Mumbai, February 26, 2013: The India launch of Blackberry 10, the new OS – and Blackberry Z10, the first smartphone to use the platform—has been accompanied by a ready made ecosystem of apps -- over 7000 ‘made in India’. The Mumbai launch of the phone on Monday, was accompanied by announcements of three nationwide apps:
Leading multiplex chain, PVR, unveiled ts first ‘NFC enabled PVR Wallet’ app for the BlackBerry 10 platform. Empowered with the innovative Near Field Communication technology and NEC’s Integrated E-money solution, moviegoers can now ‘tap & pay’ for movie tickets and refreshments without using paper money across 15 PVR cinemas in cities like Delhi & NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. The NFC enabled PVR Wallet app is a ‘Closed Loop Payment Wallet’ where the rights to use the transaction money remains within the premises of PVR cinemas… for tickets, popcorn, beverages and the like.
Says Pramod Arora, Group President & CEO, PVR: “We have a long standing association with BlackBerry and we are excited to launch the ‘NFC enabled PVR Wallet’ app for the BlackBerry 10 platform. PVR reiterates its commitment to provide it’s consumers the latest in technology and innovative features making lives of movie lovers simpler, faster and worthwhile.”
Adds Koji Oda, Managing Director, NEC India: “NFC is an important technology used to bridge the smartphone owner to both the physical and online world for an enhanced user experience. We are committed to empowering our customers with innovative technologies like NFC to help them gain customer loyalty, and together, strengthen our foothold in the retail and entertainment industries.” NEC India has provided an end-to-end cloud-based e-payment system called NFC e-Money server to PVR that integrates itself facilitating interactivity between devices (the NFC enabled phone and PVR wallet access), for any monetary transactions.
HDFC launches mobile banking app
HDFC bank showcased a mobile banking app for the BB10 platform, which allows its customers to perform a plethora of banking operations including mobile payments
RezNext launches RoomsTonite, last-minute hotel booking app for BlackBerry 10
RezNext, a real-time hotel room distribution company, today announced the launch of the coolest last-minute hotel room booking app for BlackBerry 10.RoomsTonite is specifically designed for the fast paced corporate traveller and impulsive holiday goers. The app is available for download on the BlackBerry® World™ storefront for free and initially covers hotel details of key travel destinations in India such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur, Cochin, and Bhubneshwar. Users can search for accommodation based on date, price, locality, and user reviews, and book and receive confirmation of hotel rooms’ bookings in real time while on the move.
Says Binu Mathews, Director, RezNext: “By accessing a user-friendly interface, hotels can custom create a host of last-minute hotel deals, increase occupancy at their hotel and of course, grow revenue.” RoomsTonite is also available for BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones. http://reznext.com/
Other top India apps for the BB10 platform have come from NDTV, Hungama, MapMyIndia, Jet Airways, Business Today, Times of India, Vogue, Sony Music, UTV Videos, Money Control, Zomato etc
On hand at the Mumbai launch was young innovator Arvind Sanjeev who used the stepping stone of the Kochi based Startup Village to create a cool BB10 app –a blackberry-phone based car controller which can open the door, and perform a slate of vehicle related tasks. Blackberry is supporting a number of young engineers at the Startup Village as they populate the BB10 ecosystem with new apps.
Blackberry Head of Software Portfolio, Vivek Bharadwaj, told IndiaTechOnline that many of the cool apps created in India were unique tools that were finding acceptance worldwide.