Ever imagined hailing a cab at the click of a button or being able to share live updates of your day with family and friends? What once seemed like a distant dream is know a blessed reality, a reality that you just can’t seem to do without. Here we have some major mobile applications that weren’t even a part of our imaginations, some years ago, but have now become an integral part of our everyday lives –
Uber / Ola
Love them or hate them, Uber and Ola certainly took away the pain of your daily 94932 taxi rejections for a long, long time. Although the apps are embroiled in controversies of their own from time to time, almost every second person on the planet has Uber installed on their phones, and same stats apply to Ola users in India. You either rely on them for your daily commute to work, or for those late night home drop-offs when kaali peelis seem almost inexistent – there’s no question that Uber and Ola has taken up an important place in citizens’ everyday lives.
Zomato
You probably won’t even remember spending hours brainstorming with your friends about where to eat or knowing what that restaurant has to offer by word of mouth. Zomato has been a total revolution on the food scene, with a million plus-strong user base till date. They’ve even managed to replace traditional methods of ordering food, without even having to contact the restaurant directly. Let’s face it, there’s hardly a soul alive that doesn’t spend some time researching a particular restaurant on Zomato before making plans to go there.
Google Maps
Up until now, there must have been at least one ‘Thank God for Google Maps’ moment in your life because let’s face it, we’d all be literally lost by now. We use Google maps almost everyday, even if it is to find someplace barely five minutes from us, and it has easily managed to nuke the guidebooks and street directories! Although the Greeks might not be particularly pleased with digitizing their invention, one thing’s for sure – you will never be lost again.
Chances are, you’re spending 60% of your digital time on Instagram and the world before this monster of an invention is almost a blur. Instagram has been a haven for business owners, and has paved way for a new niche of marketing. Although social media is known to paint a rather pretty picture of people’s lives, it’s not that hard to become an Instagram addict, letting you know what’s happening in the world via pictures, almost every single second.
Snapchat
Yes, we know you probably don’t even have Snapchat on your phones anymore (thanks, unnecessary update!), but there was a glorious time when Snapchat was all the rage. The app was a medium for people to let their friends and family know what they’re up to in the day, or where they’re hanging out. These live updates came in the form of photos or videos on ‘stories’, a concept that has changed the game and even been adapted by other social networking sites.
True Caller
TrueCaller took away your anxiety of answering unknown calls. Between the caller ID and spam protection, True Caller has gained an ever-growing family of 250 million users. You might not even save new contacts’ name, and you might even ignore an unwanted caller (be honest, this was one of the main reasons you’re truly grateful for true caller’s existence). The only downfall is that your prank calling days are well behind you.
M-Indicator
Those teeny, tiny train timing booklets may as well have their place in a history museum. Residents of Aamchi Mumbai will know how liberating M-Indicator has been, a one-stop shop for the daily train schedules. Additionally, M-Indicator also gives you information on bus and metro schedules, and is easily every working class Mumbaikar’s lifeline.
