8 apps for the reader in you

8 apps for the reader in you

You know you are a bookworm when outings are often skipped and midnight oil is burnt on a weekday to read 'one last chapter.' You may feel that there's nothing that can replace the feeling of sitting on a couch and staying engrossed in your favourite novel for hours at a stretch. While we agree with that, we have created a list of apps for the reader in you. These shall prove to be useful when you are out and about. So, check out our list and don't frown the next time you are forced to leave your book behind.

Goodreads :

Goodreads has been our personal favourite for a very long time. We feel that it is the go-to website for anyone who loves to read. Goodreads is a social networking platform for book lovers and has a massive user base of  35 million members .You can get started by creating a virtual bookshelf of the books that you have read and building a 'to-be-read' list of books. We find the app very useful when we want to look up information and reviews of various books. Note that these reviews are written by other avid readers who spend hours with their books, so you may actually want to take their word on it. Also, the app has bar-code scanning that lets you add books to your bookshelf and also enables you to look up information on it.



Amazon Kindle : 

If you are an avid reader, you would love to have the Amazon Kindle app on your phone. The Kindle app has books from a number of genres including action & adventure, business & economics, history, politics, travel, religion, fantasy, horror & science fiction, and many more. It also offers a number of newspapers and magazines that you can choose from. The app has a collection of both free e-books, and the ones you would have pay for. The best thing we like about the app is it can be synced across all devices, so you can read on tablet, smartphone or even a laptop.



Pocket : 

Do you often find yourself reading when you are supposed to be doing something else? Pocket will be useful to you then. Next time you are forced to stop reading an interesting article on the web, you can save it in the Pocket and read it later. Do remember to adjust the settings so that it can be read in offline mode too.



Instapaper : 

Instapaper is similar to Pocket, but then we have our reasons for liking it. You can read saved web pages in offline mode with Instapaper, but because of re-formatted text and easy-to-read layout, the experience is better than Pocket


Google Play Books : 

On Google Play Books, you'll find millions of books to choose from. You can buy them and read them even when you are offline. There is also an option of bookmarking pages and adding highlights to text of the book you are reading. Google Play books also gives users an option to customize reading experience by offering a number of fonts and layouts to choose from.

Dictionary & Thesaurus : 

This one is obvious, but we'll mention it anyway. If you are an avid reader, then you wouldn't ever underestimate the importance of a dictionary. And personally, we love Dictionary.com's app. It comes with a Thesaurus and also has a one-word a day feature that can really improve one's vocabulary. Also, it has a great crossword puzzle that is updated daily.

Comixology : 

We had to include this one, only because it promises something different. If books are not your cup of tea, but you really enjoy comics, then Comixology is the app for you. As the name suggests, it has a huge library or either free or cheap comics and graphic novels. Although the experience is digital, it is as close as it gets to actually reading a comic.

Audiobooks from Audible :

Ever thought of someone reading out your favourite book to you? Audible does exactly that. So, if you are busy and still want to enjoy your favourite book, you now know how you can. Also, we feel that this feature makes Audible a great app for those who are visually impaired or have trouble reading.

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Vodafone RFID technology to keep children protected at Sabarimala 2017

Vodafone RFID technology to keep children protected at Sabarimala 2017

This initiative will help prevent incidents of children getting lost during the annual Sabarimala yatra.

Vodafone India has announced a first of its kind initiative in association with the Kerala State Police, to ensure a safe and worry free spiritual experience for lakhs of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala during the 2017-18 Mandalam/Makara Vilakku season.  

In line with Vodafone’s long-term commitment to achieve highest standards of health, safety and well-being in and around the communities that it operates, all children under 14 years of age will stay protected with Vodafone RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags that will be hung on their neck at Pamba, ensuring their movements and location can be tracked till the time they return to Pamba from Sannidhanam.

This initiative will help prevent incidents of children getting lost during the annual Sabarimala yatra and free up the Kerala Police force time and efforts to focus on more important tasks on hand.

Dr. S. Sateesh Bino IPS - District Police Chief. Pathanamthitta, Karuppasamy IPS- Special Officer Pamba, officially launched the Vodafone powered RFID tags initiative in the presence of Ajit Chaturvedi, Business Head- Kerala, Vodafone India, at a function in Pamba, Pathanamthitta.

Families travelling to Sabarimala with children under 14 years of age will have to visit the Kerala State Police office at Pamba and register to avail this service. Post registration, each child will be provided with a Vodafone RFID tag containing each child’s name, guardian’s names, contact number and relevant details.

When a child pilgrim with an RFID tag is found wandering in the crowd, police officials finding him would take him to the control room and when Vodafone RFID reader reads the RFID tag, the whereabouts of the child will get passed on to the mobile number registered in the card.

The lost child would be in a traumatic situation, not necessarily knowing the language to communicate to the police officials about himself and his parents. Thus, RFID tag hugely simplifying monitoring of child pilgrims and facilitating quick reunion with his/her dear ones, in case of getting lost in the crowd.

Each time a child pilgrim with an RFID tag crosses the readers, the location information will get passed on to the mobile number registered in the card. Thus as long as the Vodafone RFID tag remains hung on the neck, all movements of these children can be constantly monitored by the Kerala State Police force, hugely simplifying monitoring of child pilgrims and facilitating quick reunion with his/her dear ones, in case of getting lost in the crowd.

Vodafone RFID technology tags for young Sabarimala pilgrims will continue to be offered till Makara Vilakku, which heralds the closing of the current Sabarimala season.

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Asus Pegasus 4S with 18:9 display announced: Specifications, features 

The Pegasus 4S is Asus's first smartphone to launch with 18:9 aspect ratio display.

Asus Pegasus 4S: 

Asus has launched a new smartphone to keep up with the trend of devices with 18:9 displays. Called Pegasus 4S, the smartphone has been launched in China flaunting a full metal chassis. The pricing and availability details about the smartphone are not yet known. However, what we know is that the smartphone comes with thin bezels at the top and bottom. It will be available in China in Star Black and gold colors. 

At the back, the smartphone comes with dual-camera placed on the top-left corner along with LED flash. At the center, the phone is equipped with a round-shaped fingerprint scanner. Notably, the Asus Pegasus 4S is the first full-screen smartphone from the company with an aspect ratio of 18:9. 

Asus Pegasus 4S specifications, 

The smartphone features a 5.7-inch HD display with 1920×1080 pixels resolution and 2.5D curved touchscreen. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz. The Asus Pegasus 4S comes in two variants – a 32GB storage option with 3GB of RAM and a 64GB storage variant with 4GB of RAM. The storage is further expandable via a microSD card. 

Features,

The smartphone sports a dual-camera system featuring a 16-megapixel sensor and an 8-megapixel sensor. The dual cameras are equipped with features like auto-focus, LED flash, and full HD video shooting. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. The Asus Pegasus 4S runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box, and is armed with a big 4,030mah battery. 

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