Google launches Business Photos in India

Today Google launched Business Photos in India, a concept that puts businesses on the map – virtually and literally. In a pilot run, Google will take 360 degree pictures of businesses and will allow owners to upload them to their location on Google Places.

Google India’s official blog talks about the concept of taking pictures of business interiors to add to a business’ credibility. The concept stems off the idea that a business cannot always be judged by how its office looks on the outside.

After taking permission of the business owners who want their interiors to be photographed, Google’s certified Photographers will work directly with them. The 360 degree pictures of the interiors of businesses will be posted online via Google Places. This feature was originally available only to users in USA, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, France and UK. Countries recently added to its kitty are Ireland, Netherlands and Canada. Now the service has been finally launched in India.

Google Places allows owners to promote their businesses by providing detailed information to prospective customers, finding niche audiences and enhancing brand visibility through increased searchability.

Owners can also promote their ventures by posting photos, videos, coupons and even announcing special deals. On the other hand, customers can benefit by ranking and rating these business, finding the right offers and being armed with better information.

Google’s Business Photos complements Google Places and adds value by showing the customers the interior and the ‘feel’ of the business from inside. Business can now be ready to bare it all – the décor, the buzz, the merchandise, the display, the cleanliness, innovation in design et al.

Google Business Photos are in addition to the pictures owners can upload on Google Places. However Google Business Photos will be more detailed, higher quality and panoramic. Both will appear side by side in a Google search.

Currently Google is going to begin the pilot program in Hyderabad. It is inviting business owners in India to send in applications. Their premises will be photographed by Google appointed photographers, free of cost. From a business owner’s perspective, many scenarios come to mind. What if the owner of a gymnasium could display the interiors of a gym to give customers a great idea of what to expect when they walk in through the doors? What if spa owners could let potential customers get a feel of their services by putting their facilities up on a virtual display? Would it help if the owner of a car showroom could put up a virtual display of the actual showroom?

Many questions from a customer’s perspective come to mind too. What if a customer can simply go online and decide whether Spa A has better ambient lighting than Spa B or whether the tables at Café Z are not as crowded as in Café Y without actually visiting the shop front? How convenient would it be for a customer to simply go online and decide which night club to go to, just by comparing the Business Photos of 2 popular ones?

The answer to all these questions lie in one simple fundamental question – Can Google bring more Indians online? India has the world’s youngest population. This came at the back of reports that the Indian population will soon be amongst the top 3 in the world.

If tech savvy Indians begin previewing the services offered by businesses in India, Google may very well have created a monster platform that benefits both, businesses and customer. Not to mention, yet another possible revenue stream for the internet giant.

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Indiagames to cash in on T20 Fever

Indiagames, one of India’s topmost gaming destinations and platforms, is launching a new iPhone app called cricket T20 fever.

Desktop versions of the game will be launched along with the iPhone versions while the other Symbain , Maemo, PSP etc based versions will follow later.

‘Cricket T20 Fever’ is aimed to provide the most realistic, yet an entertaining experience of the game of cricket to hard core cricket fans and casual gamers alike. The game fine tunes the tried and tested methods of previous cricket games and adds as many new features to make it a feature packed game of remarkable diversity.

With the ability on iPhone and newer smartphones to use gestures and motion sensors to control gaming experience, it will be fun to see how Indiagames have incorporated those feature in the game.

The gaming market in India is growing very strongly, at a CAGR of 49 % , was USD  167 million in 2008 and is expected to grow to USD 830 million by 2012.

Even within the gaming segment, the online and PC gaming segments are seeing a drop while the mobile gaming segment is experiencing a boom and is expected to continue to grow what with more feature-rich phones to become dominant in India market in near future.

India is a country that eats and breathes cricket; but is the gaming experience a substitute for playing/watching the real thing? Have you tried a gaming application , and if so, how did you find the experience? I’m sure the cricket T20 Fever would be a hit, what about you? 

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Nokia brings 3g mobile to masses at less than Rs. 5000 – basic mobile at Rs. 500 !

Although 3G services are seeing tremendous hurdles and delays in India – 3g mobile phones are new market flavour. Nokia, who still has leading mobile handset market share in India has been facing stiff competition in recent times.

To stave off the competition, Nokia has announced cheapest 3G mobile phone in the market priced at Rs. 4,500/-. Nokia has gone even further to announce a Rs. 500 basic phone for rural markets in India.

The Nokia 3G 2730 Classic Handset (Rs. 4499/-)

Nokia 2710 Classic Specifications

Available in black and dark magenta colors, the handset is around 109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 in dimensions. It tips the scale at 87.7g while its battery seemingly lasts a maximum of 7.4 hours in talk time. The standby time offered by the phone is around 16.5 days. Supporting 3G for quicker search and browsing, the phone also incorporates an Opera mini browser.

With Bluetooth support, other features of the phone include a 2 megapixel camera, Stereo FM radio, 1000 entry capacity phonebook, calculator, integrated hands free speaker, expense manager and more. With support for MMS, Email, Flash message and Audio message, the phone also includes a Big Key mat that is easy to use.

Nokia 500 Rupee Phone

If the reports are to be believed – Nokia is working on launching a limited number of mobile Handsets at the Rs 500 price point (currently no announcement on handset details). Currently the cheapest phones in the market are around 1100 – 1200 Rs. Nokia’s cheapest phone currently are in 1200 series which are close to 1500 rupees and have basic features like monochrome display, earphone jack, phonebook, etc.

But at the price point of 500, I am not sure if even those features are possible – My guess is that this phone will be something like a mini cordless landline phone with just basic calling / receiving facility and maybe a phonebook. What else can you expect for Rs. 500 ($11) !

I think there is a very large rural audience for such kind of a phone – The major benefactors of this kind of phone would be the Telecom companies for whom the next growth market is rural India.

I wouldn’t be surprised, if telecom companies start offering these handsets at even further subsidized rates to rural consumers . The mobile services will offer them more income where the handset cost can be easily absorbed !

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Google Street View Imagery kicks-off in India, starts with Bengaluru

Google India today announced on its twitter stream that it will be kicking-off the much awaited Google street view imagery collection using Google branded cars and Google Trikes.

It will be interesting to watch how Google goes about this in India. In most of the western countries it is a different thing all together. They have much better roads and much lesser traffic than in India.

It sure if going to be challenging for Google cars and trikes to wade their way through traffic in Indian cities, especially in places like Bengaluru, Mumbai or Pune. The Google cars may be stuck in traffic for so long or probably will have to take diversions on India roads so very often that there mapping / imagery system may go for a toss!

One important aspect that Google India tweeted was – Street view imagery in India will have all the number plates as well as faces blurred (due to privacy issues) – It has already faced a lawsuit for this earlier!

Google street view Trikes

Interesting, along with Google street view cars, Google branded Trikes will also be used for collection of street imagery – I guess for India trikes may be a much better option as long as the driver is ready to put up with all the pollution & dust & heat etc.

The project will kick-off on Bengaluru streets from tomorrow, so better watch out for them if you are in the city and let us know if you spot one of those – would love to hear about them !

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iPad may officially launch in India on Jan 28th!

Its been close to a year since Apple’s fastest moving gadget – The iPad – came in the US Markets. And, now Indian consumers will be able to lay their hands on the coveted device.

According to the news which appeared in Telegraph yesterday, Apple will be launching Apple iPad in Indian on January 28th. It is interesting how the author, Surit Doss, came to know about the launch of iPad.

I came to know of the launch date and the approximate prices from a bug in Apple’s cloud, MobileMe. It populated my address book with contacts of several Apple employees from across the world.

So although the news is not announced by Apple themselves, this scoop holds water as the author seems to have had a peek at internal communication.

Also, the most pleasant aspect about this news is the pricing. Unlike iPhone, iPad has not been priced astronomically. Although, not very cheap either iPad’s lowest end model will cost consumers 26,000 rupees while the most features one will cost about 37,000 rupees.

Apple iPad pricing in India

The WiFi version of the iPad will be sold in three versions: 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. The price will vary from Rs 26,000 to Rs 37,000. The WiFi that will come with a 3G Sim card will cost between Rs 33,000 and Rs 44,000, depending on the storage capacity of 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB.

Also, don’t expect iPad to be sold on online retailers website as it will be sold only by Apple’s Premium Retailers and there are hardly any of those in India!

Will Apple iPad see success in India

Apple iPhone has been a disaster in India – there are many reasons for it,  but primarily being pricing. Indian consumers are are very price conscious lot. With iPad keeping the rates competitive and pricing them below Samsung Tab (its closest competitor currently), there sure is a potential for iPad to take off in India. But again there are plethora of tablets coming into market in coming months, some as low as 10k rupees.

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Microsoft India offers Free Windows 7 Phone for Student App Developers!

Looks like Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned to push its Windows 7 mobile OS amongst the masses. Microsoft India has launched a program i unlock joy that promises lot of freebies to student app developers that includes a Free Windows 7 Phone as well.

But, before you run to get your hands on it – there are obviously some rules to participate in this program.

You are eligible to participate only if

• You are 18 years of age or older; and
• You have been actively enrolled as a student at an accredited educational institution that grants high-school or college/university (or equivalent) degrees for at least 3 months between 1^st January 2011 and 18^th November 2011; and
• You are not an employee or intern of Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. or Microsoft Corporation, or any of their affiliates; and
• You are not involved in any part of the execution or administration of this Program; and
• You are not an immediate family member of (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft affiliate, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Program.
• You are a registered member of Microsoft DreamSpark Program for students.

The last point being the most important one “You should be a registered member of Microsoft DreamSpark Program ”, which essentially is a very similar platform to what Microsoft’s very popular Bizspark program is for startups. Microsoft offers their software’s free of cost to students to registered members of these platforms encouraging them to develop Microsoft based applications.

So, if you are eligible for “i unlock joy ” program, you will have to build apps to get your hands on the freebies offered by Microsoft. If a registered student is able to develop & submit a one verified Windows 7 phone app to Windows Phone Marketplace by December 18th, then you get a Merit Certificate, Windows Phone T-Shirt & 2GB flash drive. If you manage 4 apps within that time frame, you can get your hands on cool new Windows Phone!

There is no doubt that Microsoft is pushing hard to popularize Windows phone OS and one of the basic requirements for OS to succeed will be a it’s huge app market place.

Microsoft obviously does not have a developer community like say Android or iOS. But by introducing such programs to students, they are surely pushing hard to build a community that will be basis for their success in coming years. It is interesting though, that it has been opened for Indian students only – It puzzles me as to why it has not been opened worldwide!

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8GB iPhone 4 to cost Indians Rs. 37,900…ridiculous!

If iPhone 4S wasn’t a shock enough wait till you hear this. No not the HTC Sensation Xl’s 39K price tag but this comes from our beloved half bitten fruit itself. Apple has chosen to reduce the memory on the iPhone 4 to 8GB and chosen to increase the price to Rs. 37900. 8 GB iPhone 4 now costs Rs. 36500. We used to get a 16 GB version for Rs. 34,500. By that standard, iPhone 4S doesn’t look all that expensive.

Apple is listing the 8GB version on Apple India website. The price is as reported by ET and I have checked with an Apple retailer and the stocks are not in yet but the price is supposed to be around 30K. Well, 38K is not around 30K and we might get a better picture in the coming days.

I’m in the “Apple doesn’t give a shit about India and you shouldn’t give a shit about Apple either crowd”. But this price rise is just incongruous. I acknowledge that Indian rupee is a mess right now but that doesn’t justify raising the price of a product by actually reducing the specifications on it.

Oh! Apple you fooled us all. If I have to quote my favorite American president George W. Bush :

fool me once, shame on — [pauses] — shame on you. Fool me — [pauses] — You can’t get fooled again.

We are sorry folks if we have raised your hopes about a cheaper 8GB iPhone 4. This is just how life is. No wait, this is just how Apple is. May be we should buy some real Apples instead, that would at least keep the doctor away.

R.I.P Apple. Until we get to some friendly terms. What’s next? Android? I heard they are getting expensive too. Time for a bit of Nokia?

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Kolaveri Di notches 2.1 lakh downloads on Airtel Alone! [Airtel Mobitude 2011 stats]

Airtel has released its annual customer preferences survey – Airtel Mobitude 2011 – of over 170 Million of its mobile subscribers. Except for Kolaveri Di unexpected success, most of the findings are pretty much in line with general mobile user trends.

Music downloads is one of the favorite activities of mobile users in India, and Airtel users were no different. A total of 150 million mobile music downloads were notched up by Airtel users in 2011. Chammak Challo was the most downloaded song & video in 2011. However, looking at the popularity of Kolaveri Di, it may eclipse Chammak Challo in coming few days. Kolaveri Di has already joined the top sellers charts by recording 2,10,000 music downloads in 18 days of launch

Among the wallpaper/ images download, Bollywood Heartthrob Katrina Kaif was the most downloaded actress, while King Khan was the most downloaded Bollywood Actor. A total of 19 million wallpapers were downloaded in 2011 alone!

Airtel Mobitude 2011 report points to fact that data consumption is on a rise with Indian mobile users and with introduction of 3g in most parts of India, mobile users are taking advantage of quick downloads due to high download speeds.

Here is the list of what’s popular amongst Indian Mobile users

Bollywood Images Downloaded  Top 5 Female Celebrities Images Downloaded  Top 5 Male Celebrities Top Downloaded Songs Katrina Kaif Shahrukh Khan Chammak challo Deepika Padukone Salman Khan Dhinka chika Kareena Kapoor Shahid Kapoor Senorita Magar Phir Bhi Jacqueline Fernandez Imran Khan Zor Ka Jhatka Haye Priyanka Chopra John Abraham Teri meri meri teri

Hollywood Images Downloaded  Top 5 Female Celebrities Images Downloaded  Top 5 Male Celebrities Top Downloaded Songs Kim Kardashian Michael Jackson I like it rough Angelina Jolie Jake Gyllenhaal Benanza – Belly dancer Lindsay Lohan Johnny Depp Senorita Magar Phir Bhi Megan Fox Tom Cruise One love Selena Gomez Justin Bieber Like my style

Others Top 5 Sport stars Sachin Tendulkar MS Dhoni Viraat Kohli Roger Federer Sania Mirza

What is your opinion? do you think Kolaveri Di will trump Chammak Ch

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eMO: Tata’s fully engineered Cheap Electric Car unveiled in Detroit!

Tata has added another feather to its already crowded cap! They have unveiled a prototype of aapprox. USD 20,000 electric car that can easily carry four passengers. The reason it should make us proud is because it has been fully engineered by Tata Technologies showing their immense capability. The similar electric cars from rivals are much more expensive!

According to the eMo website, the retail price point of USD 20,000 for this Electric Vehicle is without any Federal or State Government incentives!

By building a prototype of eMO, Tata has demonstrated to the world that it is possible to build an electric vehicle with an attractive price. Auto Experts are already skeptical of it and saying that Tata eMO will never become a reality and eMO will “never be made”!

eMo Electric Vehicle was built by Tata Technologies’ Vehicle Programs & Development (VPD) Group (and not Tata Motors), with more than 300 engineers operating from its four automotive engineering centers of excellence worldwide – Pune (India), Detroit, Coventry (UK), and Stuttgart (Germany).

eMo is an amazing feat that has been achieved by the engineers at Tata. In the summer of 2010, in anticipation of launching the Vehicle Programs and Development group, Tata Technologies decided to create a complete vehicle as an internal engineering study. eMo was the result!

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Intriguing Statistics on Indian Economy [Live-tweeted by PMO]

The ‘B’-Day is approaching soon. But, the budget session of the Parliament has kicked off in a style with President Pratibha Patil’s addressing a joint session with unprecedented statistical figures about Indian economy, late morning today.

The three-month long budget sessions is likely to prove arduous for the UPA government in setting its foot on the reformist agenda, including crucial policy issues like FDI in retail, sub-quota for minorities and NCTC.

On a positive note, President Patil instilled her confidence on the fundamentals of Indian economy by saying that the country would soon return to its high growth path of near double-digit growth rates, after faltering to 7% estimated for the current fiscal.

President Pratibha Patil reiterated her faith in the Indian economy saying,

“My government has completed its half tenure. This was a difficult economic year for the world. The economic growth of India has decreased but is better compared to the world economic scenario.”

Interestingly, the Prime Minister’s office has live tweeted President’s address to the joint session of the Parliament on its official Twitter account @PMOIndia, alongside tagging it with supportive charts.

Here’s a look at some of the intriguing piece of statistical data:

India’s GDP Growth Rate

In latest, January IIP data came in at a robust 6.8% growth versus 1.8% in December 2011. While the manufacturing sector grew at 8.5%, the show-stopper for the month was clearly the consumer non-durables index which grew by a striking 42.1%.

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India’s Social Sector Allocation

Economic reforms and social sector reforms go hand-in-hand for any economy to grow inclusively. Social sector reforms include spending on rural infrastructure and development, rural housing projects, road development and irrigation facilities, amongst others.

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India’s Food Grains Production

Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated that food grain production is expected to touch a record of 250 million tones in 2011-12, exceeding the estimates on account of considerable focus on agriculture and irrigation facilities.

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India’s Literacy Rate

Surprisingly, India’s literacy rate has recorded a 9.2% growth to reach 74%, according to the 2011 census data. Moreover, while the effective male literacy rate logged a rise, female literacy rate improved sharply to 65% during the census period

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India’s Merchandise Export Growth

 

The total tally of India’s trade deficit for 11 months of FY12 has surged to $166.8 billion. While India’s value of imports for the month of February logged a growth of 20.6% at $39.8 billion, the country’s exports for the month under review arrived at $24.6 billion.

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India’s Tele-Density

In latest, India’s total tally of mobile subscribers have gone past 903 million, reflecting the bright prospects of the wireless world. Unfortunately, the new telecom operators in the sector are in a state-of-shock post the SC ruling that has held 122 second generation licenses as cancelled.

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One thing is for sure – one can see that Indian Government is now taking Social Media platforms seriously. Live-tweeting the Presidential address to the Parliament with graphs is something I could not imagine even couple of years back. They are doing it now – and kudos to the government for that!

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