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Journalism of Courage
New apps and services keep you up-to-date on discounts and exciting offers.
Spotlight
Panic Status Board iPad
Panic Status Board is an app designed to help users track multiple applications in one window. It has a clean layout and displays information about apps through widget-like tiles. You can choose which apps to display and change their size too.
Going to the market and checking out every shop for the best price or special offers is a cumbersome task. Several new apps and services can inform you about the best deals that can make shopping an efficient exercise. Since most of these apps track your location,you might save some time by shopping at a local store instead of a market thats far off.
Dealchaat
iOS,Android
Free
The Android app is easy-to-use because you dont need to sign-up and once you download and install the app,you are good to go. Users can let Dealchaat determine their location or set a location to look for deals within a radius 1km to 20km. The app lets users look for deals by category,such as entertainment,food and beverage,fashion,etc. During tests,it wasnt able to locate more than 10 deals nearby. Since it was launched recently,the number of deals are likely to increase with time. If there are no deals,Dealchaat shows you the nearest retail outlets. Users dont have to print coupons to avail discounts. The Android app crashed a couple of times,but otherwise worked well.
Groupon
iOS
Free
Groupon recently launched an iPhone app in India. It allows users to buy,redeem and organise their discount coupons. Those familiar with the way Groupon works should have no trouble using the app. The company offers users a choice of coupons,which feature deals from various restaurants,apparel stores,etc. Users can buy these coupons and redeem them at the outlet. The iPhone app can use your location to show offers from stores near you. You need not print coupons and the app lets you share them via Twitter.
Hoppr
SMS,Android
Free
For phones without Internet,Hoppr is an excellent service for check-ins and discounts. Hoppr is available to subscribers of six telecom operators in India Airtel,Aircel,Idea,Reliance,Tata Docomo and Vodafone. This is one of the fastest growing apps in India with over 40 lakh user registrations since its launch last year and 5 lakh check-ins a day. The process is pretty simple: send Hop to 56660 and follow instructions. Suppose you visit a Cafe Coffee Day or a Barista outlet,SMS the name of the shop to 56660 and if there are any special offers,Hoppr will send you a text message. You can also use text messages to share your location on Facebook. Like Foursquare,Hoppr has a ranking system where check-ins and referrals earn you points except here you become a Skippr and not a Mayor. Hoppr responds to texts almost instantly,but there were times when a message had to be sent twice for a response. For those who have Android phones,the Hoppr app is available on the Play Store. It detects your location on GPS and spots outlets that have offers.
