Book your train tickets, check your PNR status and trains availability with Cleartrip Android App, download now

Indian Railways is used by over 25 million Indians every year and is the best possible method of conveyance because of its sheer size and reach.   I had already given a timetable App for all phones here for Mumbaikars which is very popular even now.  

The Indian Railways introduced a SMS based ticketing service last month wherein you have can avail the services even through most basic phones on 139 or 5676714.  Once you have received the tickets on your SMS you can use it along with your original photo id to embark the train.  

But getting the tickets itself is a big problem where every ticket gets sold out in 7 seconds or so.  I have given out a tutorial for easing the process of booking tickets from the IRCTC website here.  

Today or rather yesterday Cleartrip has updated its Android App to include the ticket booking of Railways in the App through IRCTC.  With the latest App, you can search for trains and book tickets on the go, anywhere anytime.  It also give PNR status of your tickets if they have been wait listed.  

The Cleartrip App can be used as you would use the IRCTC's website.  It can be used to  find trains between stations, availability of seats, train fares, PNR Status all in one.  

This is a must have App for every Indian, because every now an then we have to travel by the Indian Railways.  You can download the App here from Google Play.

Cleartrip also offers air tickets through the same App.  They have not updated the iOS App yet to add the Railways feature, if they do I will keep you updated.

New stock camera App for Android which lets you click pictures by pressing volume up or down button

image courtesy eofdreams.com

How would like to have a separate button to click your images on your Android device?  It would be nice not to negotiate the image quality while tapping the click image option button and have a simple Nokia type button to click the snap.  Well the Google is coming out with AOSP stock versions of different Apps and the new stock camera App has that feature.  I will tell you about the camera and its features later.  

First understand what AOSP is.  AOSP is a custom ROM built from the official, google-endorsed Android source, with stock apps and widgets.  It is believed to precursor to the soon to be released Android 4.3 and any App that comes from the AOSP platform will be inbuilt in the next version of Android.  Google has been coming out with AOSP running versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.  

Now about this Camera App.  The App displays the shooting modes on a curved line which will appear when you press and hold the screen.  Once this curved line appears you can have direct access to various camera options like HDR, exposure etc.  If you want to access further options you can get to them from the same semi-circle.  These options include the geo tagging toggle.

But the best part is the ability to click pictures by just pressing volume up and down buttons as I have mentioned in the title of this article.  This feature is sorely missed by all Android devices and you have to get into a rather awkward hold position while tapping the on screen click button.  The new stock camera App allows you the freedom to take a wonder image by just clicking the volume up or down button.  This works even for self image with the front camera.  

Just a word worth noting is that you will have to disable your Camera App first in order to allow the new stock App to function properly because some of the new features may not work on all devices as smoothly as they do on the S4 or the HTC One.

Interested to download the APK file of the stock camera Camera App?  I bet you are, I did it the first thing I came to know about it.  Download the APK from here.  The mirror site is here.  

Enjoy 'Street View' with the newly updated Google Earth for iOS devices

Arch rival Google yesterday updated its flagship App, Google Earth for the iOS devices.  The Google Earth 7.1 released yesterday brings the street view to iOS users.  It will also cover more than 100 countries now with India being one of them, under the street view option.  

The updated App will now have a new streamlined interface to enable users to view different worldwide destinations including the likes of Stonehenge in Street View or the Chicago skyline in 3D.  The update also brings about new changes to interface.  Clicking on the Earth logo in top left now allows users to access more information through layers like Wikipedia and Panoramio Photos. For those who’d like to explore these regions themselves, the app claims to feature improved directions too, to let them visualise step-by-step transit, walking and biking directions in 3D. 

The Google Earth app for iOS devices is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with devices running of iOS 4.3 and higher.     Download this must have App from Apple Store now.

Samsung Galaxy NX Professional Camera to be launched on 20th June, pictured leaked show hidden details

JK Shin's online confirmation about the Android-powered mirrorless camera has sent the tech world in a tizzy with lots of rumours and forum threads.  Now the Vietnamese tech site Tinh te has put up a couple of images of the product, code named Galaxy NX. The Galaxy NX combines two of Samsung’s categories, the smart devices and cameras.

The above are the first promotional shots put up by Tinh Te and   clear up a few of the questions users and future NX buyers may have.   From the shots seen, the Galaxy NX will feature interchangeable lenses, a proper viewfinder, an SLR looking body and a big rear display. 

Further the Galaxy NX will be coming to the market with a 20.3MP APS-C sensor as well as a 1080p video recording feature, with a maximum ISO setting of 25,600. The camera will also sport either a dual-core or a quad-core Exynos CPU.  Knowing Samsung, I will go for Exynos CPU as a favourite.

The rear display will feature a high resolution 4.3-inch screen, which will have touch screen capabilities, according to Tinh Te. The promotional shots also show a signal strength metre on the display from which we can safely infer that Galaxy NX will have some kind of cellular radio.

This is the furthest Tinh Te has gone and Samsung has not been so forthcoming about its latest launch.  So we will have to wait till 20th June to know the actual specs and features of the Samsung Galaxy NX professional camera.  I will post them as soon as they are available.

OrCam from Israeli startup; Here is a product which I think should get some award or be promoted by the Governments across the world

OrCam, an Israeli startup has come up with a amazing new product for the visually impaired.  Up until now reading aids available in the markets for the visually impaired and the blind have been cumbersome devices that recognize text in restricted environments, or, more recently, have been software applications on smartphones that have limited capabilities.

Here in lies the difference between the OrCam's new device.  It would change the way the visually impaired see the world.  OrCam device is a small camera worn in the style of Google Glass, connected by a thin cable to a portable computer designed to fit in the wearer’s pocket. The system clips on to the wearer’s glasses with a small magnet and uses a bone-conduction speaker to offer clear speech as it reads aloud the words or object pointed to by the user.

So the visually as shown in the image the visually impaired have to just look at the article like a can of vegetables and the camera will get into action, reading the label, price etc. using the simple and unobstrusive camera in to ear of the wearer.  

The Israeli start-up that has developed a camera-based system intended to give the visually impaired the ability to both “read” easily and move freely which it does very beautifully.  The system is designed to both recognize and speak “text in the wild,” a term used to describe newspaper articles as well as bus numbers, and objects as diverse as landmarks, traffic lights and the faces of friends.

Right now it supports only English language and is available for a promo price on the company’s Web site for $2,500(Rs.137500.00). which roughly amounts to the cost of a midrange hearing aid.   Do visit the website for peep.

But as I said earlier, awards, rewards and recognition from the world Governments could make this one a cheaper and more accessible device.  +one from me for the makers of this marvellous piece of engineering.

This news including the image above has been sourced from New York Times.

Amazon's India dedicated shopping portal goes live today, buy books, movie and TV shows easily

Amazon.in is the new address if you are a avid reader and you want to buy the latest novels and non-fiction books.  The common grouse of book readers was that the international books were not easily available in India and they had to scour the flea markets to get the latest release.  Not anymore, Amazon’s India marketplace business has now gone live. Currently it is selling books, movies and TV shows, the store will quickly expand to add mobiles, cameras and more to the website. 

India is Amazon’s tenth marketplace across the world  and aims to provide Indian customers with a shopping destination to purchase products from third-party sellers. The marketplace will enable these sellers to list their products for customers locally and globally. They will also have access to a suite of services, including Selling on Amazon and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) guarantee.

Right now there is a Free delivery with no limit for a limited time as a part of its promotion.  After the promo period is over, the website will charge Rs. 49 per package for delivery and goods worth Rs. 499 and up will be delivered for free. Cash on delivery facilities are available with the website. If you have an existing Amazon.com account, you can use the same credentials to log-in to the Indian marketplace too. 

Amazon already owns Junglee.com and plans on continuing it.

LPG subsidy directly to bank account will start from 1st June, 18 districts to start with, whole country to follow soon!

Remember my tutorial for downloading Aadhaar Card.  In the post I had reported at that time,  that the authorities will soon be moving towards a structure where all the LPG subsidies you are entitled to, will be directly paid into your Aadhaar Card linked bank account.  Now the Government is planning to implement the same in a rightful earnest.  

The authorities are going to start the scheme from June 1, 2013 with 18 districts namely Anantpur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy in Andhra Pradesh; Diu in Daman and Diu; North Goa; Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una in Himachal Pradesh; Tumkur in Karnataka; Pathanamthitta and Wayand in Kerala; Wardha in Maharasthra; Pondicherry; SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar in Punjab and East Nimar (Khandwa) and Harda in Madhya Pradesh.

And from 1st July, 2013, it will be implemented in Mandi and Mysore districts of Karnataka.  The rest of the country is to follow soon in a phased manner.

So if you have not yet heard about this, or linked you Aadhar Card to your bank account you can head over to your branch and do it now.  State Bank of India had advertised a few days back about the fact and invited its customers to link the Aadhar Card to their bank accounts.  

If you are a HP LPG customer and want to know more about linking your Aadhaar Card to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) visit my blog here, wherein the hyperlinks about login to linking are provided.  These links were provided by HPCL itself to me.

Another question many of my friends, readers and colleagues ask? why this additional work or 'Jhanjhat'.  Did you know that around 20 % of LPG cylinders which belonged to you, genuine users, were sold in the black market by operators.  Their modus operandi was simple and straight forward.  They would study your usage pattern and develop a way to assign a cylinder in your name and sell it in black market.

If you required 1 cylinder every month, they would book 2 in your name, deliver 1 to your address and sell the second one at a neat and handsome profit of around 200%.  Even right now after the price rise and restrictions on the LPG cylinders per year,  the residential cylinders are available in black market at Rs.1200.00 and the commercial ones @ Rs.1900.00 (this is the rate in Mumbai).  

So one fine day when all the LPG connections through out the country are linked to a central data base viz UIDAI authority through Aadhaar Card, and the subsidy is directly paid to the users, the leakage and pilferage will stop because everything will be online and no paper money is exchanged.  

Join the Aadhaar revolution, support the Government in its efforts to weed out the black marketeers who themselves are reason for high prices of LPG.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please do so in the comment box and I will answer them promptly.

Vijay Prabhu

Snapdragon BatteryGuru for Android devices updated, enjoy extra power on your Snapdragon powered phone

Snapdragon BatteryGuru is a powerful Android App which helps you save battery charge on Snapdragon powered processors.   And believe me, Android devices running on Snapdragon processors do need battery life extension.   Qualcomm on Monday released the full version of Snapdragon BatteryGuru, an app that helps you save the battery life of your device.

BatteryGuru extends the battery life on Snapdragon-powered devices by optimising its functionality. It doesn't need any manual configuration and runs in the background. The hueristic nature of the App enables it to learn the phone’s behaviour in two to four days and notifies the user that it is ready to extend the battery life.

The App has already received more than one lakh hits since Qualcomm launched the beta version in February. Qualcomm has now also added addition language support for Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish languages in the new version. 

IF you have a Android device powered by Snapdragon processor, this must have App is available for download from Google Play here.

Vijay Prabhu

Appearing for CAT (Common Admission Test), check out these best online resources for your preparations

You wish to be one of them! Read on!!

Appearing for Common Admission Test or CAT, as its known and famous, is a must for getting admissions into the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM).   There are several entrance examinations taking place every year in India like MAT, XAT, MH-CET but CAT remains one bull which all students and aspirants wish to climb.  This is because a admission into any of the IIMs is a assured mode of career progression and attaining your financial and lifetime goals.  

This is a known fact and to take advantage of this, there are several coaching classes and various online sites who specialize in preparing you for the CAT.  However it is often seen and heard that many of these classes and sites are nothing but money making expeditions by operators.  So to help all students who wish to appear for CAT I have prepared a list of online coaching classes, so give them a try.

TCYOnline  : This site offers free preparation tests and study material as well as premium courses.  TYCOnline offers three courses which you may opt as per your budget.  Basic for Rs.975.00, Advantage for Rs.1450.00 and Premium for Rs.1950.00.  Basic offers you 250 chapter and section tests along with mock tests.  Advantage includes all of the above and voice based lectures with notes, which you can download.  Premium contains all of the above  and  includes mock tests for other tests. TCY Analytics lets you compare your score with other test takers and know where exactly you stand.  Visit their site here to know more.

Next one is Arun Sharma's MindWorkzz.  Arun Sharma is a alumni of IIM Bangalore and one of the best known online coaching Gurus.  MindWorkzz offers online coaching to interested students and includes webinar. In case of a query during the lecture, a student can conveniently raise his/her hand ask the question.   To check out what I am talking about, please visit his site and click on demo lectures.  This one of the best options for hardworking students.  The courses on MindWorkzz start from Rs.5500.00 onwards.   Once you are online, you can specifically opt for the section which interests you like Verbal or DI.  If you want a full comprehensive course you can opt for it.   MindWorkzz's DNA is the convenience it offer to you to attend the lectures sitting at home rather then spending 30+minutes travelling to the physical centre.  Visit here to have a look at MindWorkzz.

The next one I am presenting is BYJU’s classes.  If the MindWorkzz idea of attending a online lecture is not your cup of tea, try this one.  It has physical classes all over India.  The only problem is you have to attend the local class to watch the online lectures. The queries and questions you have will be answered by the local teacher.  One big advantage of BYJU's classes is that you get to interact with students and its lectures are known to be particularly well received by students. 

Another plus from me for BYJU's classes is that before joining it they offer you an option for free trial lecture.  And the site itself is extremely easy to navigate with Easy, Medium, Difficult level filters and within them Verbal, DI, Quantitative and mock tests.   BYJU's classes also offers you options to download the free e-booklet, a PDF file with all shortcuts.  Their online comprehensive test series package which includes 4000+ online questions, 150+ chapterwise unit tests, comprehensive online feedback, special CAT files to practise techniques and strategies, costs Rs.5000.00 Try out the  20 or so online mock tests available on the site.  Visit here to give BYJU's classes a try!

There are many more which are really good, I am publishing this three and if you respond favourably to the post, I will post some more classes in continuation to this article.  Do write in your comments on if you have any of your choice online coaching sites.

Vijay Prabhu

Results time in India, check your results online for SSC (10th) , CBSE and HSC (12th) of various boards

The vacations are nearly drawing to close for all the students who had appeared for SSC (10th) and HSC (12th) this year.  Last year the Maharashtra board had declared SSC results in the last week of May and the results for HSC in the first week of June.  This year too, the same is expected from the MSBSHSE.  These results are put on the official websites much before they are distributed to the students, therefore all the students are curious and anxious to know their results.

And believe me, almost all the parents are more eager to know the results of their wards then the students themselves.  So to help this anxious parents and not so anxious students I am giving hyperlinks of almost all Boards who will declare the results.  

You have to keep your seat number/roll number ready to get the results online.   

1. 10th (SSC) for Maharashtra students

2. 12th (HSC) for Maharashtra students

3. 10th (CBSE) for All India students

4. Results for Goa students

5. Results for Karnataka students

6.  Results for Gujarat students 

7.  Results for Kerala students

8.  Results for Madhya Pradesh students

9.  Results for Meghalaya students

10. Results for Odisha students

11. Results for Punjab students

12. Results for Tamil Nadu students

13. Result for Rajasthan students

14. Result for Andhra Pradesh students

Please note that the sites might not work on the results day due to jamming and over load.  Further, check your local newspapers for the dates of declaration of results.

Hope you all do well and make your parents proud.  Best of luck.  And do press like on Facebook and Google + buttons1

Vijay Prabhu

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Google Chrome 27 released, Google fast pacing its updates at one a day, gives voice search service to users

Close on the heels of Opera's full fledged launch of its browser, today, Google has released Chrome v27.  Google has said that this is a stable release of Chrome 27 after a brief beta testing period.

The new Chrome loads 5 percent faster then the previous version.  Also with the new release comes, a bunch of goodies.  The new API allows users to sync and save content to Google Drive.  Google has also rehashed ranking of predictions, spell correction and Omnibox predictions. 

In all the Chrome 27 has fixed 14 bugs which had been identified by Google and beta testers from around the world, who were suitably rewarded by Google.  Another big boost for the Chrome 27 is the new Adobe Flash build in.  This would please the harried users who had been stuck with the security issues of old Flash version.  

The best of all is the interactive 'Conversation' feature in the new Chrome.  It lets the users ask any thing and you will get a spoken reply.  For example if you ask what is the temperature in Mumbai?  It will reply with the temperature at given time.  You can then follow up the conversation with a question like will it rain in Mumbai? and get a reply from Chrome.  If your question deals with a bigger issue with many search results,  the Chrome reply is coupled with information cards supported by Google's Knowledge Graph.

To activate it download the Chrome 27 browser or by going here, go to the settings page and click on the Help line entry option.  You will be prompted to restart the browser and you are done.  Once you restart the Chrome 27, head straight over to www.google.com and hit the microphone icon in the search box.  It will ask you necessary permissions to use your voice and now start asking.  

Quite sensation update this from Google, coming close on the heels of launch of Opera's browser.  This will start the new browser wars of 2013.  Keep asking and get spoken results.  Plus this article if you like it and comment on the new update from Google.

Another thing  which I forgot to mention was the Easter Eggs in the new Chrome,  spot one and be an instant hero on the world wide web.

Vijay Prabhu

M-Indicator the time table for your Trains (This post is only for Mumbaikars)

As you all know the suburban fares have been increased by the railways and the timing of trains have been changed by Western Railway so many of the commuters are confused right now regarding the exact train to catch for commuting to office.   So the makers of M-Indicator the popular App for all phones has now launched a updated version to cater to the changes. 

the new m-Indicator version 7.1 Sparrow will have the following for your needs.
1.Mumbai Local Train timetable
-Western (29 Mar 2013)
-Central (28 Mar 2013) 
-Harbour (14 Feb 2012) 
-Thane-Vashi (14 Feb 2012)
-Virar-Dahanu 
-Diva-Roha
-Dahanu Panvel
-Neral-Matheran
-Indicator Symbols,
-Rail Ticket fare
-Rail Map of all routes and proposed Nerul-Uran route
2.Bus Routes
-BEST, NMMT, TMT,VVMT
-Get route by bus number
-Get buses arriving at particular bus stop
-Search buses between source and destination
-AC bus timetable updated on March April 2013
3.Auto and taxi fare
-Day and Night fare
-Complaint numbers of RTO
-Luggage charges information
4.Classifieds section
-Get advertisements of jobs ,real estate, education..
5. Jobs
- JOB Section giving updated information of Government and Private Jobs in Mumbai and rest of the Maharashtra is available along with last date of application & website link.
6.Natak Cinema
- Get daily schedule of Marathi Natak and Cinema
7.Railway megablock information
- Get weekly updated information of railway megablocks on Sundays
8. Picnic Spots
-get category wise list of picnic spots e.g beaches, Hill stations, Waterfalls, Caves, Forts, Farmhouse, Resorts, Lakes 
-Get distance wise list of various weekend picnic spots nearby Mumbai.
-Watch pics , read description and other information about spot
-Get updated list(Oct 2012) of MTDC approved budget hotels of all over Maharashtra
8."Indian Railways PNR status check". PNR can be checked through internet or through SMS.
9.Movies
- get Theater wise list of latest Movie shows in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.
10. Sodexo Outlet Locator
- Search Sodexo outlet nearby your area

So if you are a Mumbaikar, this is a must have App for you.  
1. Android users download the App from Google Play.

2. Blackberry (old) users download the App here.

3. Nokia users(Java version) users download the App here Jad file and Jar file.

4. Samsung and LG  (Java version) users download the App here Jad file and Jar file

5. Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 users can download the App from Windows Phone Store here.

Kindly post in your comments on the App.  If you like this App visit my page of Phone Apps here and enjoy.  To keep abreast of Mumbai news click here.

If you are looking for train travels outside Mumbai, or if you are planning your holidays, take a look at these MakeMyTrip coupons.