The wearable technology now has a new shopping app that is to be “the beginning of the journey” for the chain.
Tesco, the British supermarket chain, has now launched a brand new mobile commerce app, but it isn’t the typical shopping or informational app for smartphone users, as it has been designed for Google Glass.
The goal of this m-commerce application is to make it faster and easier for consumers to shop online.
Google Glass users can download the Tesco mobile commerce app for free. It is voice controlled so that the user needs only speak the commands in order to search through the database of products at the supermarket. An example of the phrases that can be used is “OK Glass, find a product: milk”. Equally, users of the wearable technology can scan the item barcodes when they are in store or if they are in their own pantry and wish to re-purchase what they already have.
The mobile commerce app also allows the user to browse for items that they can add to their basket, as well.
That said, when they want to actually check out, they will need to use the regular smartphone based m-commerce app. The intentions to create the Google Glass based application was first announced in June 2014. At that time, it was still a prototype.
According to Pablo Coberly at Tesco, at the time of that first announcement, “We thought about how our colleagues might be able to use Glass to check stock hands-free, or how our customers might be able to add a product to their grocery delivery basket while making a cup of tea.” He also added that arriving at that phase along the way has brought about new concepts with regards to user interactions, including “user interface elements, new gestures, and input mechanisms.”
Clearly, Tesco came a long way since that time, as they have now launched the Google Glass mobile commerce experience. Coberly recently blogged on the subject, singing the praises of the SDK for the wearables, and applauding the Glass team at Google for the support and experience that they provide.
This new smartphone application has been launched in Delhi and the Union Home Minister was present.
A new mobile app called “Himmat” has been developed for and launched by the Delhi Police in India, in order to provide women with a tool that will allow them to make a very quick and easy distress call to appropriate parties so that they can receive the help that they need.
The mobile application lets them reach the Police Control Room and their relatives in an emergency situation.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was present in New Delhi, when the mobile app was first launched by the police. Its primary market is employed women who are smartphone owners and who find themselves traveling alone – even late at night – as a result of their working hours. At the same time that the mobile application was launched, Singh also handed out pepper spray to the women who were present and gave awards to girls who had gone through the Delhi Police self-defense program and had successfully completed it.
The Delhi Police received Sing’s praise for the use of technology and the mobile app for improved policing.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi was also present for the launch of the Himmat app for mobile devices, and explained that the process involves downloading the application by registering with the Delhi Police website. Registration involves sharing the smartphone user’s name and number, as well as the contact information of at least two friends or relatives who could be contacted in case of an emergency.
Upon the completion of the registration, the smartphone user receives a text message with a download link and a registration key. When installing the smartphone app, the registration key needs to be entered, but that is a one-time occurrence.
After that point, the smartphone user opens the mobile app while traveling alone, and can send an alert to the police or to his or her emergency contacts simply by shaking the device or by pressing on the power button/soft button. Immediately after the distress alert has been triggered, a thirty second audio/video recording will begin on the device and that will be relayed to the Police Control Room (PCR). Bassi explained that once that message is sent to the PCR, they will receive a call back to check on them.
