App solute zero!

Three tipping points in the year gone by told us why the mobile phone has now become for Indians, their biggest tool for empowerment—a potent combo of pizzazz and productivity. One: In June, the number of mobile phone subscriptions crossed 1 billion. Two: In October, 4G-ready smartphones outsold 3G devices for the first time. And last week, the number of Internet users in India crossed 400 million, overtaking the US.

Together, they explain  why the net-connected handphone has morphed into an agni asthra in our hands—thanks to a vast array of Android, iOS and Windows apps, and solutions. Ironically, the best of these are not priced tools—and as we  head for 2016, let me share some favourite free apps that will make life a little easier, cooler in the new year. Remember, the apps are all free, but some offer services that you would expect to pay for.

Voice as SMS

Why text when you can talk? InstaVoice is the brainchild of  Dr Inderpal Singh Mumick and his South African company, Kirusa.com. It lets you send an instant Voice SMS to anyone in the world, even while you manage your voicemails and  missed calls.

Lifestyle chat

The  world's most popular   mix of chat and messaging—n-gage—is now available in India -- with various fun and interactive features like ‘n-Cards’, ‘n-Stickers’, ‘Chat Makeovers’ and ‘Doodle Plus’. Users can create groups with up to 300 participants  and language is no constraint as n-gage enables communication  in over 45 languages with  a ‘Translate’ feature.

Health & safety

Of the many health aggregation services, I have found Practo to be one of the most comprehensive, with a nationwide spread. The app helps you find doctors in your city. You can also use Practo to book instant appointments , looking  up details like qualifications, consultation fees and  feedback from other patients. With some 200,000 verified doctors, labs and clinic profiles, you have a good choice.

Adding another notch to convenience,  a recent app, Doctor Insta lets you consult a doctor  from the privacy  of tone's  home—through video and  audio. Doctors look, listen, and engage with the patients to diagnose and to offer effective treatment in 15-30 minutes ( cost around Rs 400), saving hours of travel  time

Safesavaari,  is a first of its kind safety mobile Android  application for passengers commuting by cabs, taxis and other privately hired vehicles, which  lets users send a live video of the journey over 3G Network / WIFI., after verifying the driver's antecedents  by capturing his biometric finger scan. There is also an SOS mode.  It is available in major cities but  needs the cooperation of the taxi agencies  to work.

Free calls for the rest of us

A free call app, increasingly popular in emerging markets has recently  beefed up its Android version and launched an edition for iOS. The app called nanu from Singapore, promises free calls to everyone, everywhere, even on 2G, and works where other  Voice over Internet calls demand   more bandwidth.

Parenting:
Family app India’s first family organiser app mycity4kids.com, is an online platform that helps parents search for activities and content related to kids with features like upcoming events, kids resources etc.

Messaging without Internet or data plan

India’s own messaging app  scored a world-first in 2015 when it launched  Hike Direct,  which  allows users to chat, transfer photos and heavy files of any type, without the Internet and without incurring data charges. It allows mobile phones to connect with one another directly within a 100 metre radius completely by passing the telecom networks. Currently only on Android and available  in  eight  Indian languages, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.

Job hunting on mobile

Two innovative Indian apps have extended the boundaries of job search by harnessing the hand phone: ePoise calls itself the world’s first job interview app. You can directly give a video interview for jobs, on your smartphone, at your convenience, irrespective of location. Companies like Infosys, mPhasis, Flipkart, Housing.com, Snapdeal, Inmobi and Vizury  arf hiring  via ePoise.

Veuon Technologies  makes canny use of the  smartphone's GPS positioning to help job seekers meet job providers within a restricted area that could be as circle of 50, 30, 20 even 5 kms in radius. With the Android app, job seekers’ phone will list all the prospective job providers in their preferred region. They can send their CVs to the employers they select. Alerts or notifications are provided when a match is found. The service is free for candidates.

Earn talktime

If you don’t mind downloading time pass apps suggested to you and taking part in sureys, they might subsidise your mobile recharge. Earn Talktime  is an ad funded wallet which lets you earn money for each mobile application you download/install on your mobile. The money collected in your Earn Talktime wallet can be redeemed against recharge of a prepaid mobile connection or towards payment of postpay mobile, landline, DTH bills etc