In a report released by MoMagic Technologies, a mobile ad tech company on buying patterns of mobile phone buyers across India, it was also revealed that only 8% of the buyers bothered about screen quality.
A significant 44% of the people surveyed in a report said that they want better battery capacity in their mobile phones indicating most of the mobile phones in the market including several flagship phones are still unable to tackle this key issue.
With data prices dropping almost every month post the market entry of Reliance Jio and 4G enabled phones also getting cheaper, many Indian buyers have now moved to 4G phones. 56% of the respondents surveyed were using 4G phones, followed by 3G at 34% and just 7% were using 2G.
4G Mobile internet penetration in India is happening at a rapid pace and at very low price points customers can experience 4G speeds. This has led to faster adoption of customers to shift to shopping on ecommerce apps through mobile phones and this trend will continue to go up.
Survey also indicated that in spite of low mobile data cost, 41% of the respondents limit data themselves and 28% of them do not either limit or monitor data usage. As Indian buyers get technologically savvy, mobile processors brand has started to play key role in their buying decisions.
When purchasing a phone, 46 per cent pay attention to a processor brand name while 21 percent reckon phone design and camera quality and only 12 per cent pay attention to screen quality of a smartphone.
Other mobile buying trends from the survey are below
About MoMagic Technologies
MoMagic Group, founded in 2011, with strategic investments by MediaTek and Foxconn, has been consistently innovating-developing AI/Big Data Technology solutions and has the widest deployment of applications on Mobile platform ecosystem. The strong business presence in Asian Market along with Strategic tie-ups with multiple Mobile OEMs, MoMagic started Joint Venture companies with Leading OEMs. Other than Mobile Brands, MoMagic is Strategic Partner with leading Apps and Content Providers in Asian Market as well. For more information, please visit MoMagic Technologies
Kotak Securities has come up with a great way to let you keep track of your investments with the Kotak Stock Trader [KST] mobile app. This app is available on Android, Windows, as well as iOS platforms.
The KST app aids all investors to trade in the stock market with just a touch. This app allows you to trade in different investments like derivatives, currency derivates, and equities. There are many features of this app that lets you seamlessly keep a track of all your investments.
Given below are some of the features of the Kotak Stock Trader [KST] mobile app
Track your portfolio
If you want to check how your investments are performing, you may keep a track of your position and current holdings directly from the mobile trading app.
Online trading
The app allows you to buy or sell securities from Bombay Stock Exchange [BSE] as well as National Stock Exchange [NSE]. You may cancel or modify any order that you have placed. Additionally, you may also set stop loss price and trigger price for your investments.
Fund transfer
With the KST stock trading app, you may transfer funds from your bank account to your online trading account and vice versa. You may also move funds from your bank account to your mutual funds account.
Live stock market data
This app provides you with all the information you need for making an informed investment decision. You get access to live quotes, intraday charts, and market tips. You may even track the movement of the market and get real-time updates on the Indices. This share market app also enables you to get scripts on the exchanges with the help of line charts, candlestick charts, or Open High Low Close [OHLC] charts.
Creation of watch-lists
If you are interested in keeping track of a select number of investments, you may track the script by making a personalized watchlist. You may also have access to the default watchlists. Besides, keep track of your transactions in the ‘My Positions’ and ‘My Investments’ sections of the app.
Check your margin
The KST app has a feature that lets you check the available funds you have and your total margin. All you have to do is click on the ‘Available Funds’ section of the app and it shows you all the information you need about the limits available against the shares in your account.
Secure data
All your information and transaction done through this app are completely secure. The app does customer authentication by using three steps – your User ID, the password for the website, and finally the security key code. For increased safety, you have to sign in every time in order to use this app. The device that you install this app on does not store any details of your sessions.
The session gets automatically terminated after an idle period of 30 minutes. The app is secured by HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure [HTTPS] and it uses the order routing system of Kotak Securities. For utmost security, this app uses Advanced Encryption Standard [AES] 128 bit, which is the highest level of encryption.
Notifications for new versions
To make sure that you always have the best functioning and most updated version of the app, Kotak sends you notifications whenever a new and better version is released.
While there are many stock trading and mutual fund apps in the market, this app by Kotak Securities makes your stock trading easy. It has several benefits, too. Some of them are:
It is suitable for all investors, be it a beginner or an expert.
You have the option to choose the platform from which you get your updates. You may choose from the Times of India, Economic Times, or Money Control.
You have the ability to connect to live TV 24*7. This facility is provided by Bloomberg TV.
You get the features and benefits of a complete online trading platform. All of this from the convenience of your mobile phone.
This app also allows you to rectify or cancel a trade or transaction you are doing even though you may not be near the trading terminal.
This app is very useful and convenient for all those who deal with the stock market. What’s more, is that the complete version of this app is absolutely free for all customers of Kotak Securities online trading.
Those who are customers of Kotak Securities in the offline mode or even those who are not customers have access to a limited version of this app. It is available for download on all the major application stores. All you have to do is sign in as a guest user and you will be able to carry out several functions like tracking markets, checking the stock prices, creating watchlists, as well as viewing the intraday charts for the scripts that are listed on BSE and NSE.
SmartUp 2017 offers a nurturing platform with competitive spark to facilitate budding entrepreneurs by validating their ideas, mentor them under globally acclaimed experts and offering access to a wide network of investors.
Marketyard is a Mobile Platform that enables Users to buy, sell and rent everything related to agriculture using Classifieds services, Hourly Weather Forecast, Digital Land Records, Local Business Listings, etc. They help farmers to directly sell to end consumer by removing the need for middlemen.
Machstatz from Bengaluru an end to end solution in the IIoT [Industrial Internet of Things] space became the first runner-up and ClinMD from Jaipur which offers help doctors to record store and digitize regular handwritten notes & prescriptions was chosen second runner-up. The winning teams were awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh, Rs 50000 & Rs 25,000 respectively.
Vibhuti Channa, Director, Espark-Viridian Accelerator, said
India has a 1.25 billion of youth population and entrepreneurship is the need of an hour. Our endeavor has been to identify budding entrepreneurs and provide them with all necessary support. It is important to nurture and guide an idea in its early stage to ensure it reaches its maximum potential.
Espark-Viridian in association with Headstart Network is committed to promoting entrepreneurship in India. The top 25 startups were shortlisted by the jury members. The event culminated in Delhi at KiroriMal College Delhi over two days dedicated to intensive one to one mentoring by expert mentors and investors followed by a pitching session.
The esteemed jury — which included Arpit Agrawal [Principal, Blume Ventures, Co-founder and Director, Headstart Network Foundation], Ashish Taneja [Managing Director, Growx Ventures], Paresh Gupta [Founder, Global Centre for Entrepreneurship and Commerce], Amit Singh [Founder & CEO, Wow Labz Co-Founder and MD, Headstart Network Foundation] and Vibhuti Channa [Director Espark- Viridian Accelerator] – selected the prize winners.
Anil Lade,Founder – Marketyard Agrisolutions, said
Such Competitions provide a good platform for young entrepreneurs to showcase their talent and gain from one on one mentoring. I am thankful to the Espark-Viridian and Headstart Network who have provided clarity in further enhancing my idea.
About Espark-Viridian
Espark-Viridian is a startup accelerator for early and growth seeking startups. We offer an up-to 18-month multi-center, multi-sector accelerator programme through 5 centres spread across Bangalore, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. To know more, please visit Espark-Viridian
Uber announced the launch of two new products – uberACCESS and uberASSIST in Bengaluru, supported by Mphasis, a leading IT solutions provider, as a part of their CSR initiative. With an aim to address day-to-day transportation requirements of senior citizens and those with accessibility needs, riders can request uberASSIST rides and will soon be able to book uberACCESS rides, the forward-facing wheelchair accessible product, on-demand.
Trained and certified by Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre [DEOC], all driver-partners are equipped with required skills to assist passengers with accessibility needs as well as those who need additional assistance during their ride.
uberACCESS an Asia-first launch for Uber in Bengaluru, is a forward-facing wheelchair accessible product. This option offers 50 retrofitted vehicles, with heightened roof and hydraulic wheelchair lift on-demand.
uberASSIST is an option for those who require additional assistance – such as senior citizens and people with accessibility needs, including those who may just feel more comfortable with extra assistance when getting from door-to-door. A fleet of 500 uberASSIST vehicles accommodate most foldable wheelchairs.
Both uberACCESS and uberASSIST partner-drivers are top-rated partners trained by DEOC to ensure riders feel safe and comfortable for their entire journey.
uberACCESS vehicles are rear-entry, which means that riders face forward when they’re travelling, unlike other wheelchair-accessible vehicles which require riders to face sideways or backwards. All uberACCESS vehicles have four-point tie-down straps, which are used to secure the wheelchair to the floor to ensure it stays put during the trip.
uberACCESS and uberASSIST are one of the most-affordable ride option for people with accessibility needs
Riders have access to a load of smart features to ensure they are in control. Being able to track the ride real time, ability to share ETA and allowing friends and family to follow the trip remotely are all features that can help riders feel more in control of their journey and spend less time thinking about logistics and more time spent getting on with their plans.
uberASSIST and uberACCESS are not ambulance services, but a new choice for riders in need of assistance during their daily travels, whether they are riders with special needs or senior citizens.
Announcing the launch, Amit Jain, President, Uber India and South Asiasaid
At Uber, we believe in creating transportation options that fit every rider’s need. The launch of uberASSIST and uberACCESS furthers our efforts in this direction. We are excited to partner with, and thank, Mphasis for playing a key role in helping us bring this idea to life. We aim to make these services available in more cities across the country.
Mphasis, through its CSR arm, Mphasis F1 Foundation, has done some pioneering work to create equal opportunities for persons with disabilitiesto access systems, services and resources. In line with same commitment, Mphasis F1 Foundation and Uber have joined hands to launch uberACCESS and uberASSIST initiative.
Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Mphasis said
Over the years, Mphasis has pioneered various high impact initiatives in creating a barrier-free environment – be it through innovative services, policy advocacy or supporting accessible technology solutions. We combined our financial aid with a data-driven, strategic focus – the essential inputs for creating sustainable and scalable impact in our communities. I am glad my team approached Uber with this idea and together we are committed to the cause of bringing innovative solutions that enhance opportunities for everyone.
Mphasis, over the years has undertaken a host of initiatives to transform the lives of persons with disabilities whether it is pioneering accessibility services, policy advocacy, or research and thought leadership. The past year, Mphasis in partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has set up a Research Chair dedicated to conducting high impact research on Digital Accessibility and Inclusion. Mphasis’ roadmap for Digital Accessibility is intended to empower persons with disabilities by enabling them to access digital content, web pages, mobile applications, and use all kinds of digital assets effortlessly.
Over the past few years, technology has taken over every aspect of life. Everything around us has already gone or is going digital. Hence it was prudent that even the humble TV had to undergo digitization. Star India pioneered the digitization of TV in India with the launch of Hotstar.
Digitization has changed the face of TV entirely and revolutionized the way we consume content.
Why has digital TV become a hit?
The utility and convenience of digital content have made it an integral part of everybody’s life. People have embraced the digitization of the Indian TV industry as it offers numerous benefits. With this anytime anywhere TV, you will never miss a show. To add to that, you can access to all your favorite shows in one place. Since Indian audiences are heavy consumers of TV content, Digitization of TV was a dream come true. Now, you can watch your favourite shows as per your convenience without compromising on other plans. A number of people prefer watching digital content while commuting. This gives them more time for other activities and also serves as a great on-the-go entertainment.
Launch of Hotstar
The digitization of Star TV rocked the digital TV industry. Star India launched its unique video streaming platform, Hotstar, in February 2015, which soon became a sensation. The app with its unique content, supreme quality, multiple features, and user-friendly interface had the audiences glued to the screens in no time. The Star digital revolution unwrapped new avenues for the digitization of the TV industry.
How did Hotstar trigger the digital revolution?
Even since its launch, Hotstar has been breaking records. Hotstar was introduced at a time when Internet speed in India was very slow. Which is why it was developed in such a way that it streamed videos seamlessly even at a low speed of 50 kbps. Its launch was timed perfectly, which was just before the start of the ICC World Cup 2015.
Within just a week of its launch, Hotstar got 1.5 million downloads and topped the list of free apps on Google PlayStore. This was a remarkable feat as it took Facebook 10 months, Twitter 12 months, and Instagram 2.5 months to reach the level of one million downloads.
The success story of Hotstar did not stop here. In another 33 days, the app downloads reached 10 million. In 18 months, the download crossed 72 million; while Netflix took nine years to reach 75 million. In January 2017, it was found that Hotstar app downloads had crossed the mark of 175 million.
The astounding figures clearly portray the onset of the digital era of Indian TV, and how it was transformed with the entry of Star India’s Hotstar. Clearly, Star India was instrumental in paving the way for digitization in India. It intensified the competition in the market and compelled aggregators to perform better. The rising value also enabled new entrants to take an interest in the market, thus pushing the message of Digital India.
To know more about how Star India led Indian television into the digital era, click here
Technology is evolving at a very rapid pace, with technologies & trends like Artificial Intelligence [AI], Machine Learning [ML], Chatbots, Augmented Reality [AR], etc. creating a dent in every possible sector. Few years back, when you were interested in buying a property, you had to personally visit the site, evaluate & inspect it and than come at some logical conclusion.
With the advent of AR/VR, consumers can now have a look at the property/flat from the comfort of their homes thereby saving time as well as money [for the real-estate company that mostly bears the cost of the site-visits]! Artificial Intelligence is already disrupting the real-estate sector.
When we talk about online real-estate Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com immediately comes to our minds. All these companies have been game changers in their own respect, having varied business models. Today, we have a chat with Ravi Bhushan, Group CPTO, Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com about emerging technological trends, AR/VR, Chatbots, etc.
Being a CPTO of multiple portals which are into real-estate, as a PM what are some of the data points that you use to ensure that the right set of features are deployed in the respective portals ?
For all the three platforms, i.e. Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com, we have different business models that cater to both common and unique use cases. At a high level, I keep a close watch on the following data points
Traffic growth and quality
Engagement and conversion metrics
Supply growth
Demand supply match metrics
Quality score of content on a platform
Customer’s satisfaction score
There are has been lot of talks about AI, Machine Learning [ML] in the real-estate sector, how much impact will AI and ML have on the sector ?
I feel that there is tremendous scope of AI and ML in the digital real estate sector. Some of the areas wherein we are deploying and evaluating these technologies include:
AVM for price estimation in real estate
Lead quality scoring, based on the consumer’s behaviour [online + offline] data
Sentiment analysis around projects and developers based on the UGC data on IREF
Image classification and image quality check of listings
Automatic response by bots on real estate queries based on the knowledge base we have across platforms
How will emerging trends like AR/VR enhance the buying experience and how it can act as a compliment to physical site visits ?
Technology in the AR/VR sector is growing at a fast pace. Most of the global powerhouses are extensively investing in AR/VR related technology. An immersive viewing experience of a property [which does not exist] by using virtual reality, significantly solves the use case of visiting a sample flat. This technology can complement physical site visits in two ways
With these technologies one can do virtual site visits without any risk as visiting the site physically to experience the progress can be risky during construction
AR can be of immense value when it comes to customizing your house and get a near to a real glimpse of your future house
Can you list down top five features of PropTiger, Makaan, Housing from technological point of view vis-a-vis its competitors ?
I have listed the top five features that set us apart from our competitors
Comprehensive coverage of ratings and reviews of agents provided by genuine home seekers on Makaan.com solving the issue quality differentiation between sellers.
Makaan.com: First platform with real time authentic transaction data in Indian real estate
Category’s most innovative and user friendly maps based experience of 100% verified listings on Housing.com solving the issue of information asymmetry.
Category’s first ever web based virtual reality solution for most advanced visualisation [Sample flat, unit plan, construction updates, locality] targeting millions of internet users without any tech. barrier.
Deep learning based lead quality scoring engine based on consumer’s behaviour [Online + Offline].
Ravi Bhushan – Group CPTO (Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com)
Chatbots are now becoming main stream with Fintech, Banks, etc. how can chat bots be used to enhance the overall buying experience ?
Chatbots concept is still very early for real estate sector. The important thing to notice is that unlike many other sectors, in real estate, the search pattern is very broad. However, we definitely feel that with time there will be adoption in real estate and in order to ensure that we lead it from the front, we have already invested in this technology.
In fact, we are the first one to launch Facebook bot based search experience through which one can search and call sellers from the chat window itself on Makaan.com.
What are some of the measures taken by your product/tech team to provide ‘customized’ buying/selling experience and to ensure that there is a maximum conversion rate ?
There are many things which are done in this direction. Some of the important measures followed by us include:
Relevance logic: Matching of user intent with the property options provided during the search journey
Ratings/Reviews: One of the main goals for home seekers is also to find out the right seller and for that authentic ratings/reviews are very important. We are working really hard to ensure that this use case is addressed properly.
Drip marketing: Real estate being long buying cycle, drip marketing at various stages of the journey to bring back consumers and make them convert is also a significant area
High quality content: On Housing & PropTiger, we have 100% verified listings and on Makaan we have most comprehensive reviews and ratings. We also power our platform with the UGC from the biggest forum in Indian real estate which we own.
Searching for ‘your kind of flat’ is still a tedious process on real-estate portals [where search can go upto how many rooms, area, etc.], what are some of the challenges to have these initial search terms integrated in a voice-based engine so that there are less number of user interactions [with the device] ?
We have made some great progress in our Audio related technologies to parse and meaningfully understand the home seeker-seller interactions. As far as voice searches are concerned, we already have this feature in our PropTiger app. Based on the traction, we will further enable the same in our other platforms.
With the advent of sub 1500 phones, new segment of customers have emerged that could be first time data users. Are there any plans of PropTiger/Makaan/Housing to cater to this market [be it a light-weight app/site, etc.] ?
Yes, this is an area of opportunity for us to penetrate further in tier 2/3 cities in India. Jio being a light weight HTML5 based app ecosystem, we are willing to launch our experiences as soon as it is allowed. Having said that, we have already invested in technologies like Progress Web Apps [PWA], Instant apps to provide app like experience to our web users and we look forward to tap any such opportunity in future.
From a product feature point of view, there has been less push to lure multi-lingual audience [e.g. Certain audience in Kolkata might not be well versed with English but good in their native language], is there any push to cater the non-English speaking audience ?
We are witnessing some noticeable shift towards the vernacular space and we see this as an opportunity. We have already started to write some regional content on some of our content platforms such as PropGuide, MakaanIQ, Housing News, etc. Based on the traction, we will further invest in this direction.
What are some of the emerging trends in the tech-space and where do you see the real-estate sector [from tech point of view] couple of years down the line ?
With better government regulations, reforms & advancement of technology, the information asymmetry will reduce significantly in the coming years. The online platform will push their boundaries in terms of reaching towards closure to transactions.
The centralized listing content source [like MLS in other countries] is bound to emerge and lots of physical activities will be replaced with advancement in visualization technology related to AR/VR/3D space.
We thank Ravi Bhushan for sharing his insights with our readers. If you have any questions for Ravi, please email them here or share them via a comment to this article.
A good project plan can make the life of a Project Manager (PM) as well as the team members easy. Project Manger can do a detailed tracking of the activities that are listed in the plan and since the tasks are well listed out, team members are very clear about the deadlines as well as its deliverables.
Creating a perfect Project Plan is a daunting task and as a PM, you need to ensure that there is no stone un-turned in order to create a perfect project plan. Wrike, a company that specializes in development of project management software has come up with an informative infographic that can be used as a guideline by Project Managers to create a perfect Project Plan.
Infographic brought to you by Wrike project management online software
We hoped you found this infographic informative! What are some of the traits that you as a Project Manager use to create a Project Plan, please share your tips in the comments section…
NI, the provider of systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, today successfully hosted the 14th edition of NIDays – an annual conference on graphical system design – in Bangalore. The event was attended by over 700 engineers, scientists, and experts from Industry and Academia who discussed the trends, opportunities and challenges that will enable the future technology to grow faster.
At the seminar, NI India discussed the next generation of LabVIEW software, LabVIEW NXG 1.0, that gets faster engineering insights with instant hardware discovery, integrated data analysis, and interactive data exploration tools. The attendees got to experience LabVIEW NXG 1.0 and LabVIEW 2017 with experts from Applications Engineering and NI RnD. NIDays offered 22 technical & academic track sessions and tutorials along with a wide range of products and application demonstrations.
Speakers and exhibitors from automated test domain joined the event. The diverse set of panelists shared their experiences and best practices in the areas of processes, management and technology that address the challenges and opportunities for future systems.
Addressing the media at the event, Jayaram Pillai, Managing Director – IndRAA, National Instruments, said
Over the years, we have partnered with local and global experts in our Alliance program, constantly striving to innovate and evolve with every challenge and opportunity that comes our way. With technology growing sooner that predicted, it is inspiring to see all the future ready innovation and products at this year’s NIDays. It gives me immense pride to witness the passion and determination from the engineering community and I look forward to see what’s next.
Commenting on the success of the event, Shelley Gretlein, NI Vice President of Corporate Marketing, National Instruments, said
As we are racing through the 21st century, where technological progression is faster than ever before, the demand for faster and smarter applications is essential. We help our customers to keep up with the pace by providing industry trends impacting the industry along with actionable insights. Our open, software-centric platform aids in developing cutting-edge innovative solutions in areas such as machine learning applications, wireless technology, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and transportation. Now we can truly be prepared for our future.
Presented at NIDays, NI’s Trend Watch 2018 examined the technological advances propelling towards a future faster than ever before along with some of the biggest challenges engineers face looking ahead to 2018. Five key topics were explored –
Machine Learning – Explores the development of Intelligent nodes across manufacturing machines, test systems, and industrial assets that will provide the data needed to build better products and make better operational decisions
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) – Predicts that Industries will have to adopt to IIoT to maximize uptime, optimize performance, and drive product and process innovation.
5G – Signifies a generational transformation that will provide untethered experience with much faster data, shorter network response times (lower latency), instant access anywhere and everywhere, and the capacity for billions of devices.
Vehicles Electrification – Discusses the reliance on power electronics and electric motor drives that adds complexity to control systems.
Breaking Moore’s Law – Industries will demonstrate each scaling challenge with an innovation in alternative architectures seemingly ending processing advancements
The new range of products presented at the event includes LabVIEW NXG 1.0, bridging the gap between configuration-based software and custom programming languages, Vehicle Radar Test System [VRTS] delivering object simulation and radar measurement capabilities for engineers testing autonomous driving technology, and ATE Core Configurations which supply core mechanical, power and safety infrastructure to help users accelerate the design and build of automated test systems in industries ranging from semiconductor and consumer electronics to aerospace and automotive.
