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Developers offered Free Blackberry Playbook to convert Android Apps to BB apps!

Arun Prabhudesai — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:47:27 +0000

Here is a golden chance for Indian mobile developers to lap up a shiny new 16 GB BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet. We are slightly late in reporting this as there are only 4 more days to go, but I guess it is still worth all the effort!

Alec Saunders, Blackberry’s Vice President of Developer Relations made the announcement about this initiative a few days back on Twitter.

To qualify, developers have to simply repackage an Android APK into a PlayBook BAR (Blackberry App) and submit it to Blackberry App world. The submission of the repackaged app should be done by February 13th for it to be eligible for the offer. Also, applications need to meet the standard BlackBerry App World Vendor Guidelines. Its that simple!

Some important things that developers will have to keep in mind:

Developers will have to remove all mention of the word Android from their app, in the application description and in the app itself, before submitting your app to BlackBerry App World
Developers will Remove all links to the Android Market from within the submitted app.
The app should be built with minimum of OS 2.0 compatibility.
Ensure your app is signed. Learn about code signing.

Check out the FAQS, Terms & conditions and other details about “Free BlackBerry PlayBook 2012 offer!”

8 Awesome Tools for Marketers!

guest — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:11:00 +0000

Modern marketers can be easily compared to superheroes. The job that used to boil down to a simple exchange of goods for money somewhere at a fairground several hundred years ago has become a genuine art. Nowadays it involves creativity, good command of at least one foreign language, ability to analyze the tendencies of the market, keep track of the latest updates and many other skills. However, the purpose of this post is not to complain on or boast about the job I’m personally doing.

My initial idea was to take a look at some of the tools that help marketers around the world to do their job properly and efficiently. Some of the services mentioned below already enjoy world-wide popularity some of them are less known, some are free and some are not. The only thing they have in common is that they all can be equally useful and make our job a little easier.

Link Monitoring – Opensiteexplorer

This tool can be described as a search engine for links. It enables you to analyze the links pointing to your website. You may compare them to the ones that are linking to your competitors. Opesiteexplorer will help you to search for broken links in order to fix them and improve your website’s google authority. The service is available for free.

Purchase the Pro Version to get some additional features like information about the popularity of your website in social media (the amount of shares, likes, tweets) for $99 a month with a 30-day free trial.

Blog Monitoring – Google Alerts

Technically, I could’ve left this field blank as Google Alerts became an indispensable tool for any marketer a long time ago and most of us are already familiar with this service. For those who are not, I will mention what it is used for. It is a notification service, that allows you to receive automatic emails with the latest updates on the topic of your choice.

You may alter the frequency of the notifications as well as the type of alerts you want to get depending on the search field you are interested in e.g. Google News Search or Google Blog Search. This tool can keep you up-to-date on any issue doing the googling job for you, thus saving you much time and effort. The most pleasant thing is that it is absolutely free.

Social Media Monitoring – Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is a real time service that helps you to stay in touch with all your contacts in social networks like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and google buzz using one window. The most basic features enable you to keep track of friends, mentions and worldwide trends in social media.

The best part is you won’t have to sign in and out for every network you are using – everything is joined in one account. This is a vital tool for a marketer who wants to know everything about the social media buzz around any product. The application is available for desktop, IOS as well as android devices for free.

Public Opinion Monitoring – Surveymonkey

Definitely one of the most popular online survey tools. You may choose between different templates of surveys, types of questions and possible answers. Customize your surveys the way you want to – from adding your company’s logo to change of the color scheme and language. Unlike other survey tools, Surveymonkey allows you to analyze data using charts, graphs and filters and download it into a suitable format (Excel or PDF).

The basic free plan limits you to 10 questions and 100 responses per survey, but you can always upgrade to a monthly or a yearly plan to get more features like custom survey design or SPSS integration.

Business Process Management – TeamLab

TeamLab has several modules to enhance internal business cooperation. Try to manage your projects by assigning tasks to your team members and setting milestones. Their accomplishment can be controlled using time tracking, discussions and reports. With editing, sharing and version control options available you may optimize document processing.

Now you have an ability to write, edit and approve your articles on the spot. Conducting polls to figure out what brand logo to use or which product motto to choose might also come in handy. The program is available for free, but you may purchase the premium version to enlarge file storage space.

Mind mapping – Freemind

The program can help you in many ways which makes it an irreplaceable tool for work. Create project workplace, brainstorming platform, knowledge database – anything that used to be jotted down on a piece of paper (and was probably lost among piles of documentation) can now be stored in one place on your PC. You can link to web pages as well as directories and files on your hard drive straight from the program. The developers of the service are very proud of the folding feature that enables you to create an organic mind-map structure and not to get lost in the information heap. The program is free.

Web Conferencing – Readytalk

If you are looking for a multi functional conferencing tool, Readytalk might turn out to be one of the most attractive options available. Web and audio conferencing, webinars with expert support are combined in this application. Easy webinar scheduling, automated event reminders, custom registration forms, promotion of events on facebook or twitter make this tool stand out. Flexible pricing can satisfy everyone: those who conduct conferences on a regular basis as well as those who just want to use it occasionally.

Presentation tool – Animoto

Animoto makes it possible for you to design video slide shows using your images. You may import your pictures directly from facebook, flickr, picasa etc. Once you are done with editing share your media with the world via Facebook, Myspace, Youtube or email. If you are looking for a fast way to create an eye-catching video presentation without burning the midnight oil, you may use the cinematic artificial intelligence feature of the program that analyzes your music and images to edit and produce a video like an actual director.

The plans differ from a free version up to $499 a year depending on the amount of features you want to use and the desired quality of your output video file.

If you can think of a tool that in your opinion has to be mentioned in this list, leave a comment.

[This post has been written by Alexander Mitnikov, who is a freelance translator interested in modern business & technology trends. His passion is agile software that helps Entrepreneurs, marketers and freelancers like himself enhance their working process to the full]

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Ruby vs Python vs PHP Face-off [Programmer’s preference Infographic]

Arun Prabhudesai — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

This post is probably only for techies, specifically developers. I generally do not publish posts that are highly tech-oriented. However, a techie in me could not pass this one.

Guys at Udemi have published a great infographic that compares three programming languages popular with developers currently – PHP, Python & Ruby.

The Infographic compares how they are different from each other, who prefer them and their popularity!

PHP remains the most popular of the 3 languages, however it is interesting to note that PHP is less popular than what it was year back, same is the case with Python. Ruby on the other hand has remained constant in its popularity among developers worldwide.

I am sure if you are a PHP developer, you will be happy to see this infographic…

5 incredibly useful iPhone apps for Indians!

Kaushambi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:56:00 +0000

We’ve already covered 10 Indian Android apps earlier so now it’s time to offer something to Indian iPhone users. Here are 5 India centric iPhone apps that will arm you will all the necessary information you need while you’re in the country. But, one thing you have to keep in mind, unlike Android Apps, most of the good apps on iPhone are paid ones, though they are mostly at cost of just couple of dollars.

Sari

For all the women out there in India and abroad who want to drape a sari but are relying on their mothers, a distant Indian friend or a YouTube video, your very own sari assistant is here. Developed by Siddhartha Banerjee, this app was on No. 4 in the list of the Top Paid Apps of iTunes India in March 2011. As the name suggests, this app is a step by step tutorial of sari draping. The makers say that more regional and international styles of sari draping and its interpretations are going to be upgraded on this app very soon.

Buy Now – USD 1.99/-

iPooja

Wouldn’t it be great to conduct your daily pooja or get assistance regarding preparations of a pooja from your app in the case of unavailability of your priest? This app will arm you with high quality audio recording, step by step guidance to perform religious rites and ceremonies, information regarding the history of the pooja and the ‘Aarati’ with English text amongst many other features. The in-app iPooja store also allows you to load a variety of poojas in multiple languages.

Download Now – (App is free, but poojas come at a cost)

Meter Down

If you are a Mumbaikar and have an iPhone then you simply can’t do without this app and if you are not a Mumbaikar and have an iPhone, then there’s all the more reason for you to download both these apps so that you don’t get taken for a ride with the street smart autowallahs and taxiwallahs of Mumbai. This app will keep you abreast of the fluctuating fares of autos and taxis in Mumbai so that you don’t have to rely and bargain while you’re on the move. From the maker of the Sari app, which is also featured in this list, the Meter Down apps are clear winners because of their clean interface. Simply look at the numbers in the meter and look it up on your app for the updated fare. Midnight fares are included for the nocturnal travellers.

Download Meter Down for Auto / Download Meter Down for Taxi [Free]

SwarGanga

To satiate the music lover inside you, try out the SwarGanga iPhone app created by Adwait Joshi. Music students can now gladly forget about carrying bulky books and simply refer to this app that provides detailed information about Taals, Bandishes, Instruments, Artists, Raags, Thaats and Gharanas in addition to informative articles about North Indian Classical Music. This is a niche app which will be more useful to you than simply downloading an app through which you can stream and listen to classical music.

Buy Now [USD 2.99]

Navigon India

Though it comes at hefty price of USD 70, Navigon India has lots to offer. For those of you who are hardcore techie travelers, you can convert your iPhone into a mobile navigation system with spoken announcements, address entries, real road signs, speed assistant, pedestrian navigation, SOS help, live weather info and information about all places of interest en route amongst many other features. This app is currently available on most iPhone platforms – iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the iPad (navigation only available on the iPad WiFi +3G).

Buy Now [USD 69.99]

[Note: These kind of lists are subjective, and you may feel that some other apps should have included, but we have looked at many different apps and come up with a list that we think are not known much to Indian audience and yet they are very useful. Let us know if you agree with us]

Megaupload shut down by US FBI/Justice Dept., Anonymous retaliates!

Arun Prabhudesai — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:14:54 +0000

Update: Looks like a new site has cropped up and has exact look & feel of Megaupload, but does not have a domain name… just the IP address – http://109.236.83.66/ . Not sure if it is someone from original Megaupload team, or an imitator… But it did not take much time…did it!

Hugely popular file sharing site – Megaupload.com – is dead. It was bought down by US FBI yesterday after a Grand Jury in Eastern District of Virginia charged the Megaupload owners of racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.

This action by FBI is among the largest copyright infringement cases in the world which has purportedly cost more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners.

Megaupload.com is a hugely popular file sharing site in India and across the globe having more than a billion visits to the site, more than 150 million registered users, 50 million daily visitors and accounting for four percent of the total traffic on the Internet.

Hong Kong & New Zealand based owner, Kim Schmitz, along with 7 other employees of Megaupload are charged & arrested in the indictment released by US Justice Department.

According to a Venturebeat article, Megaupload came into limelight due to a recent release of a music video where Megaupload CEO Swiss Beatz got some very popular singers to participate and popularize its service. See the following video.

Hacker Group Anonymous Retaliates with Largest Ever Attack

With Department of Justice bringing down Megaupload site, hacker group “anonymous” launched biggest ever attack bringing down sites of Department of Justice, FBI, Universal Music Group, RIAA & several others.

My personal point of view is that Megaupload should not be held responsible, as they are just the platform offering file upload services. They have laid down proper terms and conditions [cached link] where in point number 7.4 they clearly state the following:

Megaupload Services may be used only for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any applicable law or regulation, including export control laws, is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights. If you use another party’s material, you must obtain prior authorization

Megaupload has taken utmost care to inform users what is allowed and what is not allowed to be uploaded on the site and if the users choose to upload copyright infringing material, they cannot be held responsible for it!

This action has set a dangerous precedence, and I wonder what the US Government plans to do with other similar sites like MediaFire, YouSendIt and Rapidshare, who provide similar kind of file-sharing services. As of now Megaupload & all their umbrella sites are down and I doubt you will see them live again ever… R.I.P Megaupload!

Additionally, if acts like SOPA & PIPA are passed, actions like these will become commonplace and will ruin the internet freedom!

I would love to hear your views on this!

Indian Govt. to enable all Public Services through Mobile Devices [Mobile Governance Framework]

Arun Prabhudesai — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:11:21 +0000

Government of India yesterday released “Framework of Mobile Governance report”, an extension of National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), that may potentially bring about massive changes in the way Indian citizens access public services.

The Mobile Governance Framework is laid down taking into cognizance India’s huge mobile phone subscriber base of over 870 million. It aims to utilize the massive reach of mobile phones and harness the potential of mobile applications to enable easy and round-the-clock access to public services, especially in the rural areas.

Objectives of Mobile Governance Framework

Web sites of all Government Departments and Agencies shall be made mobile-compliant, using the “One Web” approach. Which means
It will adopt Open standards for mobile applications for ensuring the interoperability of applications across various operating systems and devices as per the Government Policy on Open Standards for e-Governance.
Uniform / single pre-designated numbers (long and short codes) shall be used for mobile-based services to ensure convenience.
All Government Departments and Agencies shall develop and deploy mobile applications for providing all their public services through mobile devices to the extent feasible on the mobile platform. They shall also specify the service levels for such services.

To achieve the objectives, all Government websites will be made compliant with Mobile devices, so all information available on the web will also be available on mobile devices as well. Not only that, various channels, such as voice, text (e-mail and SMS), GPRS, & others will also be incorporated to ensure that all users are able to access irrespective of mobile device they have.

The m-governance framework also puts forth creation of Mobile Services Delivery Gateway (MSDG) that defines standards on how the end user interface should look, how the content will be delivered and how users will be authenticated.

As part of MSDG, the framework proposes to create Mobile Application (m-apps) marketplace that will have applications developed to deliver public services to Indian Citizens. MSDG will also incorporate an integrated mobile payment gateway system enabling users to pay for the public services through mobile devices itself.

[Full pdf of Mobile Governance Framework]

HP Vayu – Potentially Revolutionary Cheap Internet on TV device!

Arun Prabhudesai — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:17:29 +0000

Aakash is history – There is another device in the making that may prove to be more revolutionary than Ultra Cheap Aakash. According to ToI story researchers at HP have created a mass internet access device that enables people access internet content on even the most basic TV sets and manage all screen operations using basic TV remotes.

It is definitely not a new idea – Accessing internet on TV can easily be done with latest Television sets, which now-a-days have Wi-Fi enabled. Infact, Smart TVs, like the one from Samsung is specifically made for accessing internet content on TV. However, these are expensive and can be availed by very very few people, especially in a country like India.

HP Vayu can be termed as a Set-top-box that enables users to access internet on TV and it does not require a Keyboard and a mouse. Everything can be controlled using the normal TV remote control.

Although, HP Vayu is not launched yet, ToI got a preview of it and they have some interesting things to say about it. Here are some of the highlights of HP Vayu as described by ToI article:

HP Vayu comes in-built with various apps that include stock prices, horoscope, Bill pay facility and even getting Train information. Also, Vayu has a facility where it third party developers can create apps on this platform.
HP Vayu runs on Linux based operating system, and also can be used as a regular PC. It also has a facility to attach a keyboard and mouse.
HP Vayu has a facility where users can create categories and store websites, blogs of their choice.
HP Vayu has a storage capacity where users can store photos, videos, documents among other things
It can be paired with a Mobile phones as well and paired mobile phones can send messages. Users can share web urls, photos etc as well using a mobile phone.

Technical Specifications

Linux Based OS
1 GB RAM
8GB Flash Memory (facility to add additional 300GB space)
Zigbee Sensor Network
USB Ports
Wi-Fi
Ethernet
Bluetooth
Infrared Connectivity
HDMI Output
Regular AV Channels
3G / GPRS /HSDPA
Built-in Microphone & Speakers

Vayu also boast many other features including motion sensors, contact list, white-boarding etc. However, success of HP Vayu will depend upon the price point it comes at. HP Vayu VInd has a production cost of roughly Rs. 5000/- and with mass production, this price is expected to come down as well.

If HP Vayu’s retail price comes in range of Rs. 6-7k, it surely will be a very attractive proposition for Indians who cannot afford to buy a PC which costs roughly Rs. 20k.

Would love to hear readers thoughts on this potentially revolutionary HP Vayu Internet on TV device!

Why Emails are going to be obsolete?

Dr Vikram Venkateswaran — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:08:21 +0000

“Emails are dead” – Marc Zukerberg 2011.

I am not sure if the above statement was a prophecy for the future or a warning to Google but Marc Zukerberg has one attentive listener – Atos CEO Thierry Breton.

In December last year Breton famously declared that the 80,000 strong, 6 Billion Pound Company was going off emails by 2014.

Now I have my own reservations about that statement but I do agree that emails are now starting to get ineffective. I spend a lot of time clearing and archiving my inbox. Last week I did some calculations to figure out that I spent almost 12 hours in the week answering and archiving official emails. If I add the personal emails then it was almost 20 hours in the week.

I looked up the industry figures and my hours were justified. On an average a email user spent 15-20 hours answering emails out of which only 15% were useful. Also every Wednesday, I spend one hour in the morning just deleting spam from my inbox.

Now all this calculation leads me to believe that emails have become ineffective due to the overuse and potentially time wasting nature of the communication. Today we have almost 3.1 Billion email users. And the number is slated to grow to about 4 billion by 2014. However, although the email users are expected to increase, the email usage is declining steadily. A Comscore study last year points to this fact as well!

So how does one go off emails?

Well the answer is (obviously) Social networking.

When I registered for my Yahoo account in 1999, I was mostly mailing my friends. Today I use Facebook and G talk to communicate with them. Also I use SMS. In the last year only 10 % of my emails have been to my friends. So clearly I can do away with email for personal communication.

But what about official work? How can I do away with my Outlook and Lotus?

That is a question best answered by Breton himself who is asking Atos engineers to come up with social media tools to be used internally within the company. Most consulting firms have intranets and forums, all it needs is a platform for internal discussions.

Already tools like Salesforce ‘Chatter’ enable large teams to collaborate together real time to crucial projects eliminating the need for repeated emails back and forth.

Some other consulting groups are also forming internal blogs and forums to reduce the emails, some also have provisions for databases directly accessible from the server eliminating the need for emails.

So official emails are a corporate policy and unless the company you work for has a no-email road map like Atos looks like it is 15-20 hours for archiving and reading mails.

But I would like to hear from you, imagine if you are the CEO of a large firm with thousands of employees. If you had to implement a no email policy how would you go about it.

Would love to hear your views?

How Indian brands are using Apps…

Kaushambi — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:31:26 +0000

Here are some facts for you….

Smartphone penetration in India is expected to rise from 4 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2013.
There are over 100 Million Internet subscribers in India, out of which about 60 million users actively use social media.
Approximately 41 percent of Indians access content on the internet only through their cell phones.
Approximately 77 percent of Indians have an average of 30 apps on their phones. This makes them the largest users of apps worldwide.
80 percent of Indians spend more than 15 minutes per day on social media every day.

Source: Appcot / Neilsen Wire

Are you now surprised why major Indian brands are in a race to bring out the best of their brands though apps? For youth brands of beverages, mobile service providers, FMCG items and cosmetics, it’s a great chance to launch their apps alongside commercials on air so that brand recall remains intact and interaction on the app increases.

In India, brands like Axe Effect, Kurkure, KFC India and Philips have invested in launching whacky Facebook apps, a TOI feature reported. For instance, the Philips app allowed users to try out all the looks and beard styles that their brand mascot John Abraham flaunted in their commercial for male grooming products. This is in addition to other digital touch points such as a dedicated YouTube channel for checking out these different styles along with a Style Sutra booklet for the men’s grooming kit, Business Standard reported.

On the other hand, KFC let users post their pictures that captured their expression on drinking Krushers Kafeccino, the drink that KFC wanted to promote through this app. The idea was to let users follow the story of the Krushers commercial which was on air at that time – youngsters clicking pictures of each other capturing their reactions on sipping the Krushers Kafeccino for the first time.

Similarly, HUL India’s Axe Effect app allow users (especially the male category!) to stream live cricket scores, download fun and hot videos, wallpapers and interact with the AXE Angel, which is the central brand theme of most Axe Effect commercials. Tata Docomo launched Docomics in 2010, a comic viewer app for mobiles as well as a Facebook app called Songshare which allows users to publish their Call Me Tune (CMT) updates on their Facebook wall, recommend a song from the available songs list to their networks, copy and download songs for specific callers, amongst many other features.

Kurkure’s "Ingredients of India" campaign with the "Badal Jaa" slogan invited users to try and find right mix of Kurkure by adding various ingredients. As users add the ingredients into the pack in the app, its colours change.

"The value lies not in the number of users but the number of users into the engagement itself. If four minutes is spent on an app and 20,000 people are doing that, that’s 80,000 minutes. Four minutes per user is not small. Users aren’t watching a 20-second ad but are spending four minutes here"

- Preetham Venkky and Guillaume Simon, Founders of KRDS, the French company that developed the Facebook app for Kurkure. [Source]

Although most of these brands have thousands of users signing up for their apps, a Nielsen survey suggests that the measurable amount of user engagement that actually drives sales remains questionable. User engagement too, remains dubious at times, since it’s not just about a user signing up for a brand page or an app, it’s about how much the user interacts with the app, the number of times the app is downloaded because of the user’s recommendation to someone else and the number of times the app is shared, commented on and interacted with.

Irrespective of this, as Indian brands learn to fully utilize the power of apps, we’re only going to see more and more of them jump on the apps bandwagon in India, due to such a burgeoning market.

What brand app users really want …

Here’s what a Nielsen survey suggests. Maybe brands can take a leaf or two from here!

More than 53 percent users would like announcements on all discounts, sales and freebies.
Interestingly, about 48 percent users would like the brands to share tips and tricks about how to use, maintain and upgrade their products or services.
1 in every 6 users wants their favourite brands to share updates regarding new products and services.
About 42 percent of users want to take part in contests and interactive questioning and about 30 percent want to engage in productive and useful brand conversations.
Around 41 percent would like brand pages and apps to resolve queries, concerns and complaints regarding the product or service.

Comments are welcome…

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