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Nag To Address TiE Monthly Group

Arthur J Pais

'Tomorrow's World, Wonderful World of Wireless' is the topic for the monthly meeting of The Indus Entrepreneurs this month. Dr Ronjon Nag, co-founder and CEO of Cellmania.com and a Charter Member of TiE will discuss at the Santa Clara meeting the challenges of living and working in an ever-widening wireless world.

The new millennium is bringing new gadgets and gizmos in the wireless world, Nag and his peers know too well. By 2005 there will be one billion people with wireless devices, half of these devices will be capable of web and e-mail access.

Cellmania.com, launched four months ago, provides research, advice, comparison-shopping and purchase of all carriers' and new ways of using phones.

Nag says cellmania.com will make life easier for customers. Instead of searching for suitable wireless phone plans at stores, and wrestle with the choice between dozens of phones, he expects thousands to visit the web site and get help to navigate the maze of wireless plans and phones.

"We provide sanity in the crazy world of cellular phone shopping," Nag said.

"Cellmania.com offers unique vehicle for people to research and purchase cellular phones and service plans -- minus the frustration that customarily accompanies that process. You just indicate your needs and budget, and we give you advice on the best options tailored to individual geography, usage patterns and desired monthly payments."

Cellmania.com is the first cellular site that not only provides US consumers with unbiased comparisons of cellular options, but also guarantees that consumers can purchase their selections online, Nag added. Cellmania.com offers more than 10,000 service plans covering 90 per cent of the nation, with more options added every week, he said.

Unlike other web sites devoted to cell phone purchase comparisons, Cellmania.com does not refer consumers to brick and mortar retailers for actual purchases, Nag assures you.

"If you see it, you can buy it on our site," he said. "That's a major advantage for consumers who don't want to spend hours waiting in a retail store."

The Mountainview, California-based company's investors include its founders, BroadVision CEO Pehong Chen, Suhas Patil, Chairman of Cirrus Logic Inc, and a major corporate investor.

Nag added that Cellmania.com supplements its own evaluations with community rating service ('Rant and Rate') that provides direct consumer input on products and services.

Nag, who most recently served as vice president and general manager at Motorola, headed a team of 200. During his six years as one of the top executives at Motorola, he was responsible for creating technology in leading edge phones that are selling in the millions of units per year. Nag had earlier founded Lexicus, a company that developed a handwriting and speech recognition software and which Motorola later acquired.

Nag holds a PhD with research into speech recognition from Cambridge University, UK, and an MBA from MIT. He was a Harkness Fellow in the Psychology Department at Stanford University.

The January 16 meeting will start at 1.30 pm at Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, 2700 Mission College Blvd. Santa Clara; (408) 988-1500.

Members pay $ 10 till January 14, $ 15 thereafter; non-members pay $ 15 till January 14, $ 20 thereafter.

If you would like to post any information about forthcoming events or community happenings, please email the details to bettypais@aol.com

Information and photographs can also be mailed to Betty Pais at 87-52 108th Street, 2nd Floor, Richmond Hill, NY 11418-2229, USA.

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