: What is that?

The buddy list of the Chit Chat Blackberry FB application is in fact nothing more and nothing less than Facebook’s own friend list. With one exception: the Chit Chat Buddy system is a bit more intuitive and spotting your online, offline and idle contacts is easier than ever before. If you own a Facebook account, you are probably among those who are annoyed with the recent attempts of the developers to enhance the chat features which, let’s face it, has had sub-optimal results to say the least. On the other hand, Chit Chat has numerous ways to sort out the Buddy list, in order of names, whether the contacts are online or off and so on. Moreover, this feature enables you to hide or display the contacts that are offline.

The IM system: How does it score against the default Facebook chat?

The highlight of Chit Chat’s instant messaging system resides in the ability to perform several conversations at once, without fear of mixing them up. To put it simply, you can easily select any online contact from the Buddy list screen, click ‘Select’ and choose ‘Start IM’ with the said contact. In addition, the application also provides a time-stamp and emotion display/hide option under the preferences menu. Mind you, not even the Windows based Facebook can do that! And if you were worried that the Chit Chat will not allow you to use your favorite emoticons, you can put your mind at ease as you have full access to all your favorite Facebook emoticons which you can use to emphasize your points or turn the meaning of a sentence right around.

Is the checking and going through the unread messages as proficient as the IM?

Checking out your current unread messages is as easy as it gets with Chit Chat. In the Buddy list tab, the third sub-tab allows you to find out whether you have new emails by displaying their number on top of the bubble-like icon. In addition, since the app also enables you to segregate them and show the time-stamp, what can be easier than staying up to date with what your friends or family send you via Facebook, even when you are not at home?

Is there anything Chit Chat can’t do?

As a matter of fact, there is one thing that the developers should consider implementing and that is the news feed and the ability to update your status. However, as Henrik Larsson, one of the people in charge has stated, the application was created with simplicity in mind. So, the development team has eliminated most functions that were not vital to the proper functioning of the chat system. If you think about it, using Facebook on your mobile phone is rarely related to checking the news feed or looking at your friend’s status updates. More often than not, you will want to use the social network in order to communicate effectively, and this is exactly what Chit Chat will help you achieve.

Final word

Chit Chat is essentially an instant messaging (IM) application designed to bridge the gap between the BlackBerry smartphones and the Facebook. So far, it seems to have achieved this a lot better than the default Facebook one, which in my opinion is not nearly as intuitive or simple to use. By eliminating a great deal of scrolling through seemingly endless lists of messages, contacts and allowing you to communicate with several of your friends simultaneously, Chit Chat for Facebook Blackberry has earned the reputation of being a top app in this regard. It’s no wonder that the Chit Chat version for Windows which preceded this one was so successful!

We had earlier told about the Mobile Tower Sealing issue, now High Court has givem a major relief to cell phone users and service providers, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed NOIDA authority to open the seal of over 100 mobile towers immediately.

A division bench comprising Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi directed completion of formalities pertaining to setting up of towers by the mobile companies within two months.

In its order yesterday on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by Indus Towers Company, whose services are used by cellular service providers in the satellite town on the outskirts of Delhi, the court asked the petitioner to approach the authority with necessary documents for fulfilling the formalities for installing the mobile towers.

Mobile services in Noida remained badly crippled for the second day running as the authorities launched a crackdown on “illegal” mobile towers. Already 193 of 576 towers have been sealed, leading to mobile phones going on the blink, especially in residential sectors 29-35 and industrial sectors 2-12.

What’s more, a similar crackdown has started in Delhi. Already, 40 mobile towers have been sealed in the city and more “illegal” towers are in MCD’s crosshairs. Delhi has 4,532 mobile towers, out of which MCD reckons 2,517 towers are illegal. So, if these are sealed, mobile phone services in the city will be very badly hit.

The faceoff between the authorities and mobile service providers could escalate as neither side is backing down. While Noida authorities as well as MCD are insisting on the towers meeting all norms, which they claim many don’t, the service providers’ body, COAI, is maintaining that since regulator, TRAI, is all set to come out with a consultation paper on tower installation, status quo should be maintained.

Meanwhile, mobile phone users are feeling the heat. Said Rahul Sinha, a resident of Noida sector 11: “People are helpless without their mobile phones. It’s for many their connection with the world. We have a wedding in our house on February 16, but with no network coverage, we were unable to plan anything.” Similar sentiments were echoed by many more residents.

In Delhi, MCD commissioner K S Mehra said that action against all illegal towers will follow. When asked about illegal towers, a COAI spokesman said, “There are no illegal towers in Delhi. What MCD is calling illegal are applications filed by service providers that are pending with MCD.” In short, the two positions are at variance, indicating a prolonged confrontation, unless higher authorities step in.

Both MCD and Noida authorities want all cellphone towers to have structural stability certificates, an NOC from resident welfare associations, design approval from experts, clearance from the pollution board, fire department and a security fee of Rs 1 lakh per tower. Above all, they want the towers to be moved out of residential areas to commercial areas, government buildings and community service buildings like `baraat ghars’.

At present, most towers are in residential areas. Relocating them is bound to create a major dislocation of service, unless the whole operation is undertaken jointly by authorities and service providers.

MCD has already set up a sub-committee, headed by councillor Meera Agarwal, which is holding talks with RWAs. It has also written to the World Health Organisation to ascertain the health risk posed by the towers. It’s said the towers don’t just pollute when run on gensets, but also radiate waves that could be harmful. WHO has said that it still has no data to reach any conclusion on health risks.

Source: TOI