Pathik Shah

IMPS ( Interbank Mobile Payment Service) – How It Works, and Why It’s Awesome!

There hasn’t been any single mobile payments solution in India ever, which just works. Sure, there have been a lot of startups which have tried to crack mobile payments using e-wallet services, but most of them pretty much suck. Some like mChek have been good, but they failed to gain much traction. Even Paypal isn’t an option anymore, after the recent RBI crackdown.

Though I have been a huge fan of NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer), it is not as usable as I’d like it to be. There is a significant delay in the completion of the transaction, and to effect a transaction, you need to give out your complete account details, which could make anyone a bit apprehensive about using the service.

IMPS allows you to send and receive money using just your mobile number and an MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) which is allocated to you via your bank. You also use an MPIN (password) in order to verify the transaction.

The best thing about IMPS is the ease of use. Soon, all major banks in India will be offering IMPS as a service. All transactions are real-time, enabling you to send money to any IMPS user within a matter of minutes.

You can use it either via SMS or via a mobile application. Most banks will be launching mobile IMPS apps for all major platforms.

More details: IMPS (Interbank Mobile Payment Service)

With IMPS, we now have a robust mobile payments system in place, and we are inching closer to financial inclusion in India.

What Next?

An awesome Payment Gateway, please.

I really hope that the government also launches a standard payment gateway API in collaboration with NPCI, RBI which supports all major Indian banks and allows users to conduct e-commerce transactions easily and securely. (CCAvenue, EBS, DirecPay all suck from a usability perspective.)

Such a move would address one of the major pain points that all e-commerce startups in India face, thereby encouraging more users to buy stuff online and trigger a massive e-commerce revolution in India which could potentially make Flipkart look undervalued even at the rumored $1 billion valuation.

Nude Pics of Poonam Pandey Stripping for Indian Cricket Fans

After India’s awesome win against Pakistan, the World Cup is almost ours. Poonam Pandey, that really hot chick (and Kingfisher model) who had promised to strip and pose nude if India won the World Cup has lived up to her promise.

She has answered the wishes of the millions of cricket fans in India, and the billions of horny pseudo-fans who were rooting for India just to see her naked.

Here are the nude pictures of Poonam Pandey, exclusively for you, the loyal readers of this blog.

Check out Poonam Pandey stripping, right after the break.

Nude Pics of Poonam Pandey Stripping. Click click click!

Read the rest of this entry »

How to Register for a UID Aadhar Card in India

The UIDAI project has been underway since months now. Here’s how you can register for the Aadhar project and get a UID (Unique ID) in India.

First of all, here’s the official UIDAI Aadhar website – UIDAI

To get a UID (Aadhar), you need to fill this enrollment form. Download it, print it and fill it.

UID (Aadhar) Registration Form

Next, here’s a list of enrollment centers where you can submit the UID enrollment form, get your documents verified and complete the biometric verification.

List of UID Aadhar Enrollment Centers

After the fingerprint details, photos and other information has been verified, the UID card (Aadhar number) will be sent to you in about 10-20 days.

Links –

UIDAI

List of UID Aadhar Enrollment Centers

UID (Aadhar) Registration Form

Buy Samsung Galaxy S LCD I9003 in India – Best Android Phone Under Rs 20000

Buy Samsung Galaxy S LCD I9003 at Flipkart

The Samsung Galaxy S has clearly been the best Android phone of 2010. But it was a bit too expensive for many Android fans, and still is, at Rs 27,000. It is in such high demand that Samsung hasn’t had to lower the prices at all.

However, with new phones like the Samsung Infuse 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S 2 coming soon, the Galaxy S is no longer a viable option, at its current price.

Samsung has launched another new phone in February, which is exactly identical to the Galaxy S, but sports a Super Clear LCD display instead of the Super AMOLED display in the Galaxy S.

It is called the Samsung Galaxy S LCD, or the Galaxy SL i9003. Samsung has priced it at Rs. 19,499 which makes it an excellent option for anyone who wants to buy an Android phone under Rs. 20000.

The only difference between the Galaxy S (27000) and the Galaxy S LCD (19500) is that the Galaxy S comes with a SuperAMOLED display while the Galaxy S LCD comes with a Super Clear LCD display.

I guess Samsung wants to get all the fence sitters who couldn’t get the Galaxy S to buy it before it launches the Galaxy S 2.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S LCD in India

It is available online at Flipkart, for Rs 19,499 which is probably the cheapest in India.

Check it out here –

Samsung Galaxy S LCD I9003 at Flipkart

EDIT: It’s not exactly the same as the Galaxy S in terms of hardware. It has an inferior TI OMAP processor and an SGX530 GPU instead of a Hummingbird + SGX 540. Also, slightly less RAM.

Samsung Galaxy Ace – The New King of Budget Android Phones

EDIT: If you can spend Rs 20,000, get the Samsung Galaxy S LCD instead.

Until recently, the LG Optimus One P500 was undoubtedly the best budget Android phone in India. It offered everything you would expect in a smartphone, but at a much lower price than its competitors.

Well, that was history. Samsung then unveiled a series of budget Android phones like the Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Mini and the Galaxy Fit.

Of them, the Galaxy Ace offers the best value for money proposition. It comes with a bigger display – 3.5 inches, a 5 MP camera, an 800 MHz processor and 384 MB RAM. It runs Android 2.2 Froyo, and is powerful enough to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, should Samsung decide to give it an upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy Ace Specifications

Dimensions: 112.4 x 59.9 x 11.5 mm
Weight: 113 gms
Display: 3.5 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display, 320 x 480 pixels
OS: Android 2.2 Froyo
Processor: 800 MHz processor
Graphics: Adreno 200 GPU
RAM: 384 MB RAM
Memory: 158 MB internal, 32 GB external
Camera: 5 MP camera, autofocus, LED flash
Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
Battery: 1350 mAh Li-ion battery

Samsung Galaxy Ace – Rs. 15000

The Samsung Galaxy Ace easily beats the LG Optimus One in every aspect. It has a better display, better camera, better hardware and a better user interface. It is priced at just Rs 14999, which makes it a great budget buy.

You can buy it online at Flipkart for Rs 14999. – Samsung Galaxy Ace at Flipkart