Tata Indicom Blackberry Bold 9650, the first combined CDMA-GSM smartphone. The smartphone offers global roaming, an optical trackpad and enhanced wi-fi and GPS capabilities.

For the first two months customers will receive a free data pack worth Rs.900 per month, as well as 500 MB of tethered modem data usage per month.

Apple has for the first time outpaced Blackberry-maker Research in Motion in global smartphone sales. Apple sold 14.1 million iPhone units in the third quarter while Canada's Research in Motion shipped 12.4 million Blackberry devices.

Apple ranked as the fourth largest mobile phone vendor in the third quarter with Research in Motion one place behind the US giant.

Google bans phone apps used in spying A controversial mobile phone application, which helps a cell phone user read the text messages of others secretly, has been removed from sale by internet search engine Google. Once installed on a mobile phone, the Android phone application automatically creates carbon copies of incoming text messages and forwards them to a selected number - prompting fears it could be used by jealous lovers and even work colleagues to snoop on private messages.

Wal-Mart urges India to open retail sector The world's number one retailer Wal-Mart said on Thursday it could open "hundreds of stores" in India if the government opened up the country's giant retail sector to foreign investors. Foreign groups such as Wal-Mart can currently only be wholesalers and must partner with domestic firms to sell in India. India has recently kicked off a public debate on allowing foreign supermarkets to open stores in India, a key reform pushed for by economists seeking greater liberalisation in the economy