Posted on

Google wades into Virtual Payments Territory

Yesterday, Google entered into virtual payment sector with its new app. It was unveiled at New Delhi, by Caeser Sengupta Google’s VP under the New Billion Users Project. It was also attended by Arun Jaitley, the Finance minister of India.

The name of app, ‘Tez’. As its name implies, the selling point of the app is its transaction speed and ease. At a nimble 7MB of size, it provides astonishing utility. This payment app is assisted by UPI which was started by NPCL. Registration requires your mobile number which acts as your VPA (Virtual Payment Address), this mobile has to be registered with your bank account if UPI transactions have to be done. Google has also partnered with Axis bank, ICICI bank nad State Bank of India for backend handling. The Google VP also talked about plans to integrate credit and debit card based transactions into its app in the future.

This app is available in both Android and iOS platforms, and is available in English and 7 other Indian languages (Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Kannada).

Fig 1) Lock screen

For additional security, each time you open the app, you require a google pin which is created when you set up the app for the first time. However, it isnt required to carry out transactions.

Fig 2) Main Screen

If you want to conduct UPI based transactions, then you need your debit card details. Once they are filled in the app, two things are needed, your bank OTP and your UPI pin. The UPI pin is created when you register for the first time.

Fig 3) Transaction Screen

You can pay directly via your contacts (if the app is allowed access to contacts) or via a mobile number. It also supports cash based transactions which allows you to transfer money without exchanging mobile number. This method employs AQR (Audio QR) which encrypts the information between the payer and the payee, and also detects if a mobile terminal with Tez is nearby.

Fig 4) Cash mode

Google also introduced a launch offer, where if a user invites their friends, they both get Rs.51/- after their first transaction. The bonus limit is upto Rs.9000/- and the deadline is upto April 2018. 

Anyways, the virtual payments sector gotten interesting with the entry of a huge corporation with Amazon and Whatsapp right next on the entrant list.

 

Posted on

Uncommon Handy Apps

      Hello Everyone!!

      This is Omay from TTSMG and we are here with some new app reviews!

It has been quite some time since our last post..

so, without further ado, here are some reviews 😀

 

Orphic:

 

      This app shows you uncommon words and their meaning. It has its own widget, so that you can access the app without opening it. You may set the refresh rate of the widget from 30 minutes upto 24 hours. If you access the app, it shows you a plethora of words and their meaning. Pretty much improving one’s vocabulary. The widget appearance can be varied as per preference and the size adapts to the definition length. The widget screenshot is as shown below.

 

Video Compress:

      This is a handy app when there is an urgent need of video compression and editing. Although not as powerful  as its counterpart software which are computer based, this app uses your smartphone’s processor in order to carry out compression, video cutting, extracting mp3 track from video and so on. It gets the job done with a little heat and time depending on how large the compression ratio is and how efficient your SoC is. 

 

Flippy Knife:

      A game for those who have less time to indulge in a story or learn rules, also for those who love minimalist themed games. It has a beautiful art style, and really simple interface. You have to move a knife to achieve goals like flipping it onto a log blade side down, hitting a target, traversing through platforms and there is also a game mode inspired by nin-jump. With a large selection of knives, and a simplistic gameplay, you won’t be bored for your next long-haul trip.

 

 

DUAL:

      An awesome take on offline multiplayer. The User interface is just innovative. It has three game modes, of which only one is available for free, which is the multi-player duel mode. In this mode, you face your opponent, in a one-on-one drone battle. The other two modes are available in the paid version, which are co-op defense of a line from invading ships and the last mode consists of deflecting a striker into the opponent’s goal (yeah just like Air hockey). Unlike most other offline co-op games, this app, utilizes both the screens of the involved parties, such that there is a larger display available for the game. By aligning both the smartphones the game may begin. It utilizes either a Wi-Fi connection(Devices on the same network) or even Bluetooth.

Tutorial for Duel mode 

 

      So everyone, that was it for this post..Hope you have found this helpful 😀

See you soon!

TTSMG

Posted on

Moto G5 Plus Unboxing

Hi Friends!

Today we are going to be unboxing the Moto G5 Plus.

It is a well rounded smartphone in the below Rs.20k budget range, with a metal body and really great build quality. Its lunar grey variant looks great as it complements the metallic finish of the device. It does not skimp on most of the sensors and includes the gyroscope, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and accelerometer. Unfortunately , it seems that it does not have a compass. It does compensate with supported A-GPS and Glonass. NFC and OTG support are a real plus. USB type C would’ve been fantastic (its got micro USB), but it does support Fast charging :P.   

Launched in Feburary 2017. 

Its specifications are:

  • 5.2″ 1080p Display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
  • 4G VoLTE with dual sim support (Both SIM slots are 4G enabled).
  • Android 7.0 Nougat, 32GB/64GB Int, 3GB/4GB RAM .
  • Snapdragon 625 Octa-core chipset with Adreno 506.
  • 3000 mAh Li-ion Battery.
  • Price Rs.17000/- (32GB/4GB version).
  • 12Mp f1.7 Rear Camera/ 5Mp f2.2 Front Camera.

This is the box the smartphone comes in. 

The first thing in the box is the mobile unit itself. It comes with a screen layer which indicates its features

 

and the fingerprint scanner is at the bottom.

 

 

The other accessories inside the box are the earphones with the inline mic and the micro-USB cable.

 

The earphones included in the box are made of plastic which feels cheap..I strongly recommend using good quality earphones for the long run.

Motorola has also included a really cool looking SIM ejector tool into the box.

 

The Turbo charger looks beautiful with its glossy back

And for those who are interested here are the charger specs

P.S.

The Turbo Charging is ridiculous.. it charged the phone from 36% upto 98% in just 50mins.

Also the earphones fit smugly in the ears and the audio is great..however the stock earphones are uncomfortable to wear for the *long run.

 

P.S. Update.. turns out.. I was wearing them in opposite ears (left earphone in right ea

Amazon link:

[amazon_link asins=’B06XRKQSY7,B071ZZ8N5Y’ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’thtesh0c-21′ marketplace=’IN’ link_id=’f00dd658-60c2-11e7-837b-958be3b77f34′]

Posted on

Handy Utility Apps

Here are some apps, that I use a lot and find really handy in day to day proceedings.

Sectograph:

Ever feel bored scrolling through your schedule and have trouble keeping the clock in sync with your activities. Well here you go.. this is sectograph it is a personal clock come schedule display. It syncs with a calendar app and even with your Gmail account. So you don’t have to worry about updating your schedule two times. Displaying both time and the upcoming activity is really handy.

 

 

Night Owl:

If you are a night owl, this app is for you. Studies have shown that blue light tricks the brain into staying awake which may cause Insomnia i.e. not be able to sleep at night. This app locks out the blue light allowing you to use your phone without interfering with your sleep pattern. It can also be configured to filter other colours, but the default is blue. Unfortunately this app cannot have allow you to sleep 7 hours of sleep in 4 hours.

Daylio:

Ever feel the need to keep track of day to day stuff, but can not write much about it or are just lazy like me xD…well Daylio is for you. This is not just another Diary app. This allows you to mark your mood for each time of the day and what activities you were doing. Activities are represented by Icons. They can be edited if,the need arises. Also the app is password protected by a 4 digit pin and can be backed up to Google drive. The best part is your mood can be reviewed as per week, month or Year. Now, a diary entry is just a few taps away!

Google Keep:

If I were to say that Google Keep is just another notes app, I would be so wrong. Well actually, no, it’s just a really convenient one at that. Its convenience stems from it being a Google app, so it can be synced from different devices in real time (almost.. I had to refresh it in order to sync).

The notes can be archived, labelled and even colored in order to differentiate them better. You can also store pictures and sound recordings on the app and even drawings (i.e. the pen icon). The smaller widget lacks the feature of displaying the notes, but is really efficient in terms of space. However, the larger widget is better for usage but it takes up a lot of space in order for the user to be able to even read the notes effectively.

P.S>

F.Y.I. This review was written with the help of this very app :P.

Mobile view:

Widgets:

View on PC:

 

That was all! Hope you find this review helpful 😀