Author: Nitya Uppal

Sony XSP- N1BT Turns Your Smartphone Into a Car Stereo

Today Sony India announced XSP- N1BT, a smart docking system that may make those long and tedious drives back from work slightly less painful.

Sony XSP- N1BT can be propped on the dashboard, and the phone can be connected onto the dock. Their docking system accommodates various sizes of Smartphone’s from various brands. Android Smartphone users can utilize the one touch Near Field Communication Connection for quick Bluetooth pairing.

First, you’ll need to download “App Control” onto your phone. Once the app is downloaded and the phone is connected, you’d have easy access to your music, radio, navigation, phone calls, and text messages. The app will then help you control the car audio system as well as give you control of all of your Smartphone’s other apps (think Souncloud.)

Since this device is made specifically keeping drivers in mind, they have included a much-needed voice control system. Instead of pulling over and struggling to set a destination on your navigation app, this voice command function will give you control over your Maps. It will also reads out the incoming texts and emails (this can be turned off).

While its main attraction is the docking system, it can also used as standalone device with CD, USB, radio and tuner functions. Lastly, the device has charging capability with an optimally designed compact USB cable for any type of Smartphone. Since everyone is constantly complaining about their drained battery, we suspect this feature would be appreciated.

Priced at Rs 12,990, the device is available in all major car accessories stores.

June 3, 2014
How Social Media Helped Narendra Modi Win

Narendra Modi, leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party, won the 16th Lok Sabha elections on Friday. The stocks rose above the 25,000 mark for the first time, and the Rupee is finally getting stronger. As promised, the economic growth is moving forward in full force, but will this win deter and stunt us an independent inclusive state? Will the new ruling party ensure that the needs of the minorities are catered to? The nation is abuzz with questions about what Narendra Modi’s first big move as the Prime Minister of India may be.

While the country debates about the pros and cons of Modi’s victory. We decided to take a step back and take a look at the party’s strategic online campaign which subsequently led to their smooth win.

Futuristic Campaigning

There is no debate about the fact that political campaigns can be no longer constrained to traditional rallying. We’ve got something bigger and better connecting the voters and the potential leaders – the World Wide Web. The Bhartiya Janata Party ensured they had a strong online presence across each of the social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.

While the BJP party campaigned extensively across the country, conducting rally’s in every village, town and city; they did something clever. They went a step ahead and used various methods of technology to keep their voters feeling included. Many rural areas which were hard to reach and had no access to the internet, screens were staged and recorded speeches were played. Through Facebook, the 14 million followers could track Narendra Modi’s every move during the campaign. Meetings with dignitaries, selfies with celebrities, were shared. It was used as a mini blog, giving an impression that we are directly receiving messages from the Narendra Modi himself. His YouTube channel, has an extensive collection of speeches and interviews. The speeches were available is several regional languages.

#ModifiedIndia

On Twitter, @NarendraModi’s victory tweet, “India has won” created record history by becoming the most retweeted and favourited tweet from India. After Barack and Michelle Obama, he is now the most followed politician on Twitter. #Tsunamo, #Modiheadto2RCR, #Mission272 and #ModifiedIndia were some of the top trends on Twitter for days.

While Narendra Modi has more than 4million followers on Twitter, Rahul Gandhi doesn’t even have a verified Twitter account. The second most followed contestant on Twitter was Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party. It could be considered as an attempt to keep his following informed, however his tweets were mostly overconfident grumbling and blatant false promises. Much like most of Kejriwal’s campaign, his rants were ill-focused and misguided. On the other hand, Modi’s team used the platform what its meant for, connecting and building a sense of community through short eloquent messages.

Brand Modi

Social Media Marketing works on one key concept – the appearance of underlying messages coming from a trusted source. The smartest move by BJP, was having a clear cut face for each of the platforms. More than promoting Bhartiya Janta Party, Narendra Modi’s name and face was everywhere. It is a classic case of branding – they have a focus group (the entire population of India), a client brief (their election manifesto) and a product (Mr Modi).

Overall, they used social media exactly like every major enterprise in the world is now using. Why shouldn’t they? A campaign is synonymous to a sales pitch. One that BJP mastered to the notch.

While many attributes may have contributed to BJP’s win, one has to give the credit to the party’s attempt to plan ahead and use the strongest connectivity tool existent today. The outcome of the five years is yet to be seem, but the party needs to be given respect for smartly using social media to mobilize and include the masses. This also helped them promote an image of complete transparency.

The slant and leaning of each of the political parties campaign’s were entirely reflected through their social media campaigns. Arvind Kejrival’s feeble attempt, Narendra Modi’s strong hold on the medium and Rahul Gandhi’s presence was entirely non-existent.

May 18, 2014
Up Your Instagram Game: Top Apps for the Power User
There isn’t a dearth of third party apps which support Instagram. Just to name a few, we have – Insta Frame, Insta Greeting Card, Insta Collage Effect, Insta Photo Fx, Insta Editor, and Insta Split Cam – the list goes on.

We sort through the mess and round up the top apps you should download. They will definitely make you the most Insta-saavy person around.
1. Pixsta
  
  Sometimes we feel that the creators of Instagram purposely made the app with certain restrictions. We can’t think of a reason why they’d only allow us to access our accounts via mobile devices. The desktop version is only useful if you want to scroll through your newsfeed. You can download Pixsta to access it better. Drawbacks? Compared to Instagram, the interface is quite cluttered and they still haven’t figured out a way for us to post pictures.
2. Instasize
  
  We get it, the sole idea of Instagram was to click and share instantly – the style and idea reminiscent of the Polaroid Kodak. But what about all the pictures that have already been clicked in the 4:3 aspect ratio. The kinds we need for Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday or Way Back Wednesday? This distinctive feature, which restraints us to the square shape, has annoyed us on several occasions. We refuse to stay within the box! Insta Size helps beat the crop box, by re-sizing images.
3. Flipagram
  
  You threw a party and can’t wait to share what an amazing time you had. Instead of boring your followers by posting all the pictures separately, use this app to create a quick video slideshow. You have an option of choosing the speed of the pictures and titles can also be included. It’s the easiest way to tell your story, without the countless posts. Depending on the feel of your party, you can even select your soundtrack.
4. Afterlight
  
  Instagram filters are great and have a knack for making everything more beautiful. But you have to see the adjustment and options that Afterlight has to offer – it gives you further options which make your images look more artistic. You have a varied choice between filters, textures, frames, cropping and transforming tools. A paid app, but worth every penny spent.
May 7, 2014
10 Best Celebrity Instagrams of the Week

This week our news feed was crowded by updates about the IIFA Awards, IPL and inked fingers. Here’s our round up from some of our favourite celebrity Instagrams:

1. Sonankshi Sinha enjoys the lavish life en route to Tampa Bay, Florida for the IIFA awards.

2. Talk about star power. Anil Kapoor and Kevin Spacey mingling at the IIFA awards.

3. Since Kareena Kapoor hasn’t given in to Instagram yet, we follow her stylist Tanya Ghavri to keep tabs on the stunning star.

4. We can always depend on Khloe Kardashian for weekly inspiration.

5.Sonakshi Sinha spent the day with her entourage at Disney World, Florida.

6. But first, let me take a selfie. Virat Kohli sends positive vibes to his 10 million fans.

7. Sorry, she’s not sorry. Mindy Kaling uses her t-shirt to make a statement.

8. Well, atleast someone is excited about the IPL. The elusive Ranbir Kapoor shares a rare picture.

9. We loved the social media trend of sharing freshly inked fingers. Sonam Kapoor does her bit.

10. Justin Bieber being deported from USA was clearly just a rumour. He enjoys a rare sunny day in NYC.

April 28, 2014
Top 4 Places To Buy Cool Cases Online

Nothing feels worse than when our phone/laptop/tablet slips out of our fingers and crashes face down. It takes a few seconds to shake it around, jab a few buttons, before you realize that its still alive and kicking. However in those few seconds, the life of the gadget flashes before our eyes. The thought of surviving for a few hours without emails, pictures, memos and all the contacts!

Sorry to state the obvious – we have deep love and respect for the gadgets in our life. To avoid scratches, bumps and other possible mishaps, we choose to wrap them up stylishly. Here is our list of favourite sites to shop from:

Cocaine

Other than its bold name, what fascinates us about the store is the beautiful way their products were showcased. Through the years, there are certain interior tricks retailers have developed to influence customers and increase sales. Cocaine is using them online. Don’t think we’re complaining. They’ve set up a sleek website, which makes the experience of browsing far better than any other. They have a carefully curated collection of the hippest cases; edgier than the rest.

Daily Objects

Their USP is giving shoppers an option to customize designs for their cases. You can dabble around with colour, images and text. Daily Objects seems pretty confident about their quality – they offer a ‘one year manufacturing defect and print’ warranty. If the printing wears off within a year, they promise to replace it. Considering the everyday wear and tear of our phones, that sounds like an amazing offer. This website attempts to “cover” it all. Other than fun phone cases, their extensive collection includes screen guards, car chargers, car phone holder, portable chargers and other tech accessories.

Maalgadi

It’s a one-stop online shop for cases by kitschy Indian brands. Chumbak, Happily Unmarried, Pink Jalebi and more, under one digital umbrella. Each of their products celebrate desi-ness with a sense of humour. Maalgadi aims to provide a platform to young upcoming designers, so watch their Facebook page for frequent updates. They also sell coasters, beer mugs, shot glasses, key chains, dresses, fridge magnets, boxers and bags.

Love 4 Apple

This one caters to Apple loyalists. Love 4 Apple offers a large variety – from simple simple clean cases to original intricate designs. The tab dedicated to cases designed by artists features a varied selection. From doodles of a 12th grader to ones inspired by works of Vincent Van Gogh. Other than the covers, they have a vast collection of accessories. Docking station, external batteries, printers, docks, cables – basically anything and everything that can support your Apple device.

April 26, 2014
Top 5 Apps To Help De-Clutter Your Digital Life

We have so much to thank Smartphones for! They help us keep tabs on our friends, emails, daily events and pictures. If we ever have a random doubt, thanks to 3G, an answer is ready within seconds. Since now we can look up anything, anywhere and at anytime – it has led to the death of debates.

As much as it has made our lives simpler, too many hours are wasted on it as well. At iGyaan, with the million things we do daily, staying on top of the online world is a skill we’ve perfected over time. The aim is to spend the least amount of time scouring through junk and get straight to what’s important. Here are our picks of the top apps which will make you the most digitally organized person around:

Social Media Mania

1. Pixable

After being on Facebook for years, it’s easy to accumulate friends who now hold no significance in your life. You couldn’t care less about who, when and why, the girl you met at a conference in 2008 is getting married to today. Even though unimportant newsfeed annoys us daily, deleting these “friends” is not an option. Here is where Pixable steps in. The app gathers all the pictures shared by your friends, and customizes it to show you only the profiles you choose. It compiles your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feed, and organizes into sections according to relevance personalized by you. Some of the useful sections include – Top Photos of the Day, New Profile Pics, and Most Recent Photos.

2. Socialgiri

It could be to stay in tune with the entertainment industry or the need to know which teenager James Franco tried to pick up lately on Instagram. We all have specific celebrities we like to keep track of (read: stalk) via social media. There are times when we’ve considered getting rid of the constant updates, but we secretly love being a part of the drama in their lives. This app helps you create a separate timeline solely dedicated to your chosen celebrities, consequently tidying up your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Socialgiri users can choose from over 500 social media celebrities from Bollywood, Hollywood, music, sports, fashion and politics. So, in a single flow you’ll see Critiano Ronaldo’s tweet about where he’s eating lunch, which would be followed by a perfectly Instagrammed picture of his dish. It also gives you an option to be able to like or comment through any of your three accounts. Available on Android and iOS, it recently launched its iPad Version.

Daily Reading

3. Flipboard

We can’t speak about aggregating feeds without mentioning Flipboard. It is the one-stop destination to stay in clue about what’s happening in the world. You can combine your favourite media portals and search for any news you might be interested in. Its clean interface reminiscent of a print magazine makes this our favourite way to browse through everyday stories. The action of flipping through news pieces, attempts to recreate the experience of physically using a print publication. You can also add your personal networks such as Facebook, Twitter and share stories directly through the app.

4.Pulse

Another one similar to Flipboard is Pulse. Like its competitor it collects and organizes news to suit your needs. Created by Stanford graduates Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari, the app got rave reviews for its slick interface. The display is more image-based, making it faster to get through articles. The key feature which gives it an edge above Flipboard is that it can load previously read stories even when you’re stuck without internet.

How To Never Miss An Email

5. Mailbox

This handy app promises to make your inbox light, fast and mobile-friendly. It helps you combine your Gmail, Google Apps and iCloud accounts into one single app. Some of its significant functions which should be utilized: You can snooze emails and get back to them later, mute conversations which aren’t important and it also automates your common actions. The mailbox swiftly recognizes what’s important and what’s not.

April 22, 2014
10 Best Celebrity Instagrams of the Week

Here’s the weekly update from some of our favourite celebrity Instagrams. In this week: Coachella continues, 4/20, Easter weekend and Real Madrid’s Copa Del Rey win.

1. Another week, another Arjun-Alia Selfie. We’ve heard plenty good things about their recently released movie, 2 States.

2. Kim Kardashian’s half-sister makes style statement at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held in Colarado.

3. Eminem and Rihanna performed “The Monster” for the first time live at the MTV Movie Awards.

4. This is how the supermodel chose to wish her fans a Happy Easter.

5. Another Easter update, this time from Ms Pinto. She shares a snap enjoying a happy meal, with a spicy Bloody Mary on the side.

6. Now this is what we’d call a power-celeb slumber party. Nicole Richie, Chelsea Handler, Stella McCartney, Naomi Watts, Gwen Stefani, Sam Taylor Wood and Gwyenth Paltrow enjoy a girls night in.

7. Jacqueline Fernandes “sightseeing” while out and about in Poland.

8. Right after Real Madrid beat archrivals Barcelona 2-1 to win the Copa del Rey title, Ronaldo shared a shot with their trophy.

9. On the sets of the upcoming comedy Humshakals. Directed by Sajid Khan, the movie has Saif Ali Khan, Ram Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh in a triple role.

10. Last but not least, Kardashian reposted one of the images from their cover shoot on the April issue of American Vogue.

April 21, 2014
Top 4 Places To Buy T-Shirts Online

The end of every winter always makes us wonder where our summer wardrobe disappeared. Once the jackets and sweaters have been stored away, the empty closet space seems to require replenishment. But let’s face it, when it comes to picking out sartorial choices, life is hard. Depending on the occasion and after combing through our closets that one tough decision needs to be made Every. Single. Day. – what variation of t-shirt and blue jeans should you wear today?

After slogging all week at work, the last thing you want to do is waste your precious weekend braving through overcrowded markets. Luckily a large part of the internet is now a digital mall. Not only is online shopping convenient, but the stores we found sell t-shirts with original designs at amazing prices. We can’t be the only ones sick of mass-produced brands with replicated styles and overused logos. Here’s a list of stores where you can buy cool t-shirts online:

Redwolf
(Price Range: Rs 449 – Rs999)

We’d pick Redwolf as our favorite find. It is an indie clothing brand which we’d solely recommend for its vast collection of expressive t-shirts. Each design is original and the printed quotes are clever. Many of which have popular culture references from Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Big Bang Theory. The t-shirts are 100% cotton fabric; perfect for the sultry season. Follow their Facebook page for discounts and coupons.

Bhane
(Price Range: Rs430- 2900)

The highlight of the Bhane shopping experience is the website itself. The images showcasing the clothes have used Indian faces and real people posing street style-esque, wearing original designs. With a easy and clean layout, their website is a refreshing change from the rest. Bhane promises clothes made with all-natural materials, classic cuts and low prices. One minor setback: when we visited the site, they had only six options to offer for men. We wish their collection wasn’t so limited, but on the other hand, less choices means quicker decisions.

Captain KYSO
(Price Range: Rs 449 – Rs999)

All their designs are “crowd sourced”, which only means that t-shirts on sale have original and exclusive designs licensed from artists and designers all over the world. The idea is to offer buyers t-shirts which reflect a variety of ideas, thoughts, cultures and styles. Each t-shirt description includes information about the artist, including links to their work. If you’re wondering about its strange name – the acronym K.Y.S.O stands for ‘Keep Your Shirt On’. The only complaint we have is that their website layout is messy. Disorganized clothes simply thrown on racks puts off even the biggest shopaholic; the same theory applies for online shoppers.

Koovs
(Price Range: Rs 1100 – 5099)

This online retail store has the largest collection of clothes for men in India. They are a collective store of various brands as well as their in-house Koovs label. Koovs is bang on trend and frequently updates its collections. Like any typical high street label, their stuff is young, hip and cheap. This is the store to visit if you dress to stand out. Koovs also gives you full thirty days to think over your purchase and an option to pay cash on delivery.

April 19, 2014
Top 4 Apps To Download This IPL Season

The Pepsi IPL 2014 flagged off in Abu Dhabi with a grand ceremony. It had everything worthy of a typical flashy IPL event – beautiful fireworks, Sunil Gavaskar delivering a passionate speech against corruption in cricket (ahem ahem), and of course, performances by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone providing some Bollywood masala. Since most of the matches are being played abroad, this season the level of excitement in India has been comparatively low. But as the tournament progresses, slowly and steadily everyone is bound to catch a slight IPL fever.

There is no dearth of cricket applications online, infact the myriad of choices available are overwhelming. However, upon closer inspection we found most were copies of each other. Hence we decided to scour through the options and list out a few you must download:

Divided By Teams, United By Cricinfo

For every fan of the sport, the first one to download is The ESPNCricinfo Cricket App. This useful application gives you all the information you need to stay on top of the game. Some of the useful tabs include match schedules, results, points, latest news, graphs, player profiles, videos, team member descriptions and general team information. It’s a one-stop app for all sorts of cricket requirements. The most handy feature would be the option of live game coverage with ball by ball commentary. Its glossary section gives in-depth description about each of the players, which includes the matches they’ve won in the past, and their personal score of number of runs and wickets. If you want to keep up with the happenings of the IPL, this app is the simplest way to go to.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

From day one, IPL has been more about the drama and excitement than about enjoying a true game of cricket. So it isn’t surprising that every season we feel the keen pain of being deprived of the thrill of some harmless betting. Maybe it’s a fruitless attempt to keep the IPL clean, but recently there has been a surge in the number of legal betting websites and apps. They use points or virtual money to attract gamblers. The Big Toss: Cricket app is the one we’d place our bet on. Upon registering, you are awarded 1000 karma points, and a further 100 for every team you select as a favourite. What we liked best about it was that you can “virtually” bet on anything – from who the winner might be or the expected number of runs taken in the first over. You’re then on your own to maintain your karma points. Also, go ahead and have a look at the forum created for news. The Big Toss links you to articles written all over the world. Cricinfo, Pakistan Observer, Deccan Herald and many more are listed under the same forum.

East or West, IPL is the Best?

And the award for the strangest IPL app goes to ‘The Loudest Cheer’. Blogmint launched this app in an attempt to make the Indian audience feel closer to those matches taking place in foreign countries. Its basic function is to help the audience cheer every time their favourite team scores. Audio cheers are available under the following categories – Ace Catch, Great Shot, Great Run, Ace 4, Ultra 6 and Big Wicket. The app also allows users to create their audio or video cheer that will be showcased on digital channels such as YouTube. By numbering up on cheers, participants can win prizes.

Let’s Make it Official

Anticipating interest this season, most of the teams have launched their official apps just in time. If you’re an avid fan of a specific team or player then these apps are made for you. Using the Kolkatta Knight Riders one as an example: you can use it to set up alerts solely for KKR matches and track their team activity. Furthermore, you can even customize it to follow one single (knight) player. The feature we’d vouch for, is the tab that integrates their different social media feeds, combing twitter and facebook updates and bringing them to one single portal.

April 17, 2014
10 Best Celebrity Instagrams of the Week

After Facebook, no other social media site has quite captured our attention like Instagram. A visual-based social networking app, with its clean interface, makes it fun way to get a sneak-peak into people’s lives and passions.

Here is our list of favourite celebrity Instagrams of the week:

Ashton Kutcher clearly can’t bear waiting 21 more minutes before OS X gets installed.

Sonam Kapoor gives us behind-the-scenes view to her Grazia Covershoot. The April edition of the fashion monthly focused on street style.

Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor fool around and click selfies while promoting their upcoming film ‘2 States’. Alia captioned the picture “hey I have a beard ;)”

An extremely pumped-up Rahul Khanna shares a snap while on a vacation in Goa.

The Gunday beauty posed with Paul Marciano, the co-founder of the luxury brand Guess. Priyanka Chopra is the first Indian to be honoured the title of a Guess Girl. Some of the other famous names on the same list include – Claudia Schiffer, Drew Barrymore and Paris Hilton.

Usually Michelle Obama’s Instagram has pictures of her attending official events as the First Lady – conferences, balls and charity events. This week, dedicating it to National Sibling’s Day, she shared a rare personal Throwback Thursday moment.

Jessica Alba cribbing about an early call time. So we’re not the only ones in a hate-hate relationship with our alarm clocks.

Okay, this one is definitely older than a week, its one of our favourites nevertheless. Tiger captioned the picture “Thanks to Mr. Munjal for the wonderful hospitality and for making my first visit to India so memorable. I learned a lot about this fantastic country.”

Jeremy Piven, aka “Ari Gold”, takes a selfie with the boys in the background. Frequent snippets of the Entourage sets on Instagram have got us itching to watch the whole crew in action.

Queen Bey performs alongside sister, Solange Knowles at the Coachella Music Festival. The fact that she wasn’t on the official schedule didn’t stop her from sneaking in on stage.

April 16, 2014
One Election, Two Amazing Videos

As the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections comes to a close, we present two viral videos that caught our attention. They couldn’t have handled the topic of the 2014 Elections any differently. While one used a sombre note to reminds us that we had been deprived of the power to vote for too long to take it for granted now. The other, intelligently pulls the voters leg for spending too much time thinking, talking, discussing and not enough time doing.

Congress Vs BJP

All India Bakchod, a comedy collective, nails the core theme of every discussion surrounding the elections. The ever-exhausting BJP Vs Congress debate has turned family dinners, kitty parties, and a friendly-drink-at-the-bar into mini war zones. Though that’s not the point of the video, the joke is not on BJP or on Congress – it’s on us. Why is debating about the lack of a reliable leading party the only thing we do so well?

The viewers (slightly more than a million), watch the video, laugh and the next day have another version of the same discussion, by the coffee machine at work.

#PledgeToVote with Mr Shyam Negi

Google India teamed up with Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai and developed this video for their “Pledge to Vote” campaign. It made Independent India’s first voter, 97-year-old retired schoolteacher Shyam Saran Negi, a household name. Negi lives in one of India’s coldest corners. Kalpa is a place where transportation is scarce and the weather conditions are rough. Even though it’s a struggle, Negi has never missed a vote since 1951.

Within the short span of the video, Mr Negi’s story makes us forget the hopelessness and frustration usually associated with the political future of our country. It simply impresses us to be proud citizens of a democratic nation. A reminder of that fact we conveniently forget: just a few decades back, we didn’t have the power to decide who governs our country.
Steering clear of the fact that voters are struggling to choose the least incompetent of the contesting parties, Google instead chose to focus on reminding us how privileged we are to have an option of getting our fingers inked.

April 13, 2014