All Posts in Mobile

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Money View, India’s leading money manager app announced that the app is now available in six regional languages-Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, apart from English. After hitting the 5 million downloads milestone, the Android app (link) has gone local to make money management technology accessible for everyone & make India financially fit on the whole.

With countless expenses this festive season, new and existing users can now manage their finances in their preferred language. The tech-savvy English-speaking users constitute only 2% of India’s population and majority of the population is still comfortable with embracing technology in their local language. This demographic has taken a digital leap with the advent of smartphones but the advances of fin-tech have not fully reached them. Money View wants to make money management simpler for this under-served market.

Speaking about the app update, Money View’s Co-Founder, Sanjay Aggarwal said

When we got a feedback call from a user in Rajasthan who said he was more comfortable conversing in Hindi, we realized that if we cannot speak our user’s language, we cannot fully solve their problem. The entrepreneur, the IT professional, courier delivery man or your neighbourhood kirana store owner – we want to empower each one of these users to have a deeper control of their finances.

If the app-economy is here to stay, it calls for insight-based approach to product. That is exactly what we have tried to achieve with this latest update and we made it a point that it went live just in time for festive budgeting

With 6 local languages, Money View app helps a user to Manage, Save and Grow your money with features like Automatic expense tracking, Bill payment reminders, Smart budgeting and easy Mutual fund investing.

Money View in action below:

Money View for Android can be downloaded from here. For more information, please visit Money View

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Intex Technologies in collaboration with DragonTrail has enriched its 4G portfolio with the launch of its latest feature-rich, powerful and stylish 4G smart phone-Aqua S7. The marshmallow smart phone comes with 3GB RAM, powerful DragonTrail glass, Fingerprint Sensor and a big battery. All these high-tech features will be available at a price of Rs. 9499

The 4G-enabled Aqua S7 comes with 5-inch HD IPS display supported with a 2.5D curved glass display giving a smoother touch & swipe experience along with a premium and elegant look. The display is well protected with the super tough DragonTrail glass, one of the best for protection and sturdy usage, being six-times tougher than conventional glass. Aqua S7 with 8.7mm thickness and weighing just 150gms, sports a sleek look and design that anyone would flaunt.

Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex Technologies said

The Aqua S7 is our latest tech marvel, a symbol of style, strength and performance for the ubiquitous users and the market. With 4G picking up pace in the country, we have enriched are already diverse 4G product portfolio to stay ahead in time and offerings for our discerning consumers.

Takuzo Mikawa, Asahi Glass’s Deputy General Manager of Applied Glass Division said

Asahi Glass’s Dragontrail as already been adopted as cover glass for most of the global major brands. We believe damage-resistant Dragontrail glass is perfectly suited to INTEX Aqua S7. As the world’s largest glass company, we will offer more and better products in the Indian market.

 The Aqua S7’s 4G network is enriched with the VOLTE feature (Voice Over LTE), enables users to enjoy crystal clear high quality HD voice calls. Aqua S7 is powered with 3GB RAM and a 64-bit Quad Core Mediatek processor, ensuring smooth performance while playing high-end games or watching videos and multitasking, coupled with latest Android Marshmallow OS 6.0. The smart phone is equipped with the latest bio-metric security – finger print sensor at back panel. The scanner will scan and verify authority, making the smart phone completely secure.

For photography enthusiasts and selfies lovers, Aqua S7 has 13MP Rear AF Camera with single LED flash and 5MP selfie camera. The device comes with multiple navigation features, gesture controls and emergency rescue. The 4G dual-SIM smart phone has a big battery of 3200 mAh Li-Poly, which offers a talk-time up to 22 hours along with a standby time of at least 10 days.

Aqua S7 has an in-built 16GB ROM with an expandable memory of up to 64GB. It has Matrabhasha service that enables communication in 21 regional languages including Hindi. Also features other pre-loaded apps such as FOTA, Intex Service, Follo, OPERA MINI, Clean Master, Daily hunt etc. The elegant Aqua S7 will be available in three premium colors – Champagne, Rose Gold and Dark Blue. For more information please visit Intex India

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Intel Security have released findings from its new study Digital Detox – Unplugging on Vacation. This was conducted to better understand the ways consumers stay digitally connected while travelling and to highlight the ways in which they may unknowingly be putting their personal identity and devices at risk.

Study findings indicated that India defines being unplugged as having ‘no electronics usage at all (39%). While almost two thirds of Indians (65%) claimed to have gone on vacation in the past year with the intention to be unplugged.

Vacations are full of distraction and opportunity, and savvy criminals have learned how to capitalise on these moments. Travellers can be targets for cyber-criminals who count on human and device vulnerabilities to provide them with a point of access to consumers’ data and devices. They can gain access to sensitive information via unsecured smartphones, laptops and even wearables, while also collecting data from social channels.

Venkat Krishnapur, Head of R&D Operations for Intel Security’s India Development Centre said

Findings from the survey indicate that a huge majority of Indians (84%) connect to the internet while on vacation. While doing so, they often access and share sensitive information without considering the potential cyber risks of divulging credit cards details, works mails and personal information on unsecured public Wi-Fi.

Through this survey, we wanted to raise awareness about the need to adopt safe digital habits and share security measures to prevent personal information from being compromised while travelling.

Findings from the survey indicate that more than one of three Indians (38%) who went on the vacation with the intent to unplug were not successful in doing so. As cyber-criminals are on the lookout for such opportunities, consumers need to be vigilant and take precautionary security measures to prevent exploitation of their personal information.

Major findings from the India

  • 84% of Indians connect to the internet while they are on vacation
  • Almost three out of four Indians (74%) say that they would want to be unplugged on a week-long vacation if work obligations were not a factor.
  • Majority of Indians (54%) are not willing to leave their smartphone at home while on vacation and Indians fared second worst globally (only Singapore was ahead at 42%) in being able to abstain from social media while on vacation at 43%.
  • Communication with the family (57%) or being available in case of emergencies (46%) are the main reasons that end up keeping people from being unplugged during vacations

 

 

Indians need to be vigilant

  • Indians (31%) that travel, access or share sensitive information while using public Wi-Fi, which is highest amongst the 14 countries surveyed.

Mexico (19%), Brazil (18%), Spain (17%), Singapore (16%), US (15%), Italy (15%), Canada (11%), France (11%), Germany (11%), Australia (10%), Japan (10 %), UK (10%), and Netherlands (09%)

  • Indians lead their global counterparts in willingly sharing personal information such as credit card number or log in name/password. More than one out of three Indians (36%) shared their personal data even when they realize that this will make them vulnerable, which is highest amongst the 14 countries surveyed

US (21%), Brazil (20%), Spain (15%), Germany (13%), Italy (13%), UK (13%), France (12%), Australia (12%), Mexico (12%), Singapore (12%), Canada (10%), Japan (09%), and Netherlands (09%)

  • 37% of Indians could not last a day on vacation without checking social media This is second only to Japan (45%) when compared globally

 

Tips to Minimize Your Travel Security Risks

Create Social Walls : Waiting in airports can be quite boring and often this can lead to posting updates from mobile device. Whether it’s your location or that selfie where your hair looks just right, criminals are more able to monitor your whereabouts via social activity and take advantage of you when you have the weakest protection.

Be Careful When You Share : We love to share our experiences with friends and family via social media, but it’s important to not indicate publicly where or when you’ll be taking that relaxing vacation. Wait until you return home before posting all about it; otherwise, you could leave yourself open to would-be thieves who want to know when your home will be vacant.

Limit Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Use : Data can be expensive but switching on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when out and about can be a recipe for disaster. Connecting to unprotected Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices can expose your personal information to a cyber-criminal. You should be especially careful when exchanging payment information. With this in mind, make sure to update your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi history by removing previously ‘remembered’ wireless networks like ‘cafewifi.’

Check and Monitor Your Accounts : Keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your bank account history. If you aren’t meticulous about monitoring your activity, a criminal could have access to your accounts for quite some time before you are aware.

Find more information, please visit Blog post from Gary Davis

Study Methodology
The research was conducted between 18th–29th March, 2016 by MSI via an online questionnaire to 1,423 people in India, age 21-54. Global study was conducted across 13,960 consumers between the ages of 21 to 54, evenly split by gender.

|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Tengi – The Chat App That Gives Back have announced a significant milestone in its Indian journey. The newly launched chat application has crossed three hundred thousand downloads within three months of its roll-out in India. Tengi was introduced to India in April this year.

Tengi, the chat app with a social conscience, has pledged to give back at least 50% of its advertising revenues to users every week. Since its launch in April this year, the chat app that gives back has paid out Rs. 4,35,53,292 in prize money through its weekly prizes. So far over 48,000 winners have been recipients of this prize money.

Packed with great features including messaging, audio messaging and group chats with up to 100 friends, Tengi also allows users to add their Facebook friends without having to access their phone number from the contacts list. Currently attracting over 6000 downloads a day, Tengi is on course to crossing the million user mark by April 2017.

Commenting on the exciting news from India Neil Laycock, CEO Tengi said

We are very happy to be in India and are overwhelmed by the response that Tengi has received in the short 3 months that we’ve been here! India is the world’s fastest growing smartphone market and it makes incredible sense for us to be part of this exciting growth and energy. Going forward we’re on track to crossing a million users before April 2017. We also have some really interesting plans lined up for India including new features, language updates and an even more enhanced user experience.

Kit Lewis, Chief Architect, Tengi further added

We felt it was time for an entirely new approach to the messaging industry. Tengi is about being free, fair and fun, with a strong focus on consumers. We believe that everyone who uses our service has a value, and in contrast to other chat or social media services, we want to share this value with our users-to give back to our community no less than 50% of the revenue we’ve earned, as prizes in our weekly free prize draw. With Tengi, sharing the value becomes a weekly event that’s exciting for users and their friends, and gives everyone something to chat about!

With regards to its weekly cash prizes and user engagement Tengi adheres to these principles:

  • Winners are picked completely at random
  • Tengi will always give away at least 50% of all advertising revenue
  • There are no hidden costs or pre-conditions — Tengi will never charge for the app or getting tickets
  • Tengi will never sell user data to anyone / any third party
  • Tengi does not analyse users’ messages to help target adverts
  • Tengi is always completely transparent with its users

 

In order to be entered into the prize draw, all users have to do is use the app to get tickets for the draw. They can receive tickets in a variety of ways: they collect sixteen tickets for each contact in their phone that joins Tengi; one ticket every time a friend wins; one ticket for each day they use Tengi; one ticket for every 5 minutes they spend chatting on Tengi; and one ticket per week for keeping the app installed.

Tengi is available from the app stores for download now on iOS and Android

About Tengi

Tengi is the chat app that gives back. Every week Tengi gives away hundreds of cash prizes to its community of users. All they have to do is use the app to be entered into the prize draw. There are no hidden costs, catches or strings attached. Tengi is committed to sharing 50% of its advertising revenues with users.

The app is completely free and Tengi will never charge people for it. Tengi’s approach is consumer-focused and free, fair and fun. It is not just about the cash, either: the app is packed with great features and new ones are being added all the time. For more information, please visit Tengi

|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

Internet has become a huge game-changer in our lives. Be it ordering food, groceries, booking a cab, booking flight tickets etc. every task is now available at our finger-tips !! Increased adoption of smart-phones (even in villages, Tier-II, Tier-III cities), growing penetration (along with affordability) of Mobile internet (2G, 3G) and Reliance Jio’s 4G offering is just an icing on the cake 🙂

Though smart-phones have become more affordable, it has reduced the real Social Interaction between people. Many years back, when I was in Mumbai there always used to be passengers who formed their own groups to pass time-time (by playing cards/discussing about various issues) but now, most of them are busy on their smart-phones. There is no major risk involved when phones when are used during the course of any journey (bus/train/car etc.). The scenario however changes when you use the phone while walking on the streets or boarding trains/buses. It might not only lead to breakage of your phones but can also pose a huge life-threat !! As per a study by Mid-Day, Chatting on mobiles while boarding trains and buses has emerged as the top reason behind mobile phone damage.

Hence, just like Life Insurance that is used to provide life-cover, many companies offer Gadget Insurance and also provide repair services at your door-step. Mobile phone screens are vulnerable to drops. While new technology advancements like gorilla glass and other screen protection methods like tempered glass have reduced screen damages they can’t ensure total protection.

It is therefore wise to opt for a damage protection plan during purchase which ensures you get your phone fixed without hassles in case of any such unfortunate event. Startups like OnsiteGO, India’s No. 1 gadget and electronic device protection company can be of huge help since they provide many complimentary services.

Coming back to breakage of phones, an analysis of over 4000+ repair requests over a period of one year revealed that using mobile phones while alighting or boarding crowed buses or trains is uncool and downright risky. A large majority of about 3000 [76%] people have dropped and broken their mobile phones while using them at such times. The data was revealed by OnsiteGo that offers gadget and electronic device protection.

Key highlights of OnsiteGo Study

  • Women tend drop their phones more often than men (58%)
  • Most people drop their phones while commuting. Talking on mobiles while alighting or boarding crowded trains, buses main reasons for dropping and breaking their phones (76%)
  • Multitasking also cited as one of the reasons for dropping phones (55%)
  • Selfie drops also account for a significant number of phone breakage. (15%)
  • More than 50% of people tend to break their smart phone screens within 8 months of buying a new smart phone.

 

According to the data, taking selfies also accounted for a significant number of drops. About 600 phones (about 15%) were broken while the user was clicking a selfie. The data also showed that about 2400 people (about 60%) comprised female users out of which a majority (about 70%) were in the age bracket of 18 to 25 years.

According to OnsiteGo, about 4000+ requests were received by the company from across the country to repair mobile devices. The data was analyzed to spot trends in usage that could be used to spread awareness among people and help them reduce loss due to breakage.

It was also found that broken screens comprised the largest category to be grouped under repairs. About 1600 (37%) were attributed to broken screens. The other issues included speaker defects, microphone damage, camera, display problems, software issues and others which were fragmented across the remaining 63%.

OnSiteGo-Data-Gender

Of these about 576 (36%) customers had broken screens within six months of purchase. Interestingly about 128 (8%) reported screen damage within the two months of ownership going up to 272 (17%) within 3 months of purchase. The numbers were found to increase exponentially after 3 months indicating that no matter how careful people are with their smartphones, breaking your smartphone screen is almost inevitable. The numbers drastically go up as high as 912 (57%) after 8 months of purchase.

Detailed Infographic of OnsiteGo Study

Looking at this trend, we are sure you would have made up your mind to have a Damage Protection plan for your phone. A damage protection pack on your phone can prove to be a big boon in emergencies. You can buy a damage protection pack online as well. OnsiteGo and a few others offer such services. There are options such as “no questions asked” program offering service whether the damage is accidental or not. And if your phone is beyond repair, some promise replacement for free, so you are sorted.

Reference Link – Mobile Phone Study

|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Swipe Technologies has announced the OTA  updates for its most sought after Swipe Elite Plus which was launched in June 2016. Apart of Swipe’s endevour for constant improvements, the latest OTA is an incremental update available to all users of the Swipe’s Elite Plus smartphone to enhance the performance, offer improved RAM usage & user experience and solve the heating issue.

Shripal Gandhi, Founder & CEO of Swipe Technologies responded to a consumer’s tweet on Twitter to confirm that Swipe Elite Plus smartphone users in India will receive the much-awaited software update over-the-air. The new OTA update will also enhance the battery life besides ironing out minor glitches faced by some users. In other words-It will make the daily usage more seamless & satisfactory including better thermal management.

Interested users can go ahead and download the OTA file manually through a software update notification accessible directly in your Elite Plus phone. However, users are advised to back up important data and settings on the device before proceeding with this update. A higher performance and FHD display in the mobile device provides the Elite Plus an edge over other such devices falling in the same price range.

The Elite Plus available exclusively on Flipkart.com is a combination of aesthetics and power that brings an unmatched experience of craftsmanship without putting a dent on pockets.

The Elite Plus is powered with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 64-Bit 615 Octa-Core processor and 2GB RAM to handle multi-tasking without breaking a sweat. It sports a Full High Definition 5 inch 1920*1080 IPS Display and energy-efficient screen that gives 40% more colors than a normal LCD screen for brilliant graphics and gaming even under direct sunlight. The Elite Plus is equipped with a 3050 mAh marathon battery and supports 2G/3G/4G LTE/ EVDO/CDMA standards at breathtaking speeds. You can find the review of Swipe Elite Plus here

With its 13 MP rear camera and 8 MP front camera, an Elite Plus user can take high-resolution selfies and all other photos without compromising on details. For music lovers, Elite Plus offers new edition of speakers with superior acoustics and a dedicated amplifier for each speaker to deliver audio quality unprecedented from a smartphone. The new phone comes with Premium Jaquard Polycarbonate body with thin metal frame that is ergonomically tapered to effortlessly fit in your grip. Swipe Elite Plus comes at attractive price point of Rs. 6999

|In: CleverTap|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

CleverTap has announced the expansion of its latest and most powerful mobile analytics & user engagement platform into the education sector. The initiative launches in partnerships with two companies and is now available to any educational organization seeking to deepen its understanding of its users in order to build the best desktop and mobile learning apps.

The announcement follows the successful use of the CleverTap platform by over 2,500 clients globally who drive immediate user engagement and better app retention on a daily basis. The key for learning apps is the ability to group and segment users based on their behavior within the app-how often they come and what lesson they have completed or not yet completed. User engagement techniques using a mix of push notifications, in-app messages, email and even SMS is critical to get students and parents progressing systematically within the app towards their goals.

Product Managers, Marketers and developers can segment their users based on past behavior in very complex ways but can also automate campaigns for behavior expected in the future using Live User Segments. Live User Segments offer clients real-time monitoring and analysis of critical user flows such as on-boarding and conversion of their app users.

The most successful automated campaigns are the ones that engage users exactly when they complete a specified activity, or even upon inaction, when they do not perform the desired activity within a specified amount of time, which could be minutes, hours or days.

Arkady Fridman, Product Evangelist for CleverTap said

The move was a natural one for the company. The landscape of education is changing and the traditional formats of learning are being disrupted. CleverTap’s advanced user behavioral segmentation allows educators segment their users into smaller, micro-segments based on behavior so that every interaction with that small group is very relevant, timely and personalized.

For Hooked on Phonics and School4One, the partnership significantly enhances the value of their analytic capabilities and provides unparalleled insight into user behavior, down to every individual. Having the ability to message these users within the same dashboard is invaluable.

Robert Manger, President at Hooked on Phonics said

CleverTap has been a very valuable resource to help us engage parents with relevant non-intrusive messaging at the right moments. The whole team-from our first interaction with Arkady Fridman and CEO Sunil Thomas, to their customer success group-has offered first class service from initial ramp-up to getting us fully integrated and running automated campaigns internationally.

Felipe Saints Jean, CTO for School4One said

We chose to use the CleverTap platform to deepen its understanding of iPad classroom users. Our team has been working since 2012 to build the best apps to create and share educational content in the App Store. We chose the CleverTap platform to provide us with the best analytics and a deeper understanding of our iPad classroom users. This has enabled us to meet our teachers’ needs and deliver contextually relevant experiences and to increase engagement for their student programs.

CleverTap offers blazing fast mobile app and website analytics, powerful real-time user segmentation and multiple ways to engage with users. CleverTap today helps more than 2500 customers understand their users, down to every individual and effectively engage them with timely, relevant and personalized campaigns.

Hooked on Phonics is a leading creator of learn to read products and apps that are highly effective and incredibly fun. The company works with professional educators, interactive designers, writers, artists, and parents to develop step-by-step learning systems that help teach children critical reading, skills. Hooked on Phonics apps are available on all platforms – iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle and Desktop. The physical products (from  Hooked on Phonics) are available at major e-tailers worldwide and online at http://www.hookedonphonics.com

School4One School 4 One is an integrated workflow that makes it easy for teachers to use iPads. It bridges the gap between content, curriculum, and native iPad tools. This makes it easier for teachers to effectively use the devices to personalize resources for students, leave contextual audio-visual feedback over student work, track progress in Common Core Standards, and re-mediate using real-time formative assessment data.

About CleverTap

CleverTap is the next generation mobile engagement platform. It enables marketers to identify, engage and retain users and provides developers with unprecedented code-level access to build dynamic app experiences for user groups. CleverTap includes out-of-the-box prescriptive campaigns, omni-channel messaging, un-install data and the industry’s largest free messaging tier. To learn more about CleverTap please visit clevertap.com

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Intex Technologies has announced the launch of its latest offering in the Aqua Series – Aqua Power HD 4G with a 1.4 GHz Octa-Core processor. The smartphone will be available at a competitive price of Rs. 8,363

Aqua Power HD 4G

The smartphone, which supports 4G, comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display which is supported by 2GB RAM and an 16GB ROM. Aqua Power HD 4G gives an supreme experience to play high end games and also allows multitasking. Its powerful 3900 mAh battery gives more than 300 hours of standby time and 7 hours of talk time.

Keshav Bansal Director, Intex Technologies said

With the launch of new Aqua Power HD 4G, we are looking at offering a unified and connected smartphone experience, which makes consumers’ lives simpler and at the same time more amazing with benefits that come with the smartphone.

Aqua Power HD 4G offers a powerful 8MP rear camera with LED Flash and 5MP front camera to capture bright images. The device also comes with other features like smile detection and emergency rescue.

The device comes pre-loaded with Matrabhasha service that enables communication in 21 regional languages. Several other value added services are embedded in this device for a complete experience such as iData Saver, Clean Master, Saavn, MOBIKWIK, and Intex services. The smartphone is available in champagne, blue and grey colors with premium painting finish.

Aqua Power 4G

Intex Technologies also announced the launch of its latest smartphone in the Aqua Series – Aqua Power 4G running on Android 6.0. The smartphone will be available at an appealing price of Rs. 6,399.

The smartphone supports turbo download which facilitates in downloading large files quickly through a 4G network. It comes with a 5-inch HD display which is supported by 1GB RAM and an 8GB ROM. Aqua Power 4G gives an unmatched experience to play high end games and also enables multitasking. Its powerful 3800 mAh battery gives 200 hours of standby time and 18 hours of talk time.

Aqua Power 4G offers a powerful 8MP rear camera with LED Flash and 2MP front camera to capture vivid images. The camera is backed with a special feature of gestures control to capture images. The device comes with face detection, anti shake, do not disturb and emergency rescue features. The smartphone also enables you to make HD voice calls with the help of its fast paced VoLTE feature.

Similar to Intex Power HD 4G, this device also comes pre-loaded with Matrabhasha service that enables communication in 21 regional languages. Several other value added services are embedded in this device for a complete experience such as Clean Master, Saavan, Opera Mini, and Intex services. The smartphone is available in sophisticated champ golden and deep blue colors.