bangalore

Zynga On An Aggressive Hiring Spree In India

by Paul Joseph October 13, 2011 Featured

Zynga , the star of social gaming, has hogged the limelight recently with the introduction of the new game Mafia Wars 2 in 3D , along with support for 16 languages. Now, it has announced its plans to extensively hire engineers for its Bangalore office. Zynga had set up base in India back in February 2010. At that time, social gaming on Facebook was in a nascent stage but was growing quickly and they needed engineers to develop infrastructure and key technologies to catch up with the growing demand. After the introduction of Mafia Wars 2 on Google + a couple of days back, the Chief Technology Officer of Zynga announced that they would be hiring aggressively for the Bangalore office. They recognize India as a gold pot for talent and are following the likes of other global companies who have already set up base in India. This would also bring diversity to the company and open up new unexplored and potential markets. With popular games like Farmville, Cityville, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Words With Friends , Zynga became a household name, especially for the thousands of youngsters, who spent hours together on watering and harvesting their virtual farms. According to statistics, Zynga has over 60 million daily active users who play with each other about 416 million times a day. Engineers are being recruited to work on distributed systems and to support the architecture of all the games. In addition, game designers are also invited to apply for designing some of the features of their latest offering. The company has picked up 11 Computer Science engineers from BITS Pilani for an attractive package and they are visiting NITs and IITs as well. Other Bangalore colleges are also on their road map. As Zynga has recognized the huge potential of the growing market in India, it plans to start game development here too. Indian offices serve another purpose of being an entry point for western players into the local region. Some of the hindrances of Asian markets are the preference for homegrown games, playing in internet cafes, local and language barriers.  But the scene in India is changing quite drastically. Most of Indian gamers prefer English and welcome US players. The trend of playing in cyber cafes is shifting to playing from home. Whenever a new game is introduced by Zynga, India has always been one of the first countries to adapt to it. But certain issues continue to plague the country like the lack of good internet connection. Zynga doesn’t offer offline games and capitalizes on social gaming. Already the market for mobile games is huge in India. Zynga has recognized this and has indeed brought out mobile versions of its popular games. It is also leveraging on the growth of 3G in India. What do you think Zynga should do to increase its foothold in India? Do you think they should fully embrace mobile games, at least in India? Do let us know. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

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New Ford Fiesta sedan all set to hit India Indian roads tomorrow

by Paul Joseph July 13, 2011 Featured

American Car giant Ford is having good share in the auto market all over the world. Ford is now ready to hit the Indian auto market with new model New Ford Fiesta on both petrol and diesel variants. The company instigated different model cars with luxurious facilities to impress the customers. New Ford Fiesta India is arriving this Thursday on July 2011 to give touch competition for the obtainable sedan cars in the market. New Ford Fiesta Price is expected to start from Rs. 7.9 lakhs and may be vary depending up the model and variant. New Ford Fiesta 2011 is all set to launch with both variants and improved technologies. Ford Fiesta models are introduced few years back in India and got good response from the Indian customers and now coming with innovative technologies and performance. See More New Ford Fiesta Pictures Read More on New Ford Fiesta Ford India is expecting that this sedan car will surely increase its company sales like Ford Figo which is an additional winner in recent days. The company car are mostly sold in Diesel variant because of the high fuel efficiency. Now ford India is offering the same on both the variants of this Ford Fiesta models. The engines are equipped with performance and power to give surprise to the car lovers. New Ford Fiesta 2011 is the perfect match and having potential to repeat the success for the company. These two variants model cars are tested on the Bangalore roads and coming in to the stores on 14th July. The body of these cars is designed with Kinetic style which means when the car stays on road at stationary condition and appears like in motion. The front of the car is dominated by the curved back and the head lamps design with step focus will give some additional look for the car. The side doors are designed with some curves on it and the logo on the front small grill at the bottom of bonnet will give extra look for the car. Fog lights at the edges of the body colored bumper and mesh at the middle of it will give some additional focus at the nights. See More New Ford Fiesta Pictures Read More on New Ford Fiesta Ford Fiesta is powered with updated technologies engine and super speed manual transmission gear box. The exteriors are well designed and the interiors with fine matching colored will give some pleasant feeling to the user. Comfortable seating with two way air condition along with heater is available on this sedan car. The dash board is equipped with stylish functional keys and the power steering wheel with optional adjustable keys. Various USB ports are present on it for multi purposes, techno meter, speedometer, digital clock and indicator operation rod are molded at the back of the steering wheel. Power windows, side mirrors with integrated indicators are available. Spacious interiors with super fine seating facility and powerful breaking system and advanced safety parameters will give secure mood to the user. Ford Fiesta is coming with various color schemes to attract the Indian car lovers. Ford Fiesta pictures are obtainable from the internet which is creating sensation.

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Google Street View Coming To Bengaluru

by Paul Joseph May 26, 2011 Featured

In a series of tweets, Google India revealed that they would be starting the image gathering process for Street view from tomorrow, i.e 27th of May in Bengaluru. The image collection is done using customized cars with advanced camera equipment. In case of areas inaccessible to the street view cars, Google will use a bicycle based camera system called ‘Trike’ . In the past Google has used the Trike to capture images in areas like the Stonehedge , Colosseum and hence make street view available in such places. Google will start the image gathering process with the Nrityagram Dance Village in Bengaluru, and will continue capturing various parts of Bengaluru over the next few weeks. The Street view team has been plagued with a lot of privacy issues in the past and keeping that in mind the google India account further tweeted that all images and license plates will be blurred. There is in fact a site dedicated to all the funny and weird imagery the street view vehicles have captured over the years. India is the 28th country to have street view, the first being the US which had street view way back in 2007. Just yesterday Google had announced listing of public transport buses in Ahmedabad and Delhi in Google maps. The travel experience of Indians is set to change with the whole google maps ecosystem (maps + transit + directions + streetview). Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts South Korean Google Office Gets Raided By Police Google Sees Bright Future In India Events Update: Google Developer Day, India Is Google Opening Campus in Hyderabad, India? Google Launching It’s Mobile Payment System

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Flipkart Bullish On Indian E-Commerce Growth – Targets 1 Billion Dollars In FY2015

by Paul Joseph March 7, 2011 Featured

Flipkart.com the ecommerce portal that started its journey by selling books has big plans for the future. Currently the Bangalore based Flipkart sells over 2,00,000 books annually and has expanded its product offering to music, mobiles, consumer electronics and games.Flipkart’s Founder and CEO, Sachin Bansal made his big plans apparent when he said , “We aim to be a USD 1-billion (Rs 4,500-crore) company over the next 3-years. We are growing at a CAGR of 700 per cent in the last two-years and hope to maintain that. We expect revenue to grow multi-fold on the back of our major expansion plan,” Flipkart’s current turnover is expected to be around Rs 75-crore this financial year. Sachin expects to do 7 times the topline each year and feels that this goal isn’t ambitious. To support this ambitious growth plan Flipkart is investing Rs 30-crore in warehousing capacity, IT, technology, back-end and infrastructure. Last year Flipkart raised 10 million $ in funding from Tiger global . It seems the same is being deployed in expanding the scope of products on offer on the website. Our Take On 700% Growth Story While we like Sachin’s enthusiasm it seems a bit out of reach when you talk of maintaining a 700% growth YOY. Ecommerce is bound to hit a ceiling due to the lack of payment mechanisms as well as the lack of trust people have on using their credit cards or any digital form of payments online. While it may have grown dramatically in the last 2 years we expect a slowdown in the growth. Though we do believe that Flipkart will continue to grow with a high percentage multiple of topline revenue year on year we seriously doubt it will be 700%. Looking For A Social Media Agency? CLICK HERE! Related Posts FlipKart Raises 10 Million $ From Tiger Global – Expands Beyond Books Co-branded Book Store by Infibeam & In.com MySmartPrice.com – Compare Before You Buy! uRead.com Wants To Revive Book-Reading! Online Couponing – The Rising Star For E-Commerce?

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Event Update: MobileCamp At Chennai And Bangalore

by Paul Joseph January 25, 2011 Featured

MobileCamp – an un-conference for mobile application developers and enthusiasts is coming to Chennai and Bangalore. The idea behind MobileCamp is to encourage Indian developers to network, share and ready themselves for global competition. It also gives developers a chance to showcase their applications and ideas during sessions. The barcamp-like event is meant for anyone connected to the mobile space. Sessions will be for a duration for 30 minutes and will be held in the order of registration. Registration for the event is free and can be done online. Chennai (Event Page) When : Sunday, 30th Jan 2011 Where : Computer Science Block, Indian Institute of Technology Chennai(IITC) Registration : At  http://chennai.mobilecamp.in/register/ till 12:00PM, 29 Jan 2011. Bangalore (Event Page) When : Sunday, 6/02/2011 Where : Indian Institute of Management Bangalore(IIMB) Registration: At  http://bangalore.mobilecamp.in/register/ till 12:00PM, 05 Feb 2011. If you are interested and have more questions you can check out their FAQ and Contact Us Pages. REGISTER FOR WATSUMMIT – INDIA’S FLAGSHIP SUMMIT ON DIGITAL MEDIA REGISTER NOW! Related Posts Ebay.in’s India Census And The Rise Of Ecommerce Sulekha.com Study Reveals Cost Saving Potential In India’s Used Car Market Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane?..No…It’s The Internet! I-Cube Report 2007: Cyber Cafes Remain Favorites! Wedding Planner Portals For Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad

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The Silence In Social Media – Will It Shout about Autism ?

by Paul Joseph October 11, 2010 Featured

Well, frankly speaking, I have reached a stage of insecurity, wherein if I don’t check my emails, facebook & twitter before I board a flight or a train, it makes me nervous. I try to repeat the act in a train, when I find suitable signal for my Tata Photon Plus to work. If I am a wee bit good in guessing, I would be sure that there would be a plethora of souls like Me, too. Staying incommunicado with the world, for an hour, a day or an entire lifetime seems an impossible task for people like You & Me, who tend to think that we can’t survive without Social Media. As an initiative to create awareness about Autism , Social Networking Enthusiasts & Addicts, have decided to stay offline from Facebook, Twitter & other Social Media sites on Nov 1; and create a ‘Silent Virtual World’. The number of such users is expected to be approx 4.5 billion, worldwide. This act seems justified as the people who suffer from Autism face the major challenge of overcoming Social Communication. This might also include repetitive behaviour & online action too. To create awareness about the same, Communication Shutdown, a global initiatve, is planned on Oct 1, with the message ~ “ One-Day without Social Networking – Can You Brave it ” ? The co-ordination responsibility in India lies with the Bangalore based Asha Foundation Trust . This trust was started in 2001, by Ramesh Vangal, Serial Entreprenuer & former PepsiCo employee & his wife Katharin Zimpel, to work for that challenged section of humans who are autistic. Ramesh Vangal on this initiative quoted, “ Communication Shutdown is a simple effort to make people feel what autistic individuals go through in their everyday lives “. How this Campaign would Work ? The Shutdown Campaign began on Oct 1 by requesting Facebook & Twitter users to donate voluntarily & receive a charity application ‘app’ which automatically will show one’s status as a voluntary blackout of the social channels on Nov 1. The site will also host a global mosaic where supporters will be able to view their profile pictures next to celebrities who have signed up for the same cause. What are the Learnings from such Campaigns ? The idea of a shutdown was first initiated in Australia by AEIOU Foundation, and it reached audience of 40 countries in much less time than expected. Campaigns such as this, not only are aimed at creating awareness & prevention, but they also serve a hidden agenda to understand the Social EMdia habits. They are also focussed to understand the reliability of such initiatives, the communication methodologies & also a, Social Experiement. Attend Workshop On Social Media For Brands (Delhi & Mumbai) REGISTER HERE Related Posts Wikimedia To Open Office In India Meter Jam : The Commuter Strikes Back? Google Sees Bright Future In India Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane?..No…It’s The Internet! WATBlog Panel Bangalore (Video) – Lessons from Failure for Startups

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Google Chrome Advertises In Indian Newspapers

by Paul Joseph September 29, 2010 Featured

Full back pages ads in Indian newspapers are usually associated with car ads or with new product launches by traditional companies. Rarely or lets say never in India have we seen a full page print ad being used for advertising a web browser! Well that is exactly what Google Chrome the new age browser by google has done in India. It has gone ahead and taken Full page ads in newspaper’s like the Hindu and Mint (Tip off given by Siddarth Raman from Bangalore). At the time of of writing this article we didn’t have access to newspapers across Mumbai and delhi (Please comment if you have seen the ads) but we have the image of the ad in the Bangalore editions. Check the image below: Recently Yahoo was one company that blew crores of rupees in full page advertising announcing their YOU campaign. Even google advertised during IPL for youtube live streaming. It seems in India online company are paying to be on print. So here unlike the west the cycle of money flow is complete. As money starts to shift from print to digital as advertisers are spending more there and then digital companies like google yahoo  spend on print to gain larger reach. On the whole do you think a browser ad in the newspaper will make users shift? Do comment and let us know? Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Google Chrome Gets More Aggressive: Runs TV Ads How To Effectively Advertise On YouTube: Google Chrome Shows You How Google Chrome OS Download Could Be Just A Week Away! Google Chrome Completes One Year. Gets Sony PCs as Birthday Gift! Orkut Asks Users to Stop Using IE 6: A Very Good Idea

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Google Sees Bright Future In India

by Paul Joseph July 16, 2010 Featured

Google has tied up with Tata Consultancy Services to provide web based business solutions to enterprise industry. It aims to make available business tools such as email, instant messaging, calendar functionality and video and office presentations over the internet using the Google Apps software suite. Google had earlier tried to partner with Airtel but that fell through. Microsoft is way ahead of Google when it comes to enterprise solutions. Google has effectively challenged Microsoft in the consumer space, but has not made a major impact on Microsoft’s forte. Right now, enterprise does not form a substantial portion of Google’s revenue, but this is touted to change. With enterprise being the fastest growing segment for Google, they can’t ignore it any more. Google India With recent advancements in cloud computing, Google is planning to integrate its enterprise tools on the cloud computing platform to effectively cater to the needs of the enterprise industry. Back home, the Bangalore and Hyderabad centres , with around 300 engineers are concentrating solely on this, building India as a centre of excellence. Google’s product, “Google Apps migration for Microsoft Exchange” has tasted success as around two billion emails have been transferred from Microsoft Outlook to Google till date. India’s cloud computing market is expected to expand 10 times to $1 billion by 2015. Google plans to have a major role in this. Google is targeting the public cloud with other companies like Amazon and Salesforce giving it competition. On the other hand, companies like Microsoft and IBM are concentrating on the private cloud. Private cloud is where corporate companies use an internal server to host applications that can be accessed only by them. On the other hand, public cloud refers to servers hosted by say, Google, and all the applications hosted on them. Google says that private cloud is not true cloud computing and that its public cloud has enough security features. With the cloud computing waiting to explode in all walks of life, Google is waiting to be the pioneer in this field. It hopes India spells success in this regard. We will be seeing a lot of Google in India soon. This is just the beginning! What do you feel about the private vs public cloud battle? Related Posts Is Google Opening Campus in Hyderabad, India? I-Cube Report 2007: Cyber Cafes Remain Favorites! Google Looking At India, China For Android Growth Shifting Clouds In India – Salesforce.com Realizes India Opportunity India Ranks 3rd in Censoring & Removal Requests To Google – A Detailed Look Workshop On Social Media For Business Register Here Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

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Mobile Developer Conference Emerging Edition

by Paul Joseph March 21, 2010 Featured

If are interested in Mobile development then make sure you are in Bangalore on coming Saturday March 27 2010. Mobile Developer Conference – Emerging Edition is the first among a series of conferences to be held that will examine on what goes into the making of a successful mobile application. Developers will have an excellent opportunity to learn and network with the top-notch technologists and business leaders in the field of mobile technology. They will not only have a chance to enhance their existing technical knowledge but also acquire additional knowledge across other domains of mobile app development lifecycle. Other key take away from the conference will be how to build apps with higher marketability and identifying appropriate channel for monetizing it. Head over to the conference website to register Similar Posts: MoMo Chennai meetup this Saturday MoDeMo – Where The Mobilists – Show & Tell Event update : Proto and Mobile Monday Nokia 5230 Bangalore Launch this Sunday and you are invited MoDemo – a report

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Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and now Hyderabad witness BSNL 3G Services

by Paul Joseph March 3, 2010 Featured

Its not been more then couple of days when we posted about the launch of BSNL 3G services in Thiruvanathapuram . Soon after the launch of high speed 3G services in Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram, 3G services are now launched in the state capital of Andhra pradesh – Hyderabad! Apart from the state capital, the service is launched in 29 other cities and towns of Andra pradesh that includes some of the well knows places like Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Warangal, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Khammam, Anantapur, Cuddapah, Kurnool, East Godavari, Chittoor, Guntur, West Godavari, Krishna, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam,Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Vizianagaram. To convert BSNL 2G numbers to 3G numbers, existing prepaid customers need to send an SMS: “M3G120 ” to 53733 whereas Postpaid customers need to send M3G25 to 53733. As usual, new subscribers can buy new 3G SIM starting from 59 INR. You may also like to read some of the below posts from our archives: After Bangalore, BSNL Launches its 3G Services in Thiruvananthapuram BSNL 3G tariffs Review of BSNL 3G services Launch of 3G services for Kerala Similar Posts: After Bangalore, BSNL Launches its 3G Services in Thiruvananthapuram What Will be the Fate of 3G services in India? MTS Expands its Presence in Kolkata Nokia E72 , 5730 and 5530 Coming to India Really Soon Is Apple iPhone Nano coming soon Share/Save

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