All Posts in Review

|In: Finance|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

We all know the importance of an insurance plan in this fast paced life. We insure our cars, house, bike, life and even mobile phones these days. Most of us have also insured our health by buying a health insurance plan but is it sufficient? In today’s fast paced life, life has become un-certain since we never know when a mishap can happen, this would not only affect you but your dependents as well !!

We are all aware that ‘Predictability‘ is the most ‘Un-Predictable‘ thing in life. All of us work hard to have a better life for us as well as our loved ones. When anyone thinks about such a scenario, the thought that comes at the back of our minds is “What would happen to my parents/kids etc. when I am not with them”. You would never want them to be financially challenged. This is a very critical question and since it is critical, you would always need to a “Rock-Solid answer” to it. Life Insurance is the answer to all these ‘worrisome’ questions. Life Insurance policy can help prepare for life’s uncertainties such as creating provisions for your family and loved ones following your demise.

However, choosing the right Life Insurance policy is many-a-times (if not always :)) very difficult since you are at the hands of the Insurance Agent who would show Rosy Pictures about the coverage, returns etc.

The most critical pointers to keep in mind while choosing a policy are:

  • Premium Payment
  • Payment Cycle [Monthly/Quarterly/Weekly]
  • Sum Insured and hidden Terms & Conditions [T&C]
  • Dependents covered in the Policy

The list of questions can be endless and the probable answer to all these dangling questions is a SOLID Insurance Plan. When my family members were discussing about Insurance Plans, there was a suggestion about eSmart Term Plan. We delved a bit into the plan and liked it (as compared to traditional policies), today we have a look at some of the benefits about the plan.

What is eSmart Term Plan

eSmart Term Plan is a pure life insurance plan, that can be bought online. You have the freedom to choose the amount your family will require in an unfortunate event and this amount will be paid to them as the Sum Assured. The protection plan is available to everyone and is not limited to the banking customers of Canara, HSBC and OBC. To put in simple words, it is a traditional insurance plan without any Bonus facility.

Benefits of eSmart Plan

There are many insurance companies (which we also see in TVC) that explain the pain-point of choosing the right insurance plan, the pain claimants have to go through when their dear one’s are no more etc. eSmart Term Plan solves those pain points, let’s have a look at them:

  1. You get an insurance policy at a low cost
  2. Easy Buying via Online channel. One of the major advantages of the policy is that it can be purchased online through Online Life Insurance thus many of the hassles are removed 🙂
  3. There is an option to cover accidental death
  4. Tax benefits on Premium Payments
  5. Dedicated Claims Manager who would be the one-point contact for settlement of claims. This is very important since everytime you call up the call-center agent, you might talk to a new agent and appointment of Dedicated Claims manager makes the claim process less frustrating & friction-less.

OnlineLifeInsurance : Less Hassles, Faster execution

As mentioned in the previous point, the plan can be purchased online through OnlineLifeInsurance, a microsite dedicated to eSmart Term Plan. Buying Insurance plan is a simple four step process and you can get an insurance cover in less than 10 minutes. You can get a cover of Rs 50 Lakhs for as low as Rs 3878 [Please refer https://www.onlinelifeinsurance.co.in/#calculator for detailed information].

There would be many questions popping up in our minds when buying insurance – How much insurance cover do I really need ? This depends on your age, earnings, health conditions, number of dependents etc. The Insurance Calculator helps you out to zero-in your insurance cover. It is a nice tool to simplify your insurance requirements !!

Unlike the other insurance companies, where processes and calls are endless; in eSmart Plan things get done in minimal clicks 🙂 No paper-work means less pain !!!

It would have been even better if there was an Android App of OnlineLifeInsurance so that they could also utilize the mobile medium (which has become much more important than desktop).

eSmart Plan : Voice of Customers

The success of any brand depends on the service that it has provided to it’s customers. Customers who have opted for eSmart Plan have found it to be beneficial which can be easily seen from the Testimonials Page

In fact, CHOICE (Canara Bank, HSBC & Oriental Bank of Commerce) won Best Brands 2016 at  You can refer to this page for more information on CHOICE.

Strong Brand, Encouraging Customer sentiments definitely gives an upper hand when compared to it’s competitors…

eSmart Plan : Closing Thoughts

As mentioned in this article, it is very important that we follow the PSI [Protect, Save and Invest] approach so that our hard-earned money is invested in the right place. If you are planning to safeguard the future of your family members, log on to OnlineLifeInsurance and get yourself insured ….

If You Fail to Plan & You Plan to Fail

|In: AspectWise|Last Updated: | 0 Comments
Thinking of buying a new consumer electronics device? Buying the device involves a set of activities like Feedback from existing users, Discussion with friends/colleagues, Online vis-a-vis Offline etc. As per a Morgan Stanley report, Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow fastest globally over the next three years. Though there have been markdowns in valuation of many e-commerce companies, it has not stopped the sky-rocketing growth and one who has benefited the most from ‘Online v/s Offline War’ is you i.e. The Consumer !!!
With the growth of online-commerce in India, there are many businesses that have been built to cater to that explosive growth. Number of startups have emerged in the field of Customer Support, Chat Bots, Payments, Catalogue Design, Last Mile Delivery, Automation to minimize operational costs etc.
Along with Coupon & Deal websites, there are many players that want to own a pie of the e-commerce/affiliate market by helping users to make well-informed decisions by highlighting various aspects of the gadget based on User-Feedback. Consumers are not only interested in deals but before they purchase a product but they also want to “compare prices” across different e-commerce websites. Customers are always on the lookout for good deals [focus on prices] since there is no customer Brand Loyalty
Product Discovery & Product Insights are the most important factors that can change customer’s buying decision and this is the pain-point that AspectWise, an IIT Alumni Startup aims to solve.

AspectWise : Make informed Buying Decisions

AspectWise is a product from XCognition Technologies, founded by Vivek Arya, Anand Ramachandran, Parth Bhalothia and Ankit Arya. They previously co-founded MakeSense Technologies, a recruitment technology venture which was acquired by Naukri.com
It showcases products from e-commerce websites – Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal and earns affiliate revenue from these online gadget retailers. AspectWise enables you to quickly understand everything about a product, by analyzing the product’s user reviews thus simplifying the entire Buying Process. It uses Artificial Intelligence, National Language Processing, Sentiment analysis to generate a comprehensive summary of user reviews across the web.

AspectWise : Filter Products as per Aspects that Matter to You

As mentioned earlier, there are startups like 91Mobiles, MySmartPrice etc. that want to make Product Discovery easy for consumers but one stand-out feature in AspectWise is “Use-Case based Search”. For example – If you are searching for a Mobile Phone in the range of Rs 1,000 ~ Rs. 10,000 along with Price Search you can further narrow down the search by mentioning your Usage Pattern [Heavy User/Gamer], Use-cases you give more priority [Camera/Video] etc. which is termed as ‘Aspects’

Source – AspectWise

We performed a search for Mobiles under Rs. 10,000 and these are the results of Normal Search v/s Search with Aspect = Camera It becomes much more easier on AspectWise to search for products that really ‘Matter to you’ 🙂

AspectWise : AspectWise User Verdict makes Buying simpler

The UX of the website is simple and makes browsing for useful products very easy. Once you have filtered the products, you can look into the reviews about the product based on various parameters like Camera & Pics, Performance, Battery, Design, Display and Value for money. Once you click on any of these Review Parameters, Canned reviews open up in a ‘Pop-Up Window’ and if you wish to read the complete review, you would be routed the originating e-commerce website.

The product is displayed on the left-side with the prices being shown below the product photo. Since, India is a cost-sensitive market and consumers look for products at best prices; it would have been even better if the ‘Best Priced’ could have been shown in a different color [as seen from Box marked in Blue Color] or marked with a ‘Tag’.

The unique highlight about AspectWise is their internal ranking algorithm – AspectWise User Verdict. It shows you how a particular gadget ranks for requirements specified by different users. For example – Huawei Honor 7 has overall rating of 4.4 but Nexus 5X is more suited for users who prefer a better display. On the other hand, if you are looking out for Best Phones for Performance and Display, you are presented with the Best mobiles matching those criteria’s based on user-reviews and Nexus 6P topping the list.

AspectWise : Price Drop Alert

If you love the gadget but somehow feel that it is ‘Heavy on Price’ than you have an option to subscribe to ‘Price Drop Alert’. Once you subscribe for the same, you would be notified by email once your favourite gadget is available at a lesser price.

Though the AspectWise app is not yet released, it would have been better if along with Email Alert there was an option to set a ‘WhatsApp Alert’ or an option to ‘Share Link via WhatsApp’ !!

AspectWise : Feedback & Closing Thoughts

The product images shown on AspectWise are very small [and of lower resolution] and there is no Zoom facility. This make it difficult for users to see the nitty-gritties of the product. It would have been even better to have a Chat feature on AspectWise since that would be a great opportunity to convert a ‘Window Shopper’ [who logs in the site without any agenda] into an ‘Impulsive Shopper‘. But given that AspectWise is a bootstrapped startup, they might be taking a ‘Leaner Approach’ to product development and working on more important features !!!

AspectWise definitely has a huge advantage in terms of Design when compared to it’s competitors. The concept of AspectWise User Verdict gives an immense amount of clarity to consumers when they are making the important decision of buying a gadget.

Do give AspectWise a spin and leave your feedback in the comments section …

|In: Review|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Life Insurance can be looked at in two ways- for the customer, it could be another Investment that can be covered as a part of 80C but for their family members, it means a lot more….it means Assurance. Assurance that if something untoward occurs then your family does not have to bear the brunt.

We insure our cars, house, bike and even mobile phones these days. In today’s fast paced world, life has become uncertain. One insurance policy that comes in handy in such circumstances is the ‘Term Plan’. A Term Plan is a basic life insurance plan that reimburses sufficient amount of sum assured to the beneficiaries of the insured after his/her demise.

Image Source* – Online Term Plan

However, during the planning process, there are many doubts that linger in customer’s minds about any Insurance Policy namely Premium Payment Cycle, Sum Assured, Hidden Clauses and Dependents covered as a part of the Insurance Policy etc. So, it is very critical to choose the best Term Plan or Term Life Insurance Policy.

Unlike other insurance policies that have attached investment benefits to it, Term Plan is a pure life cover plan. There are many financial institutions that offer Term Plans but one which scores above all the competitors is the Online Term Plan offered by Max Life Insurance. Let’s delve into more details:

Note : Views expressed in the review are based on interaction with existing customers of Term Plan by Max Life Insurance

Low Premium Payment, various Policy options

The main advantage of taking a Term Insurance is that you have the flexibility of choosing a plan with low premium and flexible payment options. Max Life Insurance has a unique term plan with three death benefit options:

Max Life Online Term Plan Basic Life Cover – This is the basic and most affordable plan. The annual premium amount is Rs. 7400 and the sum assured is Rs 1 crore.

Max Life Online Term Plan Life Cover + Monthly Income – As the name suggests, this insurance cover comes with monthly income. It also ensures that your family does not struggle to make ends meet. The annual premium amount is Rs. 10,100 and the sum assured is Rs 1 crore (+ 40,000 per month).

Max Life Online Term Plan Life Cover + Increasing Monthly Income – This is the most ideal term plan. It ensures that with rising inflation, your beneficiaries’ income also increases to cope up with increasing costs. This policy comes with increasing monthly income. The annual premium amount is Rs. 11,100 and the sum assured is Rs 1 crore (+ 40,000 per month increasing at 10% p.a).

Image Source* – Max Life Insurance

In case of death of the policy holder during the term, the nominee gets the sum assured. It is always advisable to choose the correct mix of Term Plan based on your age, income, dependents, health condition etc.

Double Security

As mentioned earlier, all the three plans mentioned above ensure that your dependents do not have to suffer after the demise of breadwinner. However, Max Life Online Term Plan Basic Life Cover & Max Life Online Term Plan Life Cover with Increasing Monthly Income are the preferred options by customers since they provide additional security to your family.

Choosing the RIGHT Term Plan

Depending on the factors mentioned above it is always advisable to consult your financial advisor before zeroing in on a Term Plan. If there is still that lingering question – How much cover do I need, than you have the option to choose the right plan by logging on to Term Plan Calculator. Selection of the wrong Term Plan will not only hamper your savings but would also have a lasting effect on your dependents! Ensure you make the wisest decision of your life and choose the best Term Insurance Plan

If you are an existing customer of Max Life Insurance [Term Plan] #MaxLifeTermPlan, please leave your experience or feedback in the comments section…

Disclaimer : Information provided in the article is based on my research and interaction with existing customers. Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation, please read the offer document before investing.

|In: Review|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

What would be widely selected option for the Poll Question – Which is the job category where the job security is Almost guaranteed ?. Without even looking for the Poll Options, you would have mentally decided that ‘Government Job’ is the most secure job option in India 🙂 Before the advent of the Private Organizations in India, there was natural inclination towards Govt Jobs since it was considered a matter of pride & prestige to secure a job in Government sector.

However, with the flurry of Private Companies, the enthusiasm among the youth to join government sector jobs drastically reduced. One of the main reasons was the lack of information about the jobs available in the sector [across various industries like Banking, Finance etc.] and rampant corruption in those jobs. But situation seems to have changed after the BJP Government came into power 2 years back, the main reason being many entrepreneurs [like Nandan Nilekani of Infosys fame, Amit Ranjan of Slideshare fame etc.] have played major role in the transformation of the government to ‘Digital Government’. Though Nandan Nilekani was from Congress, his legacy i.e. Aadhar or UIDAI is still playing a crucial role in life of every Indian. PPP [Public Private Partnership] is definitely making things more transparent and execution of government projects much faster !!!

Image Credit - Sarkari Naukri
Image Source* – Sarkari Naukri

There is awesome news for people seeking jobs in the government sector, over two Lakh posts are estimated to be created by the Central government in it’s various departments [Source* – ET] If you are an engineer planning to pursue UPSC, than this is the right time to switch to your dream career 🙂 You may ask, why are we discussing about Sarkari Jobs – One of my colleagues wanted to move to Government Job since he had interest in it but due to family pressure he landed in Engineering 🙁 While looking out for an appropriate job, we found that there is no dedicated source that lists latest govt jobs until we came across Sarkarijobmilegi. Sarkarijobmilegi.in provides latest Govt Jobs in various government sectors namely Bank Jobs, Teaching Jobs, Railways Jobs, Police Jobs, Defence Jobs, UPSC Jobs, SSC Jobs, Public Sector, PSC etc.

Since the site as well as the Android App was quite helpful to my ex-colleague, we decided to do a thorough review of Sarkarijobmilegi – One stop site for all your Sarkari Job requirements!!!

Sarkarijobmilegi : Niche vertical job website

Unlike other job sites that have jobs catering to numerous categories, Sarkarijobmilegi is a fresh breather since it’s target segment is pre-defined i.e. Only Govt job aspirants. This makes the user-interface also minimalist & less cluttered. Blog kind of interface makes navigation, search and performing other activities on the website very easy!

Sarkarijobmilegi : Government jobs listed across sectors

Whether you are a 10th pass-out or 12th pass-out and aspire to pursue government job that match your skills, this site has the answer. It tries to cover each and every category of government jobs. Be it job in any particular sector or job in any particular State etc, you would ideally find it on Sarkarijobmilegi.

Some important government sectors include Bank, Railway, SSC, UPSC, BHEL, Insurance, Medical, Media and they have it all covered. You can can also filter Latest Govt Jobs by State/Qualification/Job category etc which makes searching for the RIGHT sarkari job all the lot easier 🙂 For example: You can find all the Revenue Department jobs here

Sarkarijobmilegi : Differentiation via Hindi Videos

With the advent of 4G and the growing penetration of internet, it becomes very critical to capitalize on all the sources that can provide useful information to the user. In case of Sarkarijobmilegi, they use the medium of videos to dish out latest information on Government jobs via their YouTube channel

If you are a government job aspirant, you can subscribe to their channel [videos are in Hindi which also increases the overall reach] and get updates about the Latest Govt Jobs

Sarkarijobmilegi : Job Alerts on Mobile

As mentioned in the previous point, tapping every user-channel for better user conversion is very essential. Sarkarijobmilegi also have an Android App where you can view any of the Govt jobs at the click of a button. Their YouTube channel is  also embedded in the App so that you can get latest informative videos on Government jobs.

In case you do not want to miss out on any government job posted on Sarkarinaukrimilegi, you can subscribe to get Push Notifications for latest job posted every day. The great part about the Sarkari Naukri App is that it works even without the Internet which means it might occupy some more space in your device [for offline storage of data]. We tried the app on low-end & high-end Android phone(s) and did not observe any noticeable difference in the performance of the Sarkari Naukri App..

You can also join their Facebook group to connect and get necessary support from other job aspirants. If you aspire to get into government job and want to stay updated with the jobs, job related news etc. than do give Sarkarinaukrimilegi a spin !!!

If you have used Sarkarinaukrimilegi for landing to your dream #Sarkarinaukri than do leave your feedback in the comments section…

|In: Books|Last Updated: | 2 Comments

In the past, we have done many Book Reviews, thanks to the BlogAdda Book Review Program. Some of the past reviews are – Review : Best Seller she Wrote, Review : Business Sutra, Review : Shades of Life, Review: Ramayana – Game of Life and Review : Private India and we have thoroughly enjoyed reading those books 🙂 For readers who are not familiar with BlogAdda, it is a platform for bloggers to connect with each other, showcase their blogs and participate in interesting activities. The Adda has given writers various avenues to introduce their blogs to a large audience and interact with their readers [More here]. Today we review Six Degrees-Game of Blogs which is not a regular book but it is a piece of publishing history.

Six Degrees Game of Blogs : Collaboration meets Creativity

Six Degrees is a product of the first collaborative blogging effort in India. Yes, you read it right.. It is a novel that is co-authored by many writers [precisely bloggers :)] who are winners of the #CelebrateBlogging initiative by BlogAdda [that ran the first edition of Game Of Blogs in September 2014]. The objective was to write a fictional story revolving around five characters. Bloggers from across India came together as teams and after three rounds filled with it’s own set of twists & turns, three stories were adjudged winners by coveted panel of Judges.

Hence, Six Degrees is not an ordinary effort but the result of “Collaboration + Creativity” 🙂 The most fascinating thing about this book is that – Five characters are same and have the same characteristics in three stories narrated in the book.

Six Degrees Game of Blogs : Characters, Stories & more insights

As mentioned earlier, the book has three different stories with five characters (that remain same across stories). All the stories are set in Mumbai & Delhi. What we particularly liked about the book is that the language used in the stories is simple and authors (three teams of bloggers across India) have made a great effort to make the stories more engaging and keeping the readers hooked on to their seats !!

The Lead characters around which stories have been plotted are below:

  • Shekhar Dutta – A freelance writer and also a stay at home father
  • Tara Dutta – Wife of Shekhar and also a Media Professional
  • Roohi Duta – Their nine year old daughter. All the three stay as a close-knit family in Mumbai
  • Jennifer Joseph – Kochi based photographer
  • Cyrus Daruwala – Law student staying in Delhi

Three Stories that have been written by three different teams are below:

The Awakening

Team of bloggers who have worked on ‘The Awakening’ are the following-

Authors - The Awakening
Authors – The Awakening

The Awakening – Backdrop

The Awakening is about Tara Dutta, Shekhar Dutta and their nine year old daughter Roohi. They are a close knit family who stay in Mumbai. It is a science fiction story with interesting twists and turns. Thy are leading a normal life until the arrival of a surprise guest – Jennifer [Cyrus and Shekhar’s friend] after which their lives become topsy-turvy. Every day, there are new revelations and incidents that threaten to tear the happy family apart.

Just like a Hollywood sci-fi flick, you can visualize the scenes and the good part about the story is that the scenes change at a very rapid pace. This keeps the readers glued to the story. The graphical representations of the aliens and the powers they possess adds more Masala to the entire story.

Would the ‘Once upon a time- Happy Family’ succeed to find out who are the strangers that have entered their lives ? What is the secret that holds the key to their happiness ? Would they be able to defeat the super-powers and save our earth ? These are the answers that lie in ‘The Awakening’, read it to believe it 🙂

Entangled Lives

Team of bloggers who have worked on ‘Entangled Lives’ are the following-

Team - Entangled Lives
Team – Entangled Lives

Entangled Lives – Backdrop

In Entangled Lives, a small seemingly happy family is thrown into turmoil with the arrival of strangers in the house. Tara and Shekhar Dutta have similar job profiles. Cyrus is an illegitimate child of Shekhar Dutta. She studies Law. Jennifer Joseph is an over-ambitious wild-life photographer. It is an intriguing story about an out of work writer, a power-hungry media head, a wild life photographer, 9 year old child and MURDER. The mystery that needs to be solved is who has murdered the maid of the Dutta household.

There is no direct evidence to link the murder to the crime though there is an eye-witness that will help in solving the mystery. For me, it was an edge of the seat thriller and a complete page-turner. Just like a Bollywood flick, this story has all the ingredients to make a great story – Relationships, Lies, Secrets, Betrayal and Revenge. We won’t be surprised if some Bollywood Director expresses interest in making a feature film on this story 🙂

Missing – A Journey within

Team of bloggers who have worked on ‘Missing’ are the following-

Team - Missing
Team – Missing

Missing – Backdrop

As the title rightly suggests, this story is about a Missing person. Roohi, daughter of Shekhar Dutta goes missing from school. Roohi was accidentally clicked by Jennifer [photographer] when she was clicking pictures to complete her assignments. She recognizes Roohi since her parents have circulated her pictures on Social Media. So, who was Roohi last seen with ?

Missing traces the journey of love, hope, care and affection right into hatred, ego, prejudice and negativity. It beautifully etches the pain that a family has to go through since there is a fear of loosing Roohi forever. Just when hope to find Roohi starts to dwindle, journey takes a fascinating turn.

Would the family manage to find Roohi or they would loose her forever, Missing holds all the answers !!!

Six Degrees Game of Blogs : Closing Thoughts

The overall effort put by the BlogAdda team to identify and shortlist writers is commendable. Coming to the book, the stories are very captivating, we particularly liked ‘Entangled Lives’ though opinions might differ based on reader’s interest.

The thing which we really liked about the book is that same characters were given to all the teams and they came out with well-knit stories. If you like to read about different perspectives in life, love drama, suspense; than Six Degrees is the book for you 🙂

Final Verdict – 4/5

Where to buy the book

The book is available on Amazon [Affiliate link below].

Six Degrees-Game of Blogs definitely proves the point that each blogger is different, their views are different and the way they visualize things are different !!! We highly recommend BlogAdda to come up or plan with the next edition of #Celebrate Blogging so that more bloggers can embark their journey to become authors.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

|In: General|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

When there is a discussion about ‘Salaried Class’ in India, there is a clear classification made as to whether a salaried person belongs to the “Organized” or the “Unorganized” sector. This classification is done by the Government Of India. All public sector employees are in organised sector. Private sector establishments with more than 10 employees in non agricultural sector are classified as organised sector. The Private sector companies have to register sales tax, pay employee’s PPF etc. Everyone else is in un-organised informal sector. As per the data available on https://data.gov.in, in 2011 there were 28.9 million workers in organised sector out of a total labour force of 469 million. As per the report, though there is a dip in the organized work force vis-a-vis labour force has fallen since 1990’s; people who are in good jobs in private sector companies are making more money than ever before 🙂

With the rise of the upper and lower middle class; salaried class people developed higher aspirations like Planning a vacation abroad, Home improvement, Planning a grand wedding etc. The aspirations can sometimes be endless.. Most of the times these aspirations may not be fulfilled with the ‘Salary’ coming from their jobs and this is where Personal Loans act as a catalyst in managing your finances and helps in putting your plans into ‘tangible’ actions. Many of the NBFC’s [Non Banking Financial Companies] offer Personal Loan but either their interest rates are very high or you get stuck in endless paper work [which starts from account creation and never seems to end :(].

When one of my colleague’s who is falling in the ‘Premium category of the salary bracket’ was looking out for a ‘Exquisite Wedding’ [which was bit beyond his budget], he took a Wedding Loan from Bajaj Finserv Lending, one of the most diversified non-banks in the country. Yes, you read it right; Wedding loan :). Bajaj Finserv has launched online services to offer personal loan to premium salaried class professionals.

It sounded very interesting proposition and hence we decided to have a closer look at their offerings in the ‘crowded’ Loan sector. Let’s have a look at their overall offerings.

First Mover Advantage

Bajaj Finserv Lending is one of the first NBFC’s to offer ‘Specialized’ Personal Loan catering to the Premium salaried class professionals. This is where they have an upper edge over their competitors who are also looking to enter into the rising Personal Loan market. With Bajaj Finserv’s deep technical and financial expertise, they definitely have a huge first mover advantage over it’s competitors !!!

Whatever your need, BFL has a Loan

As discussed earlier, my colleague took Personal Loan to fulfill his wish to plan an exquisite wedding. Thanks to BFL he was able to realize his dream into reality. Bajaj Finserv offers Personal Loan for salaried class whether you are looking to fund your child’s education, home renovation, planning a grand vacation or planning a grand wedding (for self or family). Whatever, your Loan requirement, BFL has an answer to it.

No Running around.. Hassle Free

Unlike other NBFC’s & Banks that offer Personal Loan, BFL offers 100% end-to-end Personal Loan solutions. Yes, you read it right 🙂 You can apply for a loan online and before applying for the Loan, you can check the eligibility by going to their Eligibility Calculator so that you do not waste your precious time by applying for a loan only to come to know that you are not eligible (for the Personal Loan).

If that is not all, once you confirm your eligibility for the loan; you can apply for a Personal Loan in less than 5 minutes. Customers can avail loan from range of 1 Lakhs to 25 Lakhs (depending on various parameters).. The disbursal from the bank normally happens in less than 72 hours, which in our opinion is “pretty swift” !!! With this process, it ensures that the customer does not have to take the pain of filling lengthy forms and waiting for an executive to collect the documents. Just like e-commerce, customer can now enjoy the benefits of ‘Loan Commerce’ 🙂

Flexi Loans : Lower Interest Rates & more Benefits

BFL has come up with many industry first’s in the ‘Personal Loan’ category with Flexi Loan being one of them. As the name signifies, once a customer signs up for this facility; (s)he can save interest cost via pre-payment or by just having funds lying idle in your account. The main benefit of this facility is that there is no interest levied on the part-paid amount.

While availing any loan, Loan Pre-payment is an important question that comes up in any customer’s mind. Once the customer opts for Flexi Loan facility, they can pre-pay the loan with the idle funds that are lying in their account, that too at no additional cost !!! To top it all, customer can also save huge money on Interest Payment since Interest is only levied on the utilized loan amount (Pre-paid amount is out of the radar of interest).

With so many benefits, it is needless to even mention that you would have Online access to your account so that you can access it even when you are on-the-move 🙂

So, why wait for the right moment ? Whether you are planning for a grand vacation or an extravagant wedding; you have Bajaj Finserv Personal Loan at your rescue !!!

Time to realize your plans and turn your Dreams into Reality….

|In: Homify|Last Updated: | 3 Comments

Few weeks back, we had come up with an article on How zeroing on a good-home loan is a daunting task. Once you have shortlisted the Apartment, Loan Service provider; the next big task would be find an “Ideal interior decorator” 🙂 When we shifted to our new flat in Whitefield, we had recommended our interior decorator to couple of friends since he was reliable, easily accessible and most of all his work was more louder than his words !!! In fact, we always try to find people (who matter in our day to day needs) in the vicinity since ‘accessibility’ plays a very important role.

With the rise of the ‘marketplace model’, lot of startups have evolved that want to simplify your search for the right architects, interior decorators etc. Just like the marketplace model for e-commerce companies, these sites act as a bridge to make sure that your requirements are met. One of the latest entrants in this category is Berlin based Homify that was recommended by one of my colleague’s who was able to find good interior decorator for this house from Homify.

[Image Source* – Homify]

Homify : ‘Home Modify‘ simplified

Homify is a Berlin headquartered bootstrapped company [founded in 2013] that is present in 15 countries namely Germany, Italy, UK, France, Spain, Portugal and it is recently launched in Brasil, India, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore and Turkey. It is a collaborative platform that has been created by professionals from various fields like architecture, engineering, interior decoration etc and aims to simplify the search for interior design & engineering related needs. Homify (portmanteau of the words Home & Modify ) true to it’s name wants to simplify the ‘herculean task’ of interior decoration easier with the help of professionals signed up on their platform.

[Image Credit* – Studio MK27 on Homify]

Homify : For customers

From idea to final product, they connect creative professionals in the field of interior decoration with apartment owners so that they can hire the right people for cultivating their ‘Dream Home’ into ‘Reality’ 🙂 Being a Collaborative Platform, artists present on their platform can also learn from each other, thus Homify also acts as a Catalyst in their careers 🙂

Homify : For Users & Professionals

Homify is a free platform for creative professionals who can register free of charge and present their work by uploading their portfolio on Homify. Similar to ‘Seller’s on e-commerce sites who are new to the online-medium but still want to taste the waters, ‘Experienced Architects’ who are new to online medium can expand their customer base via Homify which would have otherwise been difficult in the offline-format !!

Every personal user who is present on Homify can review the work of professionals (based on their uploaded work) who are present on the platform before they are even hired. This transparent review format ensures that professionals on Homify are able to serve their existing customers in the best-possible way since that increases their chances of attracting potential customers.

[Image Credit* – Studio MK27 on Homify]

Users can collect the work of different professionals in the form of an ‘Ideabooks’ and can ask direct questions to professionals about their work. The overall concept of an ‘Ideabook’ is intriguing since smaller (but lesser known) architects can showcase their impressive work on Homify and set-up their website for free !!! It would have even better if it could have been presented in a 3D styled format (just like a ‘Portfolio Book’ which we are addicted to see when we visit any new architect).

Homify : What we liked & Improvement Areas

As mentioned in the beginning of the review, when we had to search for an architect for my flat; we looked for someone in the vicinity.

One stop-shop for your architecture related needs : Homify solves this pain-point in a very effective manner since it brings ‘architects, interior decorators, home buyers etc. and customers under one umbrella. However, it would have been much better if the ‘Exact location and Approximate distance‘ (between the concerned parties) could have been listed in the form of Map i.e. adding a Hyper-local angle to fix apartment owner’s architecture woes.

The Commercial market segment : With the rise of B2B startups (in Real Estate sector), it becomes critical to serve that market segment. Along with retail customers (normal home buyers), Homify serves the ‘Commercial Customer’ segment; a segment that can no longer be ignored !!!

Pleasant UX : Being a blogger & avid-reader, I am very comfortable with websites that follow magazine-styled formats 🙂 Homify also has a blog style format of it’s home-page which makes navigating & fetching required

Discussions : As getting the right architect/interior decorator is a common problem, it becomes critical that users on the platform get engaged in a discussion. The ‘Discussions’ section ensures that customers get right tips/feedback from other users/professionals present on Homify and the best part of the discussion is that the comments are not moderated & you are even free to share your email-id with the initiator of the discussion !!!

So, what are you waiting for ? If you have found your dream home than leave the rest to Homify which can connect you with Design experts who can turn your ‘Dream Home’ into ‘Real Home’ 🙂

If you have given Homify a spin, please leave your feedback/experience in the comments section…

|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Few weeks back, we received the Swipe Elite Note, the latest in the Note series from Pune based Swipe Telecom & the journey of it’s usage has been great so far. Swipe Elite Note was launched on 26th April,2016 and it promises to be a bigger, bolder and better smartphone that provides a great experience without making a dent on pockets. Elite Note boasts of superior design, premium build quality and powerful hardware at a disruptive price point.

Today we have a detailed review of the Swipe Elite Note, so let’s get started…

Swipe Elite Note : Overview

Swipe Elite Note is a Android [5.1] Lollipop based smart-phone that runs on the Freedom OS [modified version of Android]. Freedom OS offers an extremely personalized experience. The device sports a 5.5 inches HD screen with pixel resolution of 720*1280. The screen density is 320 dpi.

Specifications*

Display : 5.5-inch HD [720*1280] display, 320 dpi
OS : Android 5.1 Lollipop with Freedom OS
CPU : 1.3 GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6735 SoC, 3 GB RAM
Storage : 32 GB storage [expandable upto 32 GB]
Cameras : 13 MP Rear Camera with f1/3.2 aperture with flash + 5 MP Front Camera f/2.0 aperture
Connectivity : Wi-Fi, 3G/4G/2G, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, USB OTG
Battery : 3,000 mAh
Dimensions : 77.1*154*8.4 mm
Weight : 194 grams

The Swipe Elite Note is available exclusively on Flipkart (Affiliate Link) and the 16 GB version costs Rs 7,999.

Swipe Elite Note : Design

The Swipe Elite Note has a sleek 8.4 mm body that is crafted from magnesium alloy. Elite Note has premium appeal as it has the finest Sandstone Back cover that ensures a comfortable touch in hands [with Matte Gold Frame]. The processor on the device is based on the 28 nm technology. The phone weighs a bit on the heavier side [194 grams] but it is still looks comfortable to hold in one hand [and perform day to day activities like browsing, watching videos etc.]

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Swipe Elite Note fits easily in your hands and since it’s back is not slippery so there are less chances of the phone slipping out of your hands. Overall, the Swipe Elite Note looks very elegant from a design point of view.

Swipe Elite Note : Memory

As discussed earlier, the device comes with a 3 GB RAM and 16 GB ROM. Swipe Elite Note comes with a micro-SD card slot and the maximum expandable memory is 32 GB. The Freedom OS looks very breezy and there was no lag observed while using the phone. Out of the box, the available user memory is 11.35 GB. With enhanced processing power, an Elite Note user can enjoy apps and games to their full potential.

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By default, the phone comes with Swipe’s proprietary launcher called the ‘Swipe Launcher’. The launcher is very similar to the Nova Launcher or the Google Launcher and hence there is no learning curve involved in getting used to the features of the Launcher.

Swipe Elite Note : Display

Swipe Elite Note sports a 5.5-inch HD IPS (720*1280) display with pixel density of 320 dpi along with Dragon trail Protection. The display is equipped with ‘MiraVision Tuning features‘ which is a set of engines to enhance the display picture quality. This interface allows for interactive tuning with real-time quality feedback, making it easy for users to tailor the picture quality based on their needs.

There are three picture modes – User Mode, Standard Mode & Vivid Mode. User Mode is for power users where you can do Basic Color Tuning [Contrast, Saturation & Change picture brightness], Advanced Tuning [Sharpness & Adjust colors according to temperature].

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It comes with 2.5D Arc Touch Screen that supports Vi-Di technology that brings a brighter, bolder, bigger world right in front of your eyes. Performing daily activities like reading e-mails, news etc. is a real pleasure on the Elite Note due to it’s excellent display quality. The viewing angles are very good [and so is the sound quality of the speakers] thus making it an ideal device for users who use their phones for watching videos, reading etc.

A visually-stunning, incredibly tough Dragon trail Glass – a lightweight, flexible and scratch-resistant glass with extraordinary strength – comes as a protective cover glass for the very stylish Elite Note, which not only enhances the phone’s style quotient, but also offers exceptional resistance to scratches and bumps of everyday use.

Swipe Elite Note : Camera

Swipe Elite Note comes with a 13 MP Rear Camera [with f1/3.2 aperture with flash] and 5 MP Front Camera with 2.0 aperture. The camera does not have in-built Image Stabilization. The camera is equipped with features like Auto Focus, Continuous Shot, Smile Shot & Face Detection.

The camera is a Sony Camera which is excellent at this particular price point. The shots from the rear camera are of decent picture quality [very much comparable with shots taken from Mi4i, Lenovo K3 Note]. During the camera testing, we did find some lag while taking continuous shots.

Some of the sample images are below:

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Swipe Elite Note – Battery

Swipe Elite Note is packed with massive 3,000 mAh battery unit that makes it possible for the smartphone to easily last a full day’s usage. The device managed to last around 16 ~ 18 Hrs [on full charge] while using WiFi-3G and doing activities like Emailing, Reading etc.

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However, we did observe that the device gets over-heated [with very heavy usage like WiFi, 3G, Video Playback etc.], after which we get pop-ups to shut-down the device in order for the battery to ‘Cool Down’ !! The average temperature of the device [with Display brightness 100%] and kept in Idle state was always around 41 degrees which seems on the higher side.

Swipe Elite Note – Software

The Swipe Elite Note runs on the Freedom OS [customized version of Android] though there are traces of stock Android. The launcher used on the device is the Swipe Launcher which used to show some lags when there are apps running in the background.

There are handful number of pre-installed apps on the phone – Flipkart, Bobble, DailyHunt, Magzter. On installation of Gmail, we could observe that the ‘Label Colors’ are not visible which looked very strange which was strange and it might not go-well with power Gmail users !!

The snapshot of Gmail on Swipe Elite Note and Samsung Galaxy Note are below:

Gmail on Swipe Elite Note – Labels not colored
Gmail on Galaxy Note

Though the phone comes with Swipe Launcher, we are sure that users would switch to their favourite launchers like Nova Launcher, Google Launcher etc. as there would not be any learning curve involved. On the review device, we switched to Nova Launcher and multi-tasking became very easy [and there were less lags involved]. Overall, the device scored high on performance. The AnTuTu benchmark score of the device was 24073 [snapshot below]

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Swipe Elite Note – Connectivity

The Swipe Elite Note comes with Dual-SIM 4G LTE support. It has WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and has in-built IR Blaster. We tested the IR blaster by using the in-built app Z-Remote on LG TV and worked like a charm 🙂 It supports all kinds of TV. The IR sensor gives a user complete and overall control for multiple electronic appliances like Air-conditioner, Television, Set-Top boxes etc The USB port on the device is OTG complaint which means it can act as a Host and can be used to charge other devices.

The device comes with Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, G-Sensor. It also has the HALL sensor [or the proximity sensor]. We were able to use the device for 12~14 hours while on 3G with stable network conditions. There were no call-drops observed when 3G Data was ON while the calls are active [which made 3G much more usable].

Swipe Elite Note – Verdict

Vibrant display quality, decent camera unit and great battery backup makes Swipe Elite Note a good buy at Rs. 7,999. Given that the device comes with micro-SD card slot [expandable upto 32 GB] ensures that the user is left with more internal memory 🙂

As discussed earlier, after disabling Swipe Launcher, Force Closing some in-built apps; performance of the Swipe Elite Note was even better !! If Swipe is able to woo users with good after-sales service, than chances of Swipe Elite Note clicking with users [in sub 10K range] is even higher.

We did receive a Wireless Update couple of days back that indicates that Swipe is taking effort to make experience better for existing users of Swipe Elite Note. If you are planning to go for a 4G phone with excellent battery backup & great display, we definitely recommend Swipe Elite Note.

Barring aside couple of minor issues, Swipe Elite Note is definitely worth a buy !!!

Source* – 1