Center for Railway Information Services (CRIS) has launched a Windows 8 app that keeps the users posted about the Indian trains status. The app is available for Windows 8 desktop and Windows Phone 8.
This National Train Enquiry System (NTES) app comes packed with many useful features that will be helpful for the Indian rail commuters. It helps the users the track the status of a train on motion, search for trains between stations, cancelled, diverted, rescheduled trains, arrival and departure time of trains and more.
Based on first impressions, the app worked fast and delivered the information fast. With just the input of the train number, you can get details about the Indian trains.
There may be many third party mobile apps that do the same task, but this being the official one from the Indian Railways, it should keep the users posted on accurate and prompt information.
If you didn’t know, Indian Railways also has the official IRCTC app for Windows devices. There are no reports on when the Indian Railways plans on bringing these apps to other mobile platforms.
Airtel is one of the largest prepaid mobile networks in India with over 20 crore users. In a move to provide cost effective data and call plans, Airtel has launched unlimited night data and call plans.
These night packs will work from 12 midnight to 6 am in the morning and are valid for one time use. That is, if you activate the pack before 12 midnight, they’ll be active only from 12 midnight to 6 am the next day.
There are six packs that come under this special scheme. They are as follows :
1 rupee – Unlimited Facebook access. You can browse Facebook at 3G speeds till 250 MB. In a tweet to the company, Airtel confirmed
that the 3G speed works with Facebook app too, and not just the mobile browser version of Facebook.
7 rupees – Unlimited Airtel to Airtel local voice calls.
8 rupees – Unlimited 2G Internet access.
15 rupees – Unlimited Airtel and Airtel local calls and 2G access.
29 rupees – 500 MB of 3G access.
49 rupees – 1 GB of 3G access.
This is the cheapest 3G data plan provided by any mobile network till date.
To activate any of these packs, dial 129 or *129# You can also activate these packs at Airtel night mobile website. The link is at the bottom of the post.
These packs are not available for all the users. There may be variations in the cost by 1 or 2 rupees depending on the users’ circles. The 29 rupees and 49 rupees 3G packs are limited to Delhi, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Mumbai, UP (West), Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, North East and Assam users.
Heartbleed, a recently discovered OpenSSL security bug has created fears in the minds of many Internet users. OpenSSL provides communication security to web, email, instant messaging and various virtual private networks too.
Heartbleed is a serious flaw in the OpenSSL security system that allows any person to access the memory of the systems of the client or sever and get information.
This security flaw has been found in only certain versions of OpenSSL software. Android devices use OpenSSL software. Based on reports, Google has confirmed that Android 4.1.1 is vulnerable. To check if your device is affected by Heartbleed, a new app from Lookout Mobile Security is available and is called Heartbleed Detector.
Heartbleed Detector is a free app on the Google Play store and supports all Android devices running Android 2.2 and above. Once you download and install the app, it automatically scans your device and tells you if your device is vulnerable or not.
As for me, my Android device is running a version of OpenSSL that is affected by Heartbleed, but there are no serious issues that I should pay attention to. My device is safe.
This app will not scan the apps on your Android. So, you will not be able to check if your online accounts are vulnerable to Heartbleed.
Solution to save your Android device from Heartbleed
As of now there is no option to save your Android from this bug. Google is currently working on a patch and will send the update through mobile carriers. To update your Android software, go to Settings > About > Software Update.
If you are worried about waiting for Google’s patch and want to safeguard your Android device, consider installing Android anti-virus apps from Google Play Store.
LastPass Heartbleed Checker
LastPass, a password manager, has launched its own Heartbleed checker. It allows you to type a website address and shows if it is vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug. It also gives an in depth analysis of which version of OpenSSL the website is on and if the website is patched from the bug.
Dropbox, the largest cloud storage service, has launched Mailbox for Android and announced that the Mac OS X version is coming soon. Mailbox was bought by Dropbox last year. Mailbox is a smart email client that manages all your email accounts in one place. It has been designed for mobiles.
Mailbox has been available for iPhone and iPad since a long time. This is the first time Mailbox is available for Android. Currently it supports only Gmail and iCloud accounts. There are no words on when Dropbox will launch other email services to Mailbox for Android.
Mailbox for Android – Archive section
Mailbox for Android comes with Auto-swipe feature that learns from your swiping gestures on the mail conversations. There are four swipes that you can perform on your mails :
Short swipe to the right : Archives the mail.
Long swipe to the right : Trashes the mail.
Short swipe to the left : Snoozes the mail. A pop-up box shows you pre-defined times which you can choose. Based on your choice, Mailbox will remind you of the pending un-read mail at the specified time.
Long swipe to the left : Categorizes the mail to lists. There are three pre-defined lists : To Watch, To Buy, To read. You can create your own lists too.
You can also create your own rules (tasks) to be performed when you receive a particular type of mail. To create rules, long press icons shown at the top right of the mail conversation and choose the task.
For example, if you wish to trash all the upcoming mails from xxx@yyy.com, long press the trash icon at the top right of the screen and choose the required option.
Also, based on reports, a Mac OS X version of Mailbox is coming soon. To signup for the beta, enter your email address at Mailbox for Mac OS X webpage.
The current Facebook for Android group is a mess. Everyone knows that. The app is slow, lags and many users have even experienced problems with crashing often.
If you didn’t know, Facebook has a Alpha Testers group that allows the Android users to test the Facebook app updates before they are rolled out to the public.
The above shown image is that of the new Facebook for Android that Facebook has been working on. Based on first impressions, the app is fast and fluid. Scrolling across the posts, navigation is smooth, multimedia upload/download is flawless and the app didn’t crash. Simply said, this version is much better than the previous ones.
How to get this new Facebook app
Before you download this new version, you’ll have to note that, you will experience issues too since this is a beta edition. There may be crashes, image upload/load failure and other glitches.
There are two ways to get this new version of Facebook for Android.
The easy way is to download the Facebook version 9.0.0.0.18 APK and install it on your device. The APK download link is mentioned at the bottom of the post.
The hard way, is to sign up at Facebook for Android Alpha Testers group with your Google account by clicking the Become a tester button. Once registered, go to Settings > Apps on your Android device, find Facebook and hit Clear data. Once done, go to Google Play Store and update the app. If you do not find the update button, uninstall it and download it again.
If you are not able to update the app inside Google Play, try installing the alpha version APK.
Google Keep for Android has been updated. The Android team sent a tweet on Twitter announcing this new update. This update brings three interesting features : text search in images, trashcan and List Settings to auto organize lists.
In-image text search is an useful feature that scans your images for the text input that you give.
Trashcan is a temporary location that stores your deleted notes. It will help you to recover notes that you deleted accidentally. Note that, deleting and archiving notes are different.
List Settings brings an option to program has the lists organize themselves. You can choose the position of a new text to the list and what happens to the checked off lists.
Hopefully there will be many more updates coming to Google Keep in the near future. Some of the features that I would like to see are : integration with Google Drive, Gmail, Night Mode, shared notes with other Google accounts and protected notes.
Do you have anything that you would like to see in Google Keep? Share your thoughts with us.
Link Bubble is a nifty Android app that makes mobile browsing more easy. When you click a link on any app, Link Bubble automatically loads the page in its floating browser in background, and displays the page once it is fully loaded.
Like the name denotes, Link Bubble is basically a bubble that floats on your Android device screen. It draws inspiration for its interface, from Facebook’s Chat Heads.
Two things that Link Bubble does great : load pages silently in background, save the user from the process of looking at the URL redirects.
Based on first impressions, the app does a perfect job, but is slow. When I opened a link with Link Bubble’s built-in floating browser, it took 15 seconds to completely load the page. When I opened the same link on my Opera Mini browser, the page loaded in less than 5 seconds.
The bubble transitions could have been better. They lag a bit and don’t have the zippy nature (which Chat Heads have).
The app can help you share a link to other apps. This is achieved with the help of two special bubbles : Left bubble and Right bubble. Drag-and-drop the main bubble to any one of the special bubbles to share the link.
Link Bubble shows even after you come out of the default app. The bubbles disappear only when you drag-and-drop the main bubble at the close bubble available at the bottom of the screen.
You can choose the default app (the app whose links should be intercepted by Link Bubble), special bubbles and the default fallback browser in the settings.
The free app limits to one bubble and one app (the links in this app will open through Link Bubble) while the pro version can opens links in all apps and it supports multiple bubbles.
In the event of Twitter’s eight birthday, March 21, the micro-blogging website has launched a simple tool to check your first ever tweet.
Aptly named First Tweet, the service allows you to discover the first tweet that you sent when you joined the micro-blogging website.
In addition to checking your first tweet, you can also check the first tweet sent by any Twitter handle. Just enter the username and the tool will show you the first tweet. (No need to authenticate the tool)
There is also an option to tweet this discovery or share it on other social networks.
Try it out, it’s fun! Do not forget to share with us your first tweet and other amusing first tweets that you come across.
It’s official. Just like Motorola hinted, Moto X has come to India. Flipkart is the launch partner of Moto X and has begin selling the device: five colored and two wood variants of Moto X.
The five colors are Black, White, Royal Blue, Turquoise and Cherry. The two wood variants are Walnut and Teak. The plastic variants are priced at Rs 23,999 and the wood variants at Rs 25,999.
The Black and White pieces are available in stock right now, while the wood variants will be on pre-order and be delivered in the second week of April.
Moto Maker and Moto Skip, the wearable device to easily unlock your Moto X without punching your pin/password every time, will not be available in India for now.
Flipkart will be selling only the 16 GB version of Moto X for now. The device is a single SIM variant.
They will also be offering cash on delivery (COD) and In-a-day guarantee irrespective of the payment option.
Similar to Moto G launch, Flipkart is bringing many interesting launch day offers. The three launch day offers are :
Rs 1000 cashback on purchase using the 6 months EMI option.
Flat 70% offer on Moto X cases.
10 lucky winners get 100% cashback. Just like Moto G launch, the cashback will be provided in the Flipkart Wallet.
These offers will be applicable for orders placed today only.
Will Moto X launch in India be successful?
Moto X has a display of 4.7 inch. It is powered by a 1.7 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Adreno 320 GPU and 2 GB RAM. It comes with a 10 MP camera at the rear and a 2 MP camera at the front.
It will run Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box and that’s one of the selling points.
Motorola has kept the Stock UI for most part, adding a few exclusive features like ActiveDisplay, Touch Less control and Quick Capture Camera.
First, the device is too late to the Indian market. It was announced in August, 2013 in the United States.
Next, looking at the price tag, the Nexus 5 from Google costs an additional Rs 6000, but comes with better hardware. Also, Nexus devices promise latest software updates.
Nexus 4 can be a good choice too at this price.
Looking at the bright side, Google cut the price tag from the announced $550 to $399 in the United States in January, 2014. It was done to have a bigger impact at the markets outside the United States. Priced low in India, it could actually have a good impact despite the late arrival to the India markets.
Are you buying one today on Flipkart? Do tell us if you win the freebies.
Fiverr for Android is now available. You can grab it from the Google Play store.
If you didn’t know, Fiverr is a platform for people to buy/sell micro jobs. You can hire people who are willing to do something for $5. Also, you can sell your own services for $5.
Fiverr has been available on the iOS platform since last December. It is the first time it has come to the Android world.
Based on first impressions, the app is beautifully coded. It has a menu section in the left side and there, you’ll find your Inbox, Collections, Sales, Shopping and Notifications.
The app offers options to quickly purchase your favorite Gigs and also notifies you whenever a buyer contacts you or when there is an update to your sale.
It comes with a search box too, to help you find the Gig that you need among the millions that are available.
Sadly, there isn’t an option to create your Gigs. For creating Gigs, you’ll have to visit the Fiverr website on your mobile or desktop browser.
