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|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Mobile penetration is increased by a huge margin in India and one of the factors that is driving this change is the “competitive data rates”. In fact, gone are the days when consumers used to send SMS’es; the entire SMS platform has been more or less replaced by OTT services like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber etc. With the PC market shrinking, consumers are preferring tablets over PC’s due to the portability factor 🙂

Airtel-4G-Logo

Portable computer tablets are beneficial for both business people and gadget fans alike because they offer both easy access to emails and word processing programmes, plus they are equipped for gaming and listening to music on. Busy work people can reply to emails, edit word documents or even host online calls, which makes dealing with work issues convenient and accessible at any time.

With the growing penetration of internet in India, many consumers are using the tablet not only for consuming internet content but also using the Calling Tablets which is definitely an add-on while using the tablet. Users craving for faster network can now breath a sigh of relief with the launch of Airtel’s 4G services.

Benefits of switching to Airtel 4G

Airtel,as a network provider has tried to maintain it’s upper hand by combing it’s network services with Wynk Music etc.

  • After rolling out 4G trials in many cities, Airtel 4G will be commercially available in 296 towns. However, a question that comes to mind is 4G rates would be much higher as compared to 3G rates, right ? In fact, Airtel is claiming that all it’s customers can now enjoy 4G speeds at 3G cost 🙂
  • They are also providing upgrades to their existing customers where they can move to 4G. Airtel’s home-grown music service Wynk would now be carrier agnostic mobile app ‘Wynk Movies’ that offers a library of thousands of movies and other popular videos. The company also announced that Samsung stores will educate customers on Airtel 4G and facilitate SIM swaps.

Airtel_Plans

In order to check if your device is 4G compatible, please visit the following link. Airtel has announced that Samsung stores would educate it’s customers about the 4G & SIM Swaps. With every SIM swap, Airtel customers can enjoy six months of unlimited music streaming & downloads on Wynk Music and five movies per month on Eros Now channel on Wynk Movies.

Sit back, enjoy the latest Airtel 4G advertisement

If your phone is 4G compatible, than time is now… to switch to Airtel, the Smartphone Network !!!

[Image Credit* – MobiGyaan]

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Wegilant, a pioneer in the mobile app security space has raised USD 500,000 from existing investors in a pre-series A round. The investors include Ravi Gururaj – Chair NASSCOM Product Council, Gaurav Sharma – Director Yahoo Inc., Viswanath Ramachandran – Ex-Gupshup CTO, SINE-IIT Bombay Business Incubator, RippleWave & a strategic investor [a large global IT Security company].

The flagship product of Wegilant is Appvigil, which is a Mobile Reputation Protection Suite for Enterprises. Appvigil is based on global patent-pending technologies. Appvigil looks for security vulnerabilities and loopholes in mobile apps.

In layman terms, it helps identify whether a mobile app is hack-able or not. Organisations involved in the development of mobile apps such app development  agencies, startups, product enterprises etc. can integrate Appvigil in the development life-cycle of the app to resolve all   security issues in the development phase itself. Mobile phone users can install “Appvigil free app” to check hack-ability of the mobile apps in their phones and report to the developer in case any loopholes exist.

Wegilant

Appvigil can also be integrated into Software Development Life Cycle [SDLC]. It provides unattended static & dynamic analysis for security loopholes and is highly cost effective and scalable, making it capable of catering to the needs of an individual developer, mid-size & large-size development teams and companies seeking BYOD solutions.

Founded in 2011 by Toshendra Sharma while he was a first year masters student in CSE department, IIT Bombay, the company got incubated in Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay, in Aug’2014. Wegilant has also been nominated in the top 10 of Emerge 50 Award 2014- an award given by NASSCOM.

Toshendra Sharma, CEO, Wegilant said

The funds will be used towards technology expansion, research and development and customer acquisition. Previously, we were offering app security solutions in the Android environment only and now as a natural business extension, are expanding to iOS & Windows operating systems as well.

Mobile security is a global issue and our mission is to become a de-facto standard in this space. We would be carrying out the global sales operations from India itself. There is a more focused effort to constantly evolve the product in the light of new innovations in the mobile security market and black hats market. Apart from Appvigil, our flagship product, the company is developing new security products too. We intend to build a globally admired company by solving customer problems.

Ravi Gururaj, Chair NASSCOM Product Council added

Water tight security of your mobile device is no longer a luxury, it is an absolute necessity. News of security beaches are regular events which I expect will increase in frequency and severity. Every major brand has a customer facing mobile experience which they now need to ensure is secure for all their stakeholders. Wegilant addresses this critical growing market need with very innovative and robust products. The Wegilant team exhibits winning combination of domain thought leadership and entrepreneurial passion.

The company lately underwent a major re-branding exercise in effort to position itself as a thought leader in the mobile security industry. The company has also set up an office in Gurgaon [Delhi NCR] apart from Mumbai to accelerate business expansion. Wegilant also intends to set up offices across other major cities in India. The company has also doubled its team strength from 11 to 22 employees and is on a hiring spree.

About Wegilant

Wegilant is a global mobile app security company based in India. Founded in 2011 and incubated at the renowned Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay, in 2014, Wegilant today provides cloud based mobile security solutions. . Appvigil, the company’s cloud based flagship product accessible through three different platforms checks for security vulnerabilities and loopholes in android apps. Appvigil is highly cost effective and scalable, making it capable of catering to the needs of an individual developer, mid-size & large-size development teams and companies seeking BYOD solutions. Wegilant was also nominated in the top 10 of Emerge 50 Award 2014- an award given by NASSCOM.

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

V-Star Labs has unveiled Cityscape, a new way of exploring our neighborhood & changing the way we connect with our locals. The app enables people to report, alert & raise local awareness by following and connecting with their local area and other locals. With features to share pictures, check-ins, selfies and fun content with those around as well as share and consume local news and events from the local community, the app helps users engage with their locals.

Cityscape

The mission is to inform and delight users by helping them stay connected with their local area of choice and other locals to stay up-to date on current and important matters. Updates can be shared by anyone using the app and the Cityscape app automatically shows users just the ones from their local area of choice.

Commenting on the same, Vishal Shah, Founder- V-Star Labs said

Cityscape is a simple to use secure local social platform for people with a strong social attitude, to stay connected with their neighborhood, however small or big. We are extremely excited and look forward to adding more updates to the app, which is available exclusively on the Android Play Store and believe it will be well-received by everyone.

Cityscape was designed keeping ease of use and security in mind. It is one of the easiest to use amongst existing local social networks. It does not require the users email, actual address, or Facebook / Twitter account access. While a phone number is not required to use the app, it is necessary for verification to avoid spam and abuse.

Users can choose to remain anonymous with Cityscape and it does not share personal data. Cityscape also has additional features like local classifieds & discussion forums available to discuss matters that people care about, with other locals, easily and effortlessly.

The app was launched on the Android platform, it will soon be followed by iOS & Windows in the future. Currently users will be able to select one neighborhood, though in future versions, it will be expanded to 3 -for example around their home, work and another place of interest. 

Cityscape is available exclusively in India, with plans to be launched globally in the near future.

About V-Star Labs

V-Star Labs is founded and bootstrapped by Vishal (V) Shah, an entrepreneur with years of experience in the Silicon Valley & education degrees from both India and the United States. The primary mission of V-Star Labs is to connect users by building innovative social technologies and platforms for our day-to-day problems that are useful, yet simple, creative and beautiful. For more details please visit Cityscape

Cityscape for Android can be downloaded from here

[Image Credit* – Cityscape]

|In: Gaming|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Kids of the 90’s [surely many can co-relate to this :)], we used to enjoy doing lot of activities i.e. playing outdoor games like cricket, volleyball etc., playing marbles etc. One activity that used to come to the rescue when weather was bad was “Cards”. But with the advent of technology & growing use of internet, card games have also taken the “online route” 🙂 One of the card games that has made a special place in our hearts is definitely The Indian Rummy

Rummy is not only a Card game but it is a ‘Mind Game’ !! It is more about Time Management, Flexing your mind muscles, Rational Thinking and above all FUN 🙂

Mobile era has arrived with ‘Mobile Rummy’

If you are a Rummy Player & have enjoyed playing Rummy online, than this update is the one which you might be eagerly waiting for 🙂 Your favourite game of Indian Rummy Game on Rummy Circle is now available for your Android mobile phones and tablets for a faster & smoother rummy experience. This app ensures that you can play Rummy On-The-Go & we are sure that you would have a “Delightful” experience.

We are sure that you have pulled your Android Phone to download the Rummy Circle App & you won’t have to wait any longer ….

How to get Rummy Circle App for Android

Missed Call – Give a missed call on 08080894422 & you would receive a download link via SMS. Downloading the app is the simplest task you can have in your life 🙂

Downloading the apk – Click on this link from your mobile handsets & follow the same process above.

QR Code – Scan the QR code from your mobile phone to start the download

RummyCircle_App_QR_Code

We are sure that you were able to download your favorite Rummy App on your Android Phone & it definitely sticks to it’s mantra – “Provide a Seamless Rummy experience On-The-Go” !!

If you are novice to the game of Rummy, you can refer Rummy Rules & a guide on Learn How To Play Rummy

Review – Rummy Circle on Android

Login / Sign-up

As soon as you open the app, you would be prompted to Login [in case you already have an account] or you need to sign-up with Rummy Circle. For the review, we performed the sign-up using the Android App & it was breezy.

Varied levels of game

If you new to Rummy or not a “Pro” in the game, than you have an option to opt for any of the available levels of the game i.e. Cash Games, Tournaments or Practice. For Cash Games & Tournaments, you need to deposit money in your Rummy Account. We played a Practice game & the experience was very good.

You can definitely hone your Rummy skills with the “Practice” games 🙂 Get your hands dirty with the game & than move to the Cash Games or Tournaments

Screenshot_2015-08-02-15-39-15

Competing with players from across India

As seen in the snapshot above, at the bottom of the screen you will have the “Online Player Count” & when we tested the app, there were totally 7K+ Rummy players online. Doesn’t it sound challenging !! Unlike other apps which are mostly “Single Player Games” [& the second player is a machine], this app is “Multi-Player” in every sense.

You can choose with whom you want to compete for the game – Freedom in truest sense 🙂

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Impressive UX

Rummy Circle app only works in Landscape mode & this is what makes playing Rummy on mobile screen easy [Remember, real estate on mobile screen is very less & UX plays a pivotal role in it]. The overall design & UX of the game is very good. We never encountered any issues in the game. There is a single-row card lay out for easy navigation.

Screenshot_2015-08-02-15-52-58

Stay up-to-date with latest offers

In today’s world, mobile has become a core necessity [When was the last time, you left your house without your cell phone :)]. With Rummy Circle on mobile, you will never miss an opportunity i.e. new tournaments, special offers, weekend loots etc.

Rummy Circle has ensured that it’s users have FUN playing Rummy but also make some real hard CASH 🙂

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If you are on iOS or Windows or any other platform, you can still enjoy Rummy on their Rummy Circle’s mobile website. We are sure that app’s for these platforms would be out, sooner than later !!

So what are you waiting for, pull your phone out of your pocket & download Rummy Circle to have ‘FUN & Make real Cash’ 🙂

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

Helpchat, a chat-based personal assistant app that helps you get more things done announces the appointment of Deena Jacob as its Chief Financial Officer. A chartered accountant with 14 years of rich experience, Deena brings the relevant expertise to steer Helpchat as it enters into a new phase of growth and development.

Speaking on her appointment, Ankur Singla, Founder and CEO, Helpchat said

We are thrilled to have Deena on board. She has a lot of experience in managing finance and for start-ups, and shares our vision for Helpchat. Adding Deena to the executive leadership team as chief financial officer is sure to set the company ahead to deliver the future of messaging. Her experience at TFS, especially running a multi-city 80 people finance team, would come in handy for Helpchat.

Deena Jacob, newly appointed CFO for Helpchat said

I am excited to join the talented, ambitious and vibrant team at Helpchat, who are driven by a passion to bring in true disruption in the way things get done in India. I see immense potential in the goal of Helpchat, to help people get things done faster, in a world where an individual has a plethora of options but is constrained by time availability. I am impressed by the team’s achievements in the past, and I look forward to playing my part, as the company moves into its next stage of evolution.

In her earlier stint, Deena has led Finance at TaxiForSure and Zansaar. Her experience in designing and setting systems that are nimble and efficient at each stage, building high performing teams and handling compliance and regulatory issues of new business models are some of the key assets that she brings with herself. She also has immense knowledge gained through funding rounds which will prove to be highly valuable at Helpchat.

About Helpchat

Helpchat is a chat-based personal assistant app that helps people to get more things done. Previously known as Akosha, Helpchat goes a step further by being a true power tool in the hands of consumers. It amplifies their ability to get things done easily with its brand promise: “Do more by doing less”.

Be it anything, from recharging your phone to tech support, travel booking to holiday guidance, grocery to food ordering, shopping assistance to finding deals and coupons, web check-in to getting your laundry done, Helpchat can get all of this done over chat. In a world where one’s ability to do more things finally defines success, Helpchat can be every smart consumer’s little trump card.

|In: Elearning|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Simplilearn, the largest destination for online training and professional certification courses, announces the launch of 45 new training courses in design and multimedia.  With the entry into a new domain, Simplilearn provides training in design and multimedia through short term online self-learning modules to aspiring professionals and students who wish to gain thorough expertise in creative graphics, animations and rich multimedia content and progress in their careers.

By enabling professionals to upgrade themselves with the latest industry skills, Simplilearn is scaling towards being the go-to career partner for professionals across industries.

Simplilearn_Logo

The new courses are priced from INR 1999 and help individuals enhance their skills and stay ahead in the highly competitive creative industry. Learners will benefit from over 340 hours of high quality e-learning content, downloadable work files and course completion certificates.

Commenting on the launch of the new courses, Ankur Arora, Category Head at Simplilearn said

The digital phenomenon has catapulted graphic design and multimedia to a whole new level; the result of which can be seen in gaming, education, marketing, telecommunications, advertising, print and electronic industries.Creative Industries contribute 4.7 Million jobs to the US economy alone. It is essential for creative professionals to be skilled with latest software and technologies in the rapidly changing creative market.

The design and multimedia certification training from Simplilearn emphasizes on design and creative liberty while providing intensive technical training that will enable professionals to become the ‘go-to expert’ in their domains.

Professionals can choose from an array of software training that includes Aperture 3, select Adobe Premiere CC, Lightroom 5, Autodesk 3ds Max 2013, Maya 2013, Sony Vegas PRO 12, Maxon Cinema 4D & Avid Media Composer 6 to name a few.  Aspiring graphic designers, animators, photo, video editors and anyone who is looking to build a creative career can benefit from these online training’s.

About Simplilearn

Simplilearn is a leading provider of certification courses that addresses the unique learning needs of working professionals. Having trained over 4,00,000 professionals worldwide,  Simplilearn provides unmatched customer experience, which handholds a customer – right from enrolling into an online course to getting Industry-recognized certificate in hand. Simplilearn has also diversified into vendor certification like those from Microsoft, Cisco, and Salesforce. For more information, visit www.simplilearn.com 

 

|In: MakeInIndia|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

MakeInIndia

Mr. Sudhir Hasija & Mr. Pradeep Jain, Promoters of Karbonn Mobiles have partnered with Water World Co. to launch Million Club Manufacturing [MCM] in Noida. Aligned with the ‘Make in India’ campaign to boost local manufacturing, the plant is set up with the objective to fulfill the mobile manufacturing needs of companies domestically and internationally. The initial investment made to set up the unit is INR 50 crores; and INR 100 crores will be invested in the next stage of development.

Spread across 1,50,000 square feet, the manufacturing unit employees close to  2,000 technicians & has the capability to produce 1.5 million phones per month.

WW3

The unit was inaugurated today and Dr Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretory, Department of Electronics and Information Technology [DeitY] & Mr. Pankaj Mohindru – National President, Indian Cellular Association were present at the inauguration ceremony.

Speaking at the occassion, Mr. Sudhir Hasija, Director, MCM  said

India is one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets, and device makers are keen on setting up manufacturing units here to cater to the flourishing demand. The manufacturing unit will be a great opportunity to mobile companies to start local production. As part of the plan, the manufacturing unit will have a capacity to produce 1.5 million phones per month. We are looking to scale up to 3 million phones per month in one year.

Michael Qui, G.M. Operations, MCM said

This is great news for domestic as well as global mobile phone makers who are aggressively pushing their businesses in India. This manufacturing unit is a state of the art facility and is a testimony to the efforts being made by mobile phone makers, ensuring the ‘Make in India’ initiative is a huge success.

About Water World

Water World Technology Co. Ltd. – is a leading mobile phone designer, manufacturer and supplier in the global market. Water World has full product lines including WCDMA, CDMA, GSM and EVDO terminals, and also provide total solutions and service to global customers, such as ID/MD, HW/SW design, PCBA manufacturing, Testing and QA.

Water World has strategic tie-up with international chipset suppliers such as MTK, Qualcomm, Spreadtrum and takes ”innovation” as its core value of company culture. It has in-house R&D capability covering chipset-base software and hardware development, ID & mechanical design, quality control and production management. It has R&D center in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Xiamen and Beijing. For more information, please visit Water World

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

Arena Animation, the leader in the domain of training institutes in Animation & VFX, is collaborating with premier real estate portal Housing.com’s in-house design architectural design studio – AATIK, to help fulfill the latter’s recruitment requirement of high quality Architectural Visualization Artists.

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Despite the dearth of visualization artists, Housing.com only wanted the best performers to be recruited and thus teamed up with Arena Animation that has proudly churned out professionals such as architectural visualization artists amongst others in various industries. The tie-up resulted in a pan-India competition that was organized amongst the Arena students wherein they were asked to create animated content in various categories such as- Perspective views, Animation and Animated characters. The winner in each category was awarded an opportunity for employment in the realty company.

Easso Thampy, Business Head for Arena Animation said

This pan-India competition is an excellent platform to showcase the talent of our students. Working for ATTIK is an incredible opportunity to continue developing skills while working on interesting and innovative projects. We’re happy that we can provide this chance for our best artists to compete for these positions, and proud that our students are recognized as being among the best talents in the country.

ATTIK’s Senior Creative Director, Lenny Schutz, said

The commitment to seeking out and hiring only the best talent is what has made the studio so great so quickly. “We never compromise on quality. Our team has grown from one to fifty, but we only hire if we believe the candidate is truly an amazing artist. Housing works with all of India’s best developers, and we don’t provide them with anything less than the best. Through partnerships with world leaders like V-Ray Pioneer & the Chaos Group, we train our team with all of the latest technology. We know that students of Arena Animation are talented and dedicated, and will be valuable members of the ATTIK team.

Competitions & tie-ups like this prove that companies these days are only looking to employ the best in all sectors. The competitiveness has certainly increased as students find themselves in the job hunt from an early stage in their training.

Subsequently it also proves that animation has become a very important skill to know and can add an invaluable significance to a prospective employee. Animation finds use in practically every segment of the market. A student with a good working knowledge of animation will be chosen above one that does not possess this skill. With the onset of digitization, employees face the danger of redundancy without skills that will help the company grow. The collaboration will re-establish the career prospects that animation has in store for a professional and will prove once again that animation is an exciting and promising career option in today’s day and age.

About Arena Animation

Arena Animation is a Pioneer, Trendsetter and Global Leader in Animation education. Arena has an extensive network of centers & has trained over 4,00,000 students globally since its inception in 1996.

Arena offers industry relevant courses on Animation & Multimedia to students aspiring for global careers in this New Age industry. It trains students as well as professionals in the latest industry relevant courses backed by alliances with world leaders, a world-class faculty and the latest technical educational tools.

For more information, please refer Arena Multimedia.

Fore more information on ATTIK, please visit ATTIK@Housing

[Image Credit* – TechStory]