The ‘App’ of All Things

Posted on by Parul Thakur

First it was online shopping and then banking. Then the super slow Indian Railways also jumped in with their white and blue website. That time, it was all on the computer. Create an account, enter your mail id and receive notifications. Log in when you want to buy, book tickets or transfer funds. All with the click of a mouse. I remember even some commercial said “Bus click karo”(Just Click).

Then came the apps and then they never stopped coming.

The banks created their apps and now you can transfer funds with the smart phone. Not just that, some apps let you pay your Facebook friend too. Want to hire a cab? Taxi for sure, Ola, Meru or Uber – find a cab, let the network choose your location and they will drop you where you need to go. Just drop a pin.

Myntra went completely on the app and other retailers are trying to follow the suit. There is now an app for my favorite online store and again Indian Railways caught up with their official app. It is still slow. You name it and they have an app. Just tap and touch, drag and drop, save card details and pay – on your smart phone. It’s that easy.

But you know what got really difficult? Making a choice. Whether to buy on Flipkart or Amazon, try ShopClues or Snapdeal? Then came Junglee. They said they will help you make a choice. Find the best prices online. Don’t go anywhere else!

Grocery shopping? Fruits and veggies. Bread and eggs. They have got it covered for you. They clean it, chop it and pack it for you. Buy as much as you want. They offer discounts too. And if it’s a Hindu festival on the cards,  they won’t deliver meat – fresh or frozen. Don’t you dare complain.

You want furniture? They have that too. You want to customize it? They are ready with the app and color choosing was never so easy – oak or teak, pick the color that looks the best on your phone. You want plants? They have got a planter for you – a bonsai or a creeper. Select and they will get it home or to your office. Your balcony is too small to accommodate plants? Call them in and they will redo your space. Check their Instagram pictures, read their customer feedback on comments and choose them. They are the best and they all say so. 

Order food and don’t want to wait? Or while you wait, the food gets too cold? Try them – they will do it fast and get it while it is still hot. They will get your food with no minimum order value. You want fish from one restaurant and rice from the other? No worries! Just download the app and order with a tap.

You want to have some filter coffee? They are ready with their bag. Cappuccino, latte or black? Cold or hot? With cream or with out that generous dose of cream? They will drop a coffee at your place. Breakfast? Yes, how can they say no? Select from a range of North Indian, South Indian or Maharashtrian? Wait for 30 mins and eat to your heart’s content. Meanwhile, munch on those cookies on your desk.

Too lazy to get out of the bed? Download the app, get a personal trainer to come to your place who will ring the bell, wake you up and take you out for a walk. Without that leash. All cos you paid with a tap. You can get up but want to try other gyms? Try this app – every day a different gym but in your area. They charge per day and you get to experiment on a new equipment and check out what’s in fashion now.

Going to a parlor and getting groomed takes too much of time? Get all services all home – manicure or hair-cut, a beautician will be home soon. Want to get your clothes stitched? Try them. So what if they charge a bomb? They will come to get your measurement and then stitch for you and deliver it at home. If you need Laundry services, this app is all you need. They dry clean, wash, iron and polish your clothes. They will also send a representative to fetch your clothes and then deliver them back home.

Find the best doctors in your area. Download that app and get an appointment. You need nurses or a physiotherapist? Your wish will be their command. Home cleaning? Brooming, mopping or vacuuming? It’s all covered. Buy, sell, or rent online. Anything sells here.

Book tickets and a room, seek reviews online and Travel with no worries. They also help you answer your queries. You can also pay for London museum tickets from India so that you won’t have to buy them when you reach. They make it hassle free for you even if you miss your flight, you will have a museum ticket.

Hassle free?

My phone broke down and now I don’t know what to do? What was that website called? Do they even have one? I lost the password to my password manager, now how do I log in? My phone was stolen. Gosh, the card details were saved on the app. My phone is running out of memory. I should have got the one with 1TB memory. Why can’t I make a call? Why is my phone so slow? Well, it wasn’t meant for 50 apps.

It just started with emails and banking and look where we have come today. Is it me, my generation or is it really hassle free? Some things work but do so many work?

Which of the apps keep you going? How many do you have on your smart phone? You don’t have a smart phone. I can send you an invite! It’s still loading. Let me come back to you on this!

This is my first time on “Yeah Write” and looking at that number 227, I am thinking, it’s better late than never!

30 thoughts on “The ‘App’ of All Things”

  1. That’s nothing. Soon your fridge will come loaded with an app that you link to your favourite grocery store and will ring in requests for Milk/ Bread/ Eggs and select grocery items on a weekly basis automatically from your home Wifi using your provided card details. No need to ever run out of milk again! We already have programmed vacuum cleaners here (my vacuum runs at 5:00 in the morning automatically and vacuums the main floor for me)
    I am quite “strict” when it comes to apps, I do not allow any shopping from my phone, I make it a point to get to the store, and I buy gift cards from amazon and apple and shop online. I am too scared to reveal my credit card info or my purchase history linked to my credit card. What a data mine that will be for a hacker. They will know everything about me.. Since I work in a related field, I know the potential nightmares that can happen. Sorry, Apps cant buy me 🙂

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    1. Same here! I don’t have many apps.And I don’t save my card details anywhere. The limited usage, the better. I like the vacuuming idea. Sounds cool. And yeah – no need to run to the store for milk, now milk will get delivered at home. Just push a button. I heard about that one.

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  2. true Parul, we are becoming too much dependant on apps. I see many benefits of apps too, but yes it’s not hassle free always. When some grocery site delivered not so fresh goods, i had to fight with the delivery person, return it, talk to call center and get my money back. Once my friend lost his money by ordering something online in not so popular website. When someone lost their mobile, we were more worried about bank apps being hacked than the actual phone which is lost. Recently, my phone is not working and I am feeling very bad to sustain without whatsapp and instagram 😀

    Anyways, loved the line 🙂
    Why is my phone so slow? Well, it wasn’t meant for 50 apps.

    obviously, no phone is able to bear this much burden, ha ha 🙂

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    1. Oh yeah! all these hassles are always there. For groceries,tickets, online shopping i use my laptop.That’s so much easier and when I am on the go, why do I need to shop? Thank you for stopping by Ramya!

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  4. LOL! I see where you’re coming from! 😀
    Too many apps these days. I don’t use my phone for much. I have thick thumbs, so I find it difficult to type on phone. Oh and I still don’t have a Credit Card. Too scared to get one. I can be a very impulsive shopper. 😛

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  5. No money matters on phone is my strict rule. I don’t even trust my home internet connection and do all my transaction from office network… Yeah I sound like a grandma who is extra cautious 😛 but well with hassle free lives there comes a hoard of scammers and hackers. Once bitten twice shy!!
    But I love the food options that we have now, for lazy days good food is just a click away.

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    1. Same here – no money matters at all. But I do use the home network and look out for that https and lock sign to check if all is secure. The food ones in India too are wonderful 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Parul , I am surprised at comments of some bloggers who say that they don’t use credit card . I think the fair sex is prudent in not taking too many credit cards . I being a Banker know that most of the gents have not one but multiple number of credit cards and credit limits are fully utilised in many cards . Regarding apps , I download all the apps which come my way . That’s why the phone is slow . But with smart phones , the in thing , I feel it’s so boring to be on lap top . I just hate lap tops 🙂

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  9. I loved the line – you don’t have a smartphone, i am sending you the invite, its still loading.
    I have recently got a very smart smartphone and I have taken to downloading apps. I am letting down my frustration because on my earlier dumbphone (silly Micromax) even the Google maps did not work properly and it had so low memory that for downloading one app I had to uninstall 2. So for now it is Eureka for me. I am doing online shopping – books, clothes, groceries and book shelves. There is one caution I do exercise that is to not saving my debit or credit card details in my phone and I don’t do internet banking through phone.

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    1. Ha ha! good for you! Used judiciously, apps are good. But I am always wary of financial transactions on a phone. I use many apps but none for shopping – photo apps top my list! 🙂
      Thanks Anamika for your support! 🙂

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  10. So funny. All the time I read the early part of your post, I was thinking, soon, we won’t need an actual body, and our brain will be useless. And, viola! Your conclusion put it aptly, or is that apply?. if you lost the device, you’re out of luck.

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  13. Welcome to yeah write! We are so happy to have you join us and hope you enjoy our little space enough to come back again! As someone that grew up without internet or cell phones (I didn’t even have email until I was 30!), all of this amazes me. To my kids, it’s just normal. I wonder what will surprise them one day?

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    1. Thanks Stacie for stopping by. I am happy to come across yeah write and you will see me around.
      That’s a good question! Something to really think of – may be playing a game of soccer in the field, watching the rainbow, making paper boats when it rains 🙂

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  14. Haha I can truly understand what you mean. I guess surviving without either a mobile and / or a laptop is quite challenging these days. You know it’s quite funny that I recently booked my tickets to Lucknow for next year through a travel agency here in Kuwait. Funny in the sense that it’s been years since I booked tickets offline :P. Interestingly, I found that cheaper than booking online as well ;).

    Nice to see you on Yeah Write Parul :).

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      1. Yeah was quite a refreshing experience ;). Ahaa votes or no votes, am sure there your writing has a lovely audience of it’s own. Keep going :).

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