Bangalore April 20 2015: Long before government coined the 'Make in India' mantra, the digital lifestyle business has been dancing to a desi beat. We highlight some cool new tools and gadgets with India in their DNA, launched this month:
Secure info on your phone
A phone is not the safest place to store sensitive names numbers or images. Which is why Privy Point, a free mobile app from Godrej Security Solutions is an idea whose time has come . It is a virtual safe designed to safely hide anything that's on your phone -- messages, photos , videos, contacts -- even the phone itself. And it does this with certified encryption. You can download the app from Google Play ( for Android phones) or from www.privypoint.co and can customize it to your need.
You can also protect bank account/credit card details and identity cards (driving license, passport etc) stored on your phone. Privy Point was developed through a crowd sourcing platform which means users can help to refine it or add new features
One-Touch emergency help
We know there are multiple services for emergencies these days -- police, fire, accident, ambulance -- but who can recall all the numbers when engulfed in a crisis? One Touch Response or OTR (www.onetouchresponse.com) is just that -- an app with a single contact for all times of emergencies which might include some eventualities not normally covered by emergency response services -- like needing some medicines for an aged relative in the middle of the night, or running out of petrol in a lonely stretch of road. In the National Capital Region, OTR is backed by an emergency response team whose members will be at your side within minutes and also coordinate where necessary with external agencies such as police, ambulance, medical services, fire, cab services, mechanics etc. Users can also activate Safe Call service and the agency will keep a constant track on your personal or family safety at fixed intervals to make sure you are okay – until you reach your final destination. In Delhi this service costs Rs 3000 a year.
In some 800 plus other cities, India-wide, OTR also offers a single-point voice contact for all emergencies who will help connect you to the local help on the ground. This service costs Rs 50 per annum.
The app is available for Android , Apple and Blackberry
Hey Taxi!
Most metros these days have call taxi services. The problem is sometimes you have multiple agencies in the same city -- and it can be hassle, contacting them one by one on a busy day. ixigo.com a leading Indian online travel portal has a solution: a new app named “ixigo cabs” which aggregates cab information and helps you find the nearest taxis and cabs around you from multiple operators, anywhere in India at the tap of a screen. The Android app takes care of search, comparison, booking and cancellation. And in addition to trawling all major online cab operators, it also searches over 250 offline taxi service providers across 100 towns.
Job search
The big name job portals seem to concentrate on the high flying , high qualification, 'sexy' end of the market. This can be a bit intimidating for large numbers of job seekers whose expectations are more modest and who compete for less glamorous jobs in field sales; telemarketing; customer service; back-office and administration; accounting; delivery, logistics and maintenance. Delhi-based MeraJob embraces this end of the market and nurtures it with friendly services like pre-screening through tele-recruiters and online tools. The candidates can give interviews at any time from any place, including the comfort of their homes and by creating SmartProfiles, increase the chances of a better fit with employer requirements. Apply at http://www.merajobindia.com/