India’s mobile phone market reaches an important milestone of 1 billion subscribers

The mobile subscriber base in India has crossed a billion mark for the first time, and reached 1003.49 million subscribers. India is second only to China to cross this major milestone in world of mobile phones. However, number of active wireless subscribers was marked to be 902.26 million at end of October 2015.
In the month of October, a total of 6.83 million mobile subscribers were added by the telcos. Out of the 1003.19 million mobile subscribers, 578.11 million were urban subscribers, while 425.38 million were rural subscribers. Wireline subscriber base continued to decline, and dropped to 25.85 million. During the month of October, 2015, 5.11 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP).

Operator-wise subscriber base (in millions)

1. Airtel – 237.97
2. Vodafone – 189.47
3. Idea – 167.28
4. Reliance Communications – 111.41
5. Aircel – 84.60
6. BSNL – 80.42
7. TATA – 60.84
8. Telenor – 48.71
9. MTS – 8.26
10. Videocon – 7.84
11. MTNL – 3.60

During the month of October 2015, Bharti Airtel added the maximum number of new subscribers (2.76 million) followed by Vodafone (adding 1.3 million), and Reliance Communication (adding 1 million). Both, BSNL and Idea, added 0.72 million, while Telenor added 0.93 million subscribers in the October of 2015. On the contrary, Tata lost over 1.17 million subscribers during the month.

The overall tele-density in India increased from 80.98 at the end of Sep-15 to 81.44 at the end of Oct-15. While urban tele-density marginally declined from 152.76 at the end of September 2015 to 152.58 by the end of October 2015. The rural tele-density increased from 48.66 at the end of September 2015 to 49.37 by the end of October 2015.

The broadband subscriber base increased from 120.88 million at the end of September 2015 to 125.22 million at the end of October 2015. Out of these 125.22 million broadband subscribers, 108.48 million were wireless broadband users. Bharti Airtel (29.03 million), Vodafone (24.48 million), Idea Cellular(20.28 million), BSNL (19.43 million) and Reliance communications Group (11.47 million) were the top five broadband service providers in the country.

Lenovo K4 Note with 3GB RAM, fingerprint scanner to launch in India on January 5

As we reported earlier, Lenovo is planning to launch a successor to its popular K3 Note smartphone. The forthcoming device is named as the Lenovo K4 Note, and it is set to go official at an event that will be held in New Delhi on January 5. The company has already started sending media invites for the launch event.

The image used for the invitation is the same image that has been making rounds on the internet. The leaked specifications of the Lenovo K4 Note suggest that the device might feature 3GB of RAM, along with 32GB expandable internal storage. Furthermore, it is expected to sport a metal body with a fingerprint scanner. We hope that Lenovo prices the device under Rs. 10,000, if it is priced likewise then we can see much more demand for the forthcoming smartphone in the phablet segment.

Not to forget, the K3 Note was solely responsible for building a solid image of Lenovo in the Indian smartphone market. As a result, of which Lenovo emerged as one of the largest vendors with the LTE-enabled phone, and it also earned the company a good sales record. Lenovo had reportedly sold over a million units within four months K3 Note’s launch in India.

To remind you, the Lenovo K3 Note features a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD IPS display, a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a microSD card slot, a 13-megapixel primary camera with 1080p video recording, a 5-megapixel secondary camera, Dolby Atmos sound, dual-SIM card slot, 4G LTE, and a 3,000mAh battery.

Huawei Nexus 6P gold colour special edition goes on sale in India at Rs 43,999

New Delhi: The 64 GB Gold Edition Nexus 6P is available for pre-orders on Flipkart starting Monday at Rs 43,999.

Huawei today announced the availability of the limited edition Nexus 6P Gold in India. The smartphone would be exclusively available on Flipkart at Rs 43,999.

The 64 GB Nexus 6P special edition would be available with an additional 10 percent bank offer for first 3 days starting 21st December, 2015.

Running on its latest version of Android 'Marshmallow 6.0', Nexus 6P offers a pure android experience, sweetened by amazing apps and sandwiched by some cutting-edge hardware, available across Nexus devices.

Elegantly designed the Nexus 6P is designed with an all-metal unibody. Crafted from aeronautical-grade anodized aluminum with diamond chamfers encircling its edges, the sculpted back of the phone accents the low-light-loving, fast-movement-capturing camera.

Nexus 6P features a 5.7-inch WQHD 518ppi AMOLED display perfect for playing games, watching movies and getting work done in stunning clarity, and front-facing stereo speakers for crisp, clear sound. With the latest version of the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor under the hood, Nexus 6P delivers great performance, and the 3450mAh battery keeps you talking and texting from day to night.

Nexus 6P also features an 8MP front facing camera with Google's innovative HDR+ technology, making it one of the best selfie cameras in the market.

Microsoft will release Continuum feature for Remote Desktop Universal app on Windows 10 smartphones

When Microsoft announced Windows 10 for smartphones, Continuum was one of the most talked about features among technology enthusiasts. Microsoft has released three Windows 10-powered smartphones till now. However, only Microsoft’s own apps supported the Continuum feature. Slowly, third-party developers started utilising the feature into their apps.

Now, Microsoft is adding Continuum support for its Remote Desktop app for Windows 10 smartphones. This news came from a moderator at Microsoft Community forums where he said, “We’ve heard a lot of buzz around being able to connect to a remote desktop from Continuum for phone. We are excited to share that the Remote Desktop Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app will be released very soon in Technical Preview.”

If you’re not aware, Continuum is a feature that lets you convert smartphone apps into full-fledged desktop apps. Continuum is activated when you connect a compatible smartphone to a monitor through an adaptor via a microUSB port. When this adaptor is used, Windows 10 Universal apps can expand from mobile layout to desktop-compatible layout. Moreover, keyboard and mice can be used in Continuum mode.

Continuum could be a feature that could resurrect Windows 10 back into the smartphone race, but it needs to be implemented by more and more developers in their apps. If that happens, you don’t need to carry a laptop everywhere as your smartphone can behave like a PC, at least for some important tasks on the go. What do you think about this feature?

Reliance Jio to launch 4G in select areas on December 28: Report

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to launch 4G services by the end of December in some select areas, including Mumbai, according to a note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoFA-ML). The firm however added that a pan-India commercial start could be delayed till April-June 2016, which would be a relief to incumbent telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular.

“In a scenario Jio launches by December 28, we remain unsure 1) if it will be a commercial launch with the company disclosing price-points or 2) if it will be an extension of services which are currently being offered to employees to select user group/Jio partners,” the firm said in a note.

Reliance Jio is expected to position itself as an “aspirational brand” offering premium services (high-speed) and is unlikely to target average revenue per users (ARPUs) below Rs 300, the note said.

Jio’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls were working well in Mumbai, even while travelling and inside buildings, BoFA-ML said. Similar findings were revealed by brokerage firm Credit Suisse.

BoFA-ML said that data speeds ranged from 18-30 Mbps while travelling/inside buildings to as high as 60-70 Mbps when outside. “We believe this is largely due to an empty network while Jio currently has. We remain unsure if Jio network is offering similar speeds outside Mumbai particularly in circles where they only have 2300 MHz,” BoFA-ML said.

Reliance Jio procuring smartphones from ZTE for Lyf handset brand: Credit Suisse

Chinese handset maker ZTE is currently making VoLTE-ready 4G smartphones for Reliance Jio’s Lyf handset brand, a report by Credit Suisse revealed. The report also said that all the ZTE devices made for Jio’s Lyf brand are powered by Qualcomm chipsets. Currently, only Qualcomm chipsets support VoLTE functionality.

Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only pan-Indian 4G operator, and it has recently started beta-testing 4G network by issuing connections to employees and their families. There are total four smartphones aptly named- LYF Water 1, LYF Water 2, LYF Water 3 and LYF Earth 1 are released by Lyf brand. Currently, these handsets are rolled out to its employees and would soon be available to the customers.

Jio plans to sell these handsets via their Reliance Retail stores as well as online. The partnership talks are going on with leading eCommerce websites like Flipkart and Snapdeal, according to media reports. Jio, according to Credit Suisse, has recommended a list of about 20 smartphone models across vendors that support its VoLTE service.

The other vendors currently supporting Reliance Jio’s services include Samsung, LG, Lenovo and ZTE. The cheapest recommended phone currently is the Intex Aqua 4G, which is priced under $130. While this range and price points of handset models is underwhelming for a market like India, the firm believes more handsets across vendors and price points will be supported in coming weeks.

Xiaomi’s 15.6” Notebook To Cost Less Due To Older CPU & GPU

Xiaomi is, first and foremost, a smartphone manufacturer. This company tends to dabble in pretty much anything tech-related, and they will release their first notebook soon. Inventec has already confirmed that they’re working on (one of) the company’s notebook, and that the device is expected to arrive in April next year. Well, Inventec is working on one of the company’s notebooks, but three different ones have been mentioned, the 12.5, 13.3 and 15.6-inch models. Inventec is working on the 12.5-inch model, while Compal is rumored to be working on the 13.3-inch variant. The 15.6-inch notebook is the most interesting one here, read on.


The specifications of the 15.6-inch Xiaomi notebook have surfaced a while back, and according to that report, the device will sport a 15.6-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080) display, 8GB of RAM and will be powered by Intel’s Core i7 4th-generation SoC. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 760M GPU is said to be included in this package as well, and Linux will reportedly going to come pre-installed here. On top of all this, the notebook is rumored to cost 2,999 Yuan ($466), which doesn’t seem all that expensive for this notebook. In order to keep the price at bay, Xiaomi is going to use the Core i7 SoC from the fourth-gen Haswell series, while the current sixth-gen Skylake chips probably are not going to be included in any variant of Xiaomi’s notebook. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 760M GPU is also not the newest graphics card, this GPU was released back in 2013.

Now, this notebook will be quite capable despite somewhat older components, the 4th-gen Core i7 SoC is still plenty powerful, and same can be said about the aforementioned GPU. Xiaomi simply had to do this in order to keep the price of this notebook down, which is always one of their main priorities. It is also rumored that Linux will come pre-installed here because Xiaomi wanted to avoid Windows because of licensing fees which would increase the price of the product. That’s pretty much it, keep in mind that this info is based on rumors, only the 12.5-inch variant of the device has been confirmed this far.

ASUS ZenPad C 7.0 is an affordable Android 5.0-based tablet with Dual-SIM 3G connectivity priced at Rs 7,999

ASUS has launched a lot of entry-level Android-based tablets in India in the past couple of years, including the ZenPad 7.0 and the ZenPad 8.0 during the ZenFestival event. Now, the Taiwanese computer peripheral and smartphone brand has launched an affordable dual-SIM Android-based tablet in India. The ASUS ZenPad C 7.0, which has a price tag of Rs 7,999 and Rs 8,999 (depending on the variant), runs Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, and comes with dual-SIM 3G connectivity.

Two different variants of this tablet – Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170CG) and Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) – are available on Flipkart and Snapdeal respectively. The variant that’s available on Flipkart (priced at Rs. 8,999) has an Intel Atom x3 processor, while the one that’s available through Snapdeal (priced at Rs. 7,999) has a MediaTek processor. The ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170CG) comes in Aurora Metallic, Glamour Red, and Obsidian Black colours, while the ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) is available in Obsidian Black and Pearl White colours.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170CG) specifications

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with ASUS Zen UI
• 7-inch IPS LCD display, 1024×600 pixels, AGC DragonTrail Glass protection, and front-facing loudspeaker with DTS HD sound
• 5-megapixel primary camera and VGA secondary (front-facing) camera
• Intel Atom x3-C3230 processor (1.2GHz  quad-core 64-bit CPU and ARM Mali-450MP4 GPU)
• 1GB LP-DDR3 RAM, 8GB internal storage, and microSD card slot
• Dual-SIM, 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, microUSB v2.0 port, and 3.5mm headphone jack
• 3,450 mAh battery; 189 x 108 x 8.4 mm; 265g

This tablet features a 7.0-inch display with a resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels, and is covered using DragonTrail protective glass. It features a front-facing loudspeaker with DTS HD sound profile. There’s a 5-megapixel camera on the rear and a VGA camera on the front of the device. There’s 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage space, a microSD card slot, and a 3,450 mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, it comes with a dual-SIM card slot, and can connect to 3G cellular networks. It would have been great if ASUS equipped this tablet with 4G LTE connectivity.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) specifications

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with ASUS Zen UI
• 7-inch IPS LCD display, 1024×600 pixels, AGC DragonTrail Glass protection, and Front Speaker with DTS HD Sound
• 5-megapixel primary camera and VGA secondary (front-facing) camera
• MediaTek MT8382 processor (1.3GHz quad-core CPU and ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU)
• 1GB LP-DDR3 RAM, 8GB internal storage, and microSD card slot
• Dual-SIM, 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, microUSB v2.0 port, and 3.5mm headphone jack
• 3,450 mAh battery; 189 x 108 x 8.4 mm; 265g

Going by the specifications, the variant of the ZenPad C 7.0, which comes with an Intel SoC, has a beefier ARM Mali-450MP4 GPU. Even though it is priced Rs 1,000 higher, I would advise people interested in this product to buy the variant that’s available through Flipkart as it will provide a better gaming experience due to its GPU. Since Xiaomi’s Mi Pad lacks any kind of cellular connectivity, consumers would be interested in this tablet’s dual-SIM connectivity. What do you think about this tablet?

How to Track a Cell Phone by its Number?

Since I wrote about Free Mobile Phone Tracking, I have been getting queries from a lot of users on “how to track a mobile phone by just having it’s number?” This can be either malicious or well intentioned. But before we go into the details about all those websites which claim to track cell phones by just inputing a number, I would like to discuss few things.

Ethics of Cell phone tracking

Tracking someone else’s phone constitutes a major invasion of privacy, no doubts about it. This is irrespective of your intention being good or bad. Think again if this is the only way out for you, before proceeding further.

Idea behind Tracking Cell Phones

Most cell phone tracking methods work on the premise that the cell phone often “pings” the nearest cell operator’s towers.
GPS-enabled cell phones don’t require cell towers, and may be located anywhere in the world by satellite triangulation in a similar manner. In some countries like US, cell companies are mandated to keep track of cell phones to an accuracy of 100 feet, so that help can be made available in case of emergency.

So far, so good. But is there a way to actually track or locate a mobile phone? Let us check the possible solutions-

Tracking Websites

So, what about all those free and paid websites claiming to track down any mobile phone on click of a button? The one’s where you just need to put in the cell phone number in order to track it? Can they really track a phone?

In simple words, the answer is a big NO. I am yet to come across a website which actually works as claimed. Sites like “Reverse Phone Detective” or “Track the number” never seem to provide accurate location information.

Google the Phone number

If you’re trying to figure out the general location of the owner of the number, as opposed to real time tracking, a good old fashioned Google search will probably do the trick. The person might have been un-paranoid (or unaware) enough to have it publicly posted on a social networking site, along with other potentially location-identifying information. Again, this is a small chance, and it won’t work in real time.

Cell Phone Hacks

Theoretically and logically speaking tracking a cell phone is quite possible. Experienced hackers won’t have any problems with any of this. It is perfectly possible to track a cell phone’s location – after all, the cell operators do it – even if you just know the number and have had no physical access to it, without the user having any indication of this happening. While this hasn’t reached epidemic levels, the possibility is there.

Cell Phone Tracking Software

The only guaranteed way to really track a cell phone is through some sort of installed software on the device itself. There are lots of free and paid solutions for smartphone like Apple iPhones (iPhone Tracking solutions) and Blackberries, and even for general phones like Nokia S60 based phones.

However, this generally requires physical access to the phone, and consent of the user, both of which might be difficult to get, and probably defeats the point of what you’re trying to do here.

So tracking a cell phone by just having its number is not practical, unless you are/hire an experienced hacker, which isn’t a good idea anyway.

Xiaomi Launches Redmi Note Prime at Rs 8,499, Features an Upgraded SoC, Dual SIM 4G Support and Doubled up Storage

Xiaomi had us guessing last week when it teased a Prime Phone, while we guessed a Prime update for its existing line up, it seems Xiaomi had something else in its mind. Xiaomi has pulled the wraps from Redmi Note Prime, a second made in India phone that will be Priced at Rs 8,499 and will be made available exclusively on Amazon.in.

The first phone being the Redmi 2 prime, the Note Prime will be manufactured in the Sri City plant in Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with Foxconn Technology. As the nomenclature explains the Redmi Note Prime is an updated variant of the Redmi Note 4G which sold in India without an updated variant for more than a year.

The Redmi Note Prime will be powered by the Snapdragon 410 as opposed to the Snapdragon 400 in its predecessor and it will be coupled with a 2GB of RAM. The internal memory has however been bumped up from 8GB to 16GB which obviously comes with an expandable microSD card slot. Note Prime comes equipped with a 5.5-inch HD display (Still no FHD), which seems to be borrowed from its predecessor.

On the imaging front the changes are almost non existent, as it features the similar 13-Megapixel primary and 5-Megapixel secondary combo, though it is yet to ascertain if sensors have been upgraded. Xiaomi has not made any changes to the cosmetics of the phone and it looks pretty much like the Redmi Note 4G.

Another much welcomes change is the fact that unlike Redmi Note 4G the Note Prime does come with a dual SIM 4G slot. The device will be backed up by a 3100mAH battery pack and is expected to run Android Lollipop wrapped in MIUI 7. Xiaomi will be flagging off an even called“Very Mi Christmas” wherein it will launch the Redmi Note Prime along with some deals and lucky draws, the typical festival stuff! The Redmi Note Prime Sales registration will start on December 15 at 10am on Amazon.in and as a launch day offer Mi Protect will be made available at a discounted price of Rs 199.

Korea’s Yello Mobile Raises $47M More At A $4B Valuation Led By Formation 8

Korea’s Yello Mobile has made a name for itself raising $100 million and using it to hoover up more than 80 startups to build its mobile apps business, which now serves 18 million users. Now, Yello Mobile is raising again: it has racked up another $47.2 million in financing, led by existing investor Formation 8. The funding comes as convertible debt at a $4 billion valuation.

TechCrunch also understands that another tranche of funding, up to or around double the amount of this raise, will be closed likely by the end of this year, at the same valuation.

(We’d actually heard earlier this year that Yello Mobile was raising money, and so this $47.2 million may have actually closed some months ago but is only getting announced now. To date, the company has raised just under $210 million.)

“We are proud of the progress we have made establishing Yello Mobile as the clear mobile leader across the SMATO verticals,” said Lee Sang-hyuk, founder and CEO of Yello Mobile, in a statement. (‘SMATO’ is a reference to ‘Shopping, Media, AdTech, Travel, and Offline-to-online’ and is how Yello reports on its business progress.) “Our two leading apps, Coocha and Pikicast, continue to see strong user growth and increasing monetization, and we look forward to using this new capital to drive continued growth in those.”

The valuation makes Yello one of Korea’s most valuable startups — but not the most valuable of all. That title remains with Coupang, the $5 billion e-commerce marketplace backed by the likes of SoftBank and Sequoia.

But for all the big numbers, Yello’s value seems to be based on potential returns rather than the present state of affairs. Q4 numbers have not yet been reported but in Q3 the company said it made 97.5 billion won ($82 million) in revenues.

Going forward, Yello expects to be Ebidta-positive in all but the digital media segment in Q4. That is intentional, from what we understand: Yello is currently more focused on building its audience for entertainment services, before offering ads against it (which makes sense, since ads work on an economy of scale basis).

It’s also progress on its Q3 performance:

As you may have seen, Formation 8 is not raising any more funds, with its founding partners now going their own ways with their own independent efforts. To be clear, this latest Yello Mobile capital injection comes from Formation 8’s last (second) fun. It also has several of Formation 8’s limited partners participating directly.

The next tranche is likely also to include strategics from China and Japan. We are still working out who these might be but there are a number of companies, including the likes of Tencent, Alibaba and SoftBank, who have strong apps businesses and prolific investment strategies.

While Yello has bought a ton of smaller mobile companies, more recently it has turned its attention to integrating them and building out the bigger platform business.

Today, that wider platform has five different areas of operations: e-commerce, digital entertainment, online marketing, data analytics and “O2O” (that is, tech and apps that facilitate offline-to-online transactions, be they financial or otherwise). Travel is one large segment of the company’s business that stretches across several of these.

Many of the brands and apps run by Yello won’t be household names to the average reader in a market like the U.S. or Europe but they have some decent traction in Korea, with one-third of the country’s population using one or another of Yello’s apps, as well as some growth in South East Asia.

Those apps include Coocha, a shopping search app, and Pikicast, a digital media content platform. Coocha has 8 million monthly active users, the company says, growing 216% over last year. Pikicast has an average daily duration time second only to Facebook among media apps in Korea, the company says, and ahead of Instagram.

The plan will be to expand the footprint starting first in Asia, with a lot of opportunity in adjacent markets like China and Japan to build Yello’s traction outside of its home turf before looking further afield

7 Ways to Block a Phone Number!

There are times when you might feel the need to block a phone number and avoid those unwanted calls, be it the pesky telemarketers or an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend who just doesn’t accept that it’s all OVER! The reasons to block a phone number are numerous, but the solutions to do so are numbered and few. Depending upon your cell phone model and your carrier, there might be a solution.

How to Block Phone Number and Avoid Unwanted Calls

There are different ways to handle unwanted calls and block a phone number. All methods won’t work for all, so you would need to carefully choose an option which will work for you.

“Do not call” Registry

This option is best suited if you are trying to block a telemarketer. If you are in US, you can register with the National Do not call registry or call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to block to keep the telemarketers at bay. It is illegal for telemarketers to call you after you have been added to this list. If you are in India, there is a similar National Do not call registry where you can register your phone number.

Carrier Help

Taking the help of your carrier is the most appropriate option to block any phone number.

• AT&T : If you are a customer of AT&T wireless, you can make use of a premium service called “Parental Controls” which will allow you to limit who can call you or text you by blocking or allowing certain numbers. It costs just $4.99 per month.
• Verizon : Go to VerizonWireless and log into your account. And then go to “My Services” and choose the SPAm control. Here you can add up to 5 phone numbers that you do not want to contact you or even text you.
• Sprint & T-Mobile : Currently, Sprint and T-Mobile doesn’t provide an easy way to block unwanted callers, though there is a work-around for Sprint users. You can block all numbers which are not in your phone contacts. For this, go to Settings –> Security –> Others [password will be last 4 digits of your phone number] –> Call settings. Here you will find that option.

Handset Specific Options

Off late, the handset manufacturers have started providing features to help you block phone numbers. Look out for in-built or downloadable option to limit incoming calls.

• Nokia : The Nokia symbian phone users can download apps like Blacklist which can block specific phone numbers from making a call.
• Samsung : If you have a Samsung phone, you have the ability to send an incoming call directly to voicemail, without it even ringing on your device. Look for the “block list” feature on your device
• Sony-Ericsson : SE mobile phones have built-in blocking functions, simply go to Settings > Calls > Manage Calls > Accept Calls > Only from list, press ‘Edit’ to choose the numbers.
• T-mobile G1 : Similar to Samsung phones, G1 also uses a feature available in the contact list to block specific numbers.
• Blackberry : If you have a Blackberry, you can use a program called Efficient Call Blockerfrom BerryWAV. This program will block numbers that you specify and let you make the other party hear messages like your number is disconnected or no longer in service. Another such app is CallsBlocker.


• iPhone : Not a straight-forward option available for iPhones if you are not using iOS 7. Check the Update below if you are on iOS 7. In case you have a jailbroken iPhone, there are couple of neat apps which will help you – MCleaner & iBlacklist.

Update: If you are on iOS 7, you can block anyone with a click on your iPhone. This will block the person from calling, texting and FaceTiming you. To do that, go into your contacts, select someone, and scroll down to hit “Block.”

Activate Silent mode for specific contacts

There are times when a pesky friend or a relative continuously call you and you’re not comfortable telling them to cut it out. Easy way to handle such situations is to activate silent mode only for such contacts. The trick is to have a silent ringtone assigned to such contacts. So, each time they call you, you don’t really get to hear it, and they should eventually get tired of calling you.

Download this blank mp3 ringtone (or this one). If you are using Android or Symbian smartphones, transfer the file onto your SD card and set this as the ringtone for that pesky contact. Additionally you can create a new profile and assign the silent ringtone as the default one for everyone in that profile. iOS users can use this guide to upload ringtone to iPhone.

YouMail

If your phone is compatible with free services like YouMail, you can block unwanted voicemail messages. The callers you block get the designated greeting you choose and are never given the option of leaving a voicemail message! They have dedicated apps for Blackberry, Android and iPhone which are all available for free.

TrapCall

TrapCall is a premium service with numerous features like blocking unwanted callers, number unmasking, recording calls etc. TrapCall currently supports AT&T, T-mobile, Verizon and Sprint.

Call Customer Care!

Calling customer care for help in blocking a specific phone number is one of the most suggested solutions. Alas! it doesn’t work most of the times. But some carriers do let you block a phone number but only after verifying the facts and asking few security questions.

Change your number

I know this is a ridiculous solution, but in case none of the above tricks work, this is the only available option.