TripIt- Organize your travel

If you are a frequent traveler and need someone to give you updates of your travel plans then this app is definitely for you. We are talking about TripIt travel app for iPhone users.

Description

• Category- Travel

• Updated- 23rd January, 2013

• Version- 3.9

• Size- 10.5 MB

• Language- English, German

TripIt is rated as one of the best iPhone travel apps. It works like your trip organizer while you are on the go. It handles everything and every activity related to your travel plans, making it an easy way to organize your travel. It also allows you to share your plans with family and friends and over Facebook and LinkedIn as well.

To get it started you simply need to forward your itineraries to your TripIt e-mail address. It then pushed all the details to your iPhone. The app consolidates all the information for you regarding reservations, hotels, flights and rental cars. It also tracks your emails and keeps a watch on your new reservations and bookings. TripIt has other useful features like maps of airports and navigation info that it gets from Apple's Maps app.

For frequent travelers there is a paid TripIt Pro, costing $48.99 per year and it is loaded with many other features like tracking your reward points, live updated flight schedules etc.

Accolades

• “Best Travel Websites & Apps” by Travel + Leisure in the year 2011

• “Best 5 Apps for Business” by Fortune in the year 2011

• “Our List of the Best iPhone Apps” by Lifehacker in the year 2010

and many more.

Rating- 4.5 starts out of 5.

System requirements

• Requires iOS 5.0 or later

• Is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

• Has been optimized for iPhone 5

TripIt is available for free at iTunes. Go grab this wonderful app now!

Also checkout- Top iPhone utility apps and iPhone web development.

How to obtain a merchant account with bad credit?

Bad credit history proves to be a hindrance most of the times, especially when it comes to transactions involving bank cards. The cards could be on the merchant's side or the consumer's. Initially it used to be very difficult to set up merchant account if you do not have a credit history, or have a poor credit history. High risk accounts are required for online casinos and other gaming/ gambling high risk payment gateways. Recently many of the new online bad credit merchant account providers have come up due to intense competition in this field.

There are 5 easy steps that will help you obtain a merchant account with a bad credit.

1. Try looking around over the internet for bad credit merchant accounts. There are host of online merchant services first data being one of them.

2. Shortlist some merchant service providers as you do the research. Go through the websites of each on of the providers on the list. Try finding out the cost of acquiring a merchant account and their rates and fees. Also check out their terms and conditions and the features of services they provide for merchant accounts having bad credit.

3. You may then call up the service providers and speak to a representative. You can ask the representative that what makes them suitable enough for you and why you should choose them over the other providers. The representative may further highlights details that might not have been on the site. So this way you get a deeper insight about the company. Check out the reviews of the provider and for how long it has been into business. It would be better if you note down these points, so that it will help you further with your evaluation.

4. After speaking to the representative of all the shortlisted providers, it time to compare the benefits and services against the cost in case of each provider. Your aim is to keep the cost to the minimum while most of your business needs are fulfilled. Scratch out the providers from the list that do not interest you.

5. Now that you have all the information handy, you are in the best position to decide which service provider to go for. Remember, that the service provider you go with is affordable and the services offered are as per what your business needs; and that the service provider has been in this for more than 2 years.

Just follow these 5 simple steps, you can find your self the best merchant account even if you have a bad credit.

5 tips for choosing fragrances

It is often said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. However, when it comes to perfumes, it won't be wrong to say that beauty lies in the nose of the beholder! Today's post is about simple tips for choosing perfume for women which I hope will make the process a lot more easier for you.

1. Find out the olfactory family

Perfumes are divided into groups, known as olfactory families; floral, gaourmand, aldehyde, aquatic, aromatic, etc. People prefer fragrances of a certain family because it may stimulate their olfactory receptors or remind them of happy moments.

For example, if there are lilies near someone's favorite place, they may prefer a floral perfume of similar fragrance in an effort to stay connected with the place in their mind. So before you choose a perfume, think about your favorite group. This idea is also helpful if you wish to gift a perfume to someone. Try to know which family they like to associate with.

2. When the perfume will be worn?

Lighter scents are preferable for daytime use. If you wish to wear a perfume for an evening  go for deep and intense scents.

3. What's your budget?

You must clearly decide on how much you wish to spend on a perfume. Generally, most of the perfume stores display prices. If not, do not hesitate to mention the range to the staff at the store

4. When to go perfume shopping?

Perfume shopping is something you cannot rush through. It needs you to spare some time. So set aside a day, probably on a weekend. Morning is the best time for perfume shopping, since you are fresh and your olfactory senses are most sensitive at this time of the day. Make sure you bathe with unscented soap and refrain yourself from using a deodorant or perfume. Avoid shopping for fragrances when pregnant. The hormonal changes alter your olfactory senses.

5. How to choose a fragrance?

When actually trying on the perfumes on yourself do not try more than two scents, one one each wrist. Otherwise it can confuse your olfactory senses. Spray the perfume on the inside of your wrist and let it dry up on its own. Do not rub it or else you will end up destroying the molecular layers. Wait for 10 minutes to get the feel of how actually the perfume smells when it mingles with the natural chemicals in your skin. Also note that the same perfume may smell differently on someone else due to the different composition of their body chemistry.

So these are the most basic things to be kept in mind when you choose your favorite fragrance. I hope you like these tips. Happy shopping!

P.S.- Also look out for online stores for mtr sweets and cosmetics in India.

Fitness buddy- Turn your smartphone into a personal trainer

Hello buddies! I hope there are many health conscious people among you, because today's post is about fitness apps for android phones- Fitness Buddy!

Description

Category- Health and Fitness

Updated- 26th January, 2013

Version- 1.2

Size- 3.8 MB

Language- English

Price- $0.99

Fitness Buddy is one of the most popular android health apps. It works like a comprehensive workout planner and instructor for you.

Fitness buddy is a compilation of over 1700 exercises instructions, consisting of text as well as pictures. You can browse the workouts category wise so that you can focus on your problem areas and specific muscles. It also keeps a check on your workout schedule, body metrics and weight. It maintains a log of your workouts and shows what's next on the list. This way you can benchmark your progress and never miss out on any exercise. You can also create a playlist in the in-built music player. Music is after all the best companion while you workout, making it a fun activity!

Features

• Over 1700 exercises

• More than 1000 HD videos

• More than 1000 workout pictures and animations

• Detailed exercises with major equipment including barbell, dumbbells, resistance bands,  stability balls etc.

• Lets you add your own exercises too.

• Over 75 different workout routines- goal specific, equipment specific. Special routines for women.

• Helps you build your own customized workout routine.

Accolades- Recommended by Gizmodo, Lifehacker and ESPN magazine as the best fitness app ever.

Rating- 4.3 out of 5

System requirements- Android 2.2 or later

Fitness buddy is a very user friendly and pocket-friendly app, making it worthy of given a try.

Other recommendations- Also look out for 'Shopping list app android' and 'Travel apps for android'.

Mint- The best iPhone finance application

Do you own an iPhone but haven't yet made the best out of it? Here is guide for newbies to make the best use of their iPhone. An iPhone will be useless without the apps that run on it. Today we will talk about 'Mint'- one of the best iPhone finance apps.

Description

• Category- Finance

• Updated- 23rd January, 2013

• Version- 2.6.1

• Size- 12.2 MB

• Language- English

At present 'Mint' has over 10 million users and is one of most favored apps when it comes to budget tracking. Mint uses a secure online service to establish a connection with your bank account. When a transaction is executed, the same gets automatically updated and categorized in Mint. Thus, the user doesn't need to make manual entries of his expenditure every time. Mint can also process savings and retirement account information. This helps the user to keep a track of his income, expenditure and savings. It is a password protected application with a unique 4 digit pin, preventing your details from unauthorized access.

Mint flashes notification every time:

• The due date of bill payment comes closer

• When the user is about to reach his/her spending limits

• It gets suspicious about any transaction in your bank account.

Awards

• “6 Best Banking & Budget Apps” by CNN Money in the year 2012

• “Best Personal Finance App”  by WIRED App Guide in the year 2012

• "20 Best Apps: Must-Haves for Everyone with an iPad or iPhone” from MacWorld in the year 2012

and many more.

System requirements

• Requires iOS 5.0 or later

• Is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

• Has been optimized for iPhone 5

Screenshots

This app is available for free. So go grab it and make your finances easy!

Also look out for education apps for iPhone and the best iPhone sports app.

Dry shampoo- When you are running out of time

Don’t have time to wash your nasty tresses every day? Dry shampoo is definitely the best solution to the problem. Get rid of greasy hair in a matter of minutes!

A dry shampoo is water-less hair cleansing product in a powder form generally available in spray cans. Dry shampoo when used on greasy hair, absorbs all the dirt and oil from the scalp and strands of the hair. It lightens the roots, adds shine and volume, retains the softness of your hair as well as makes them smell so fresh.

Hair before and after using dry shampoo

The most popular brands of dry shampoo are Oscar Blandi Pronto, Batiste, Pssst dry shampoo, Lush candy fluff powder, Cedel and Klorane. READ MORE >>>

The weirdest of the weird!

Lately I'm feeling tempted a lot to do something unusual...eccentric....wacky and weird! There are many things around here in real life as well as over the internet that inspire me to do so! I have no clue how this urge set into motion in the first place. But it really does make me think and act weird!

Following are the sources of my inspiration!

There was a mismatch day arranged in one of the city colleges. The essence of this day is to dress up and look as weird as possible, have fun and enjoy the day. The guys dressed up as total wackos! Here are a few pics..I hope you like them. I hope such events are organized in my college too.

And what I did?

I recently bought weird frog chocolates online and offered it my friends. They freaked out at first! But who can say no to chocolates?

I have never believed in using fairness creams. But I just tried on one of the best fairness creams ever!  :p And I wonder why I did so!?!?

And what I plan to do next!

I have always been a fan of smoky eyes. They are so alluring! But first I wish to do such a weird eye make up on my eyes! I hope I'm able to do it. :D

May be its the boredom of the routine..May be it is making me crave for weird things. I just hope to get out of this soon!

The must have home-care products

Hello my dear blogger buddies! Hope you had a good time on the occasion of Valentine's day.

I felt like discussing about the cleaning products that everyone should have in their homes. These are the essentials and come handy to clean everything from clothes to messy kitchen platform. These products come from the best brands delivering high quality and value for money products.

Cif cream surface cleaner is a worth having product. Cif cleaning agents are powerful and easy to use cream based solution. Messy kitchen platform, greasy cook-top, greasy kitchen tiles, just apply a little Cif and wipe it off. And see the magic! It all looks as good as new! Available for INR 29 for 120 ml.

My all time favorite product for laundry cleaning is 'Surf Excel'. Surf Excel washing bars and Surf Excel Matic detergent powders are one of the best products of HUL. From its emergence in the 90's, it has undergone tremendous changes and every time it has come up to be a better product. No wonder that HUL holds 36% share of the 5000 crore detergent market in India.

Stains are no longer a thing to frown about. So let your kids be messy. Let them go out and explore the world. Surf Excel is there to take care of the stains on their clothes. Surf Excel washing bar available for INR 25 for 250 grams.

Another favorite product Robin Cuffs n Collars. It is a fantastic solution formulated specially for the areas of your dresses that are prone to get more dirty, the cuffs and collars. It sometimes happens that even the detergent cannot fight the stubborn stains. At such times, Robin washing liquids will come to your rescue.  You can also use it for cleaning dirty socks. The 200 ml pack is available for INR 44.

So these are the must have products that will make the cleaning process very easy and convenient.

Career opportunities with CCNA and ITIL

With constant developments in the field of technology, there are a number of new career opportunities emerging in the market. All a person needs is knowledge about the technical concepts, skills to culminate the concepts into reality and an innovative approach to drive the project. Then nothing can stop him from excelling in his field of work.

There are online IT services management courses that can really help you explore new career opportunities. You can learn from  anywhere and anytime. The online courses cover latest curriculum and charge a reasonable fees. A couple of such courses are discussed below.

To provide opportunities to the young talent, CISCO has designed CCNA courses. CCNA stands for CISCO Certified Network Associate. This is one of the best certified associate-level training program which is formulated to shape the individuals by imparting quality training through online training programs and make them presentable by enriching their minds with required knowledge.

This course is suitable for networking professional with a work experience of 2 to 3 years. This course enables the professional to sharpen their skills for installing, configuring and maintaining medium sized routers and switched networks.

Another such popular course is ITIL Foundations Certification Program. The IT Infrastructure Library foundation certification training course is suitable for professionals who have or are working in the IT services sector. It is a globally recognized IT service management program.  It is a way to gain eligibility to secure Practitioner's Certificates and Managers Certificates.

So there are various options out there. It is necessary to analyze and choose a right pick that will open our path to success.

Make the best out of your iPhone

In this era where a smartphones have become necessity rather than being just a status symbol, it is easy to spot many people sporting one. Apple, Samsung and HTC are the major players in the smartphone market in India. With a rise in general income level of the country, people are now ready to spend anything between 20k to 40k for a smartphone. But it is very necessary that you make the best use of your smartphone. One such way is by installing important apps which will be help you utilize your phone's potential to the fullest. You can get your tasks done with ease and timeliness.

Today we will talk about the following categories of iPhone apps

• Banking apps
• Educational apps
• Gaming apps

There are a variety of iPhone banking apps that are developed to fulfill diverse banking needs of the people. Such apps are useful when you are unable to go down to the branch to get your transactions executed or to register a complaint or a service request. Banking apps have advanced security and functionality. You can conduct transactions like balance enquiry, online fund transactions, locating an ATM and deposit checks with iPhone banking apps. This will definitely make your life easy at the touch of a button.

Moving on to the next category of apps. There are the best educational iPhone apps for kids available in the market. Educational apps are student friendly and are equipped with advanced features keeping in mind the academics as well as the needs of the students. Interactive platform will definitely help children understand the concept better and learn quicker.

What can be better means of entertainment than gaming? iPhone games apps are compatible with iPad as well. High density and quality 2D and 3D games are now available to suit everyone's pocket. The iPhone games development team consists of experts having thorough knowledge of iPhone OS. The team constantly strives to match market demand and produce quality gaming apps for the customers. These apps are approved on the app store because they are designed as per the Apple guidelines.

So go ahead and get some of the useful apps on your iPhone and enjoy the convenience offered by technology!

Minimizing your internet bills

Image courtesy- http://www.gizbot.com

Now a days everyone is linked to the internet 24 x 7 for information as well as entertainment. In such a scenario it is obvious that your internet bills will go up. For combating high internet bills it is necessary you examine your actual usage and requirements. This is essential because when you buy internet recharge you can establish a link between your requirement and what is being offered in a particular internet plan.

The mismatch between your requirement and the offers is the main reason why you end up paying unusually huge amount of money for internet.

There are online recharge websites that give detailed information about the latest internet plans. You can browse through the offers and choose the best pick that will suit your pocket and match your requirements. You can avail benefits from the ongoing promotional offers.

MTS Mblaze and Tata Photon are the two major preferred brands for wireless broadband internet in India. They have the best plans to suit every pocket, be it of a student or a businessman. You can recharge Tata Photon online very conveniently from your home. You don't need to go to the outlet or a dealer to find out the latest offers. I have been using Mblaze since one year and I'm very happy with its performance and promotional offers. Mblaze online recharge is also available.

While I was browsing the site the other day I was so happy to find out that there is online DTH recharge facility like dishtv recharge too.

It is important to have proper information at hand, which the dealers generally don't have. That ultimately results into wastage of your money. Then why not use technology and internet for your benefit and recharge everything online?

The lucrative arena of apps development

Given the booming trend in the field of technology, app development has currently become one of the most promising areas of business. The application development companies are doing an astounding job and earning huge revenues.

In this scenario of cut-throat competition, professionals are constantly relying on technology to stay ahead of the game. They are looking for the best enterprise mobile apps that will give them an edge and help them perform their tasks quick and efficiently.

There are numerous apps coming up in the market every day, for both iPhone as well as android. These two are the hottest apps stores. One must delve deeper into details of technology and try to understand the current trends in the apps market.

If you have a flair for coding and designing then apps development might be a lucrative business opportunity for you. You need to have technical expertise, creativity and an up-to-date knowledge about the market needs. You can choose android app developer software after studying the specifications and trying to link it with your requirements. This way you can build a powerful resource to develop apps with perfection. The apps need to be light, have a user friendly interface and easy to navigate.

Another important thing is to offering your apps at a competitive price. For this it is necessary to control the cost of app development. Sourcing app developer software at a competitive price, optimum utilization of every resource at your hand, finding out the loopholes in the process of development and eliminating the same, controlling the lead time, etc are effective measures to keep the cost at  sustainable levels.

To sum it up, you need technical know-how, creativity and management skills to get the best out of the booming mobile apps market.

Hope you enjoyed reading the post. Have a nice day!

I'm on a de-cluttering spree!

Hello buddies!

Now that 1st Semester of MBA is over, I had to make place for 2nd semester's huge books. It had been very long since I de-cluttered my drawer and cabinet. Every time I do it I get surprised. I find my old stuff I have an attachment with. So the same thing happened today. I found a few things that were buried deeply under the weight of huge reference books. I had forgotten where I kept these things, and I'm glad to find them. This is what I dug out today...

A hand-made greeting card from a very special friend (he made it himself :D) received a few years back

A few pics of myself  between 2-5 years of age

My all time favorite pic. My lil sis, Dad  and me..and Mom clicked this one

Some report cards from school days...

My old exam papers...My source of inspiration when I find it difficult to study

So this was the messy drawer I was talking about..

Now it definitely looks better..no?

I retained and neatly organized the important stuff and discarded the unimportant ones. I hope this one stays clean until 2nd semester ends! I feel so proud! :D

You have a great day ahead! Cheers!

Why do we need online merchant services?

You might have come across terms like online merchant services or online merchant accounts. These are a set of important services for online businesses. Online retailing is a form of e-commerce which facilitates direct purchases of the goods from the seller from over the internet. It may be a B2B (Business to Business) or a B2C (Business to Consumer) transaction. You might have noticed that online prices are less as compared to the market prices for a same product. This is because the intermediaries are eliminated from the chain.

A merchant account is a type of an arrangement between the business and a bank or affiliated company which allows business organizations to accept online payment from the customers, viz. payments made by debit or credit cards trough a secure gateway.

It is necessary for a business organization to carry out a detailed merchant account comparison offered by various service providers on the basis of rates, authorization and charge-back fees charged by each one of them, reliability, security and reviews, before choosing a pick.

Merchant service providers may levy higher monthly fees and charges for high riskmerchant accounts. High risk accounts is a type of account designed for e-commerce organizations involved in high-risk category  businesses like gambling, online dating, sales of computer hardware or software, etc.

The evolution of online merchant services is a boon for the business organizations, banks as well as the customers. This platform has contributed to the progress of e-commerce. Consumers have a wider choice of products at competitive prices, online retailers get business and banks earn fees. So it’s a three way triumph!

Happy birthday kid! - Gift ideas

Hello buddies! Hope you all are doing great.

I have been juggling with writing, shopping and attending a lot of marriages and birthday parties these days. There are a few thing one should keep in mind while choosing an appropriate gift, especially when it comes to kids. The gift should be useful, interesting, not harmful to the child etc. So I have been finding solace in online shopping and unraveling my dilemma.

I have to attend three birthday parties this week. All the kiddos are between 1-5 years of age. So I've been thinking and came up with these gift ideas!

The one year old baby will not be able to make much out of his gift. So I think I should gift something  that is relevant to the baby and helpful to his Mum. A set of branded health care products like medicine dropper, baby nasal aspirator, medicine dispenser, thermometer; other baby stuff like baby pillows and pacifiers can be an excellent gift. Health care company like 'Chicco' are one of the leading producers of baby things.

The other kid is a little older. She loves playing with soft toys. So I'm planning to give her a big birthday teddy to add to her existing collection.

And for the naughty older guy who's five years old I'm planning to buy a nice trendy bicycle. Again I'm going to shop from one one the online bicycle shops. So this is what I've planned, buying baby stuff online!

Do share your gift idea for kids. J

Its fun time for kids!

Hi friends.. We all know that summer is just around the corner and kids will soon have their summer vacations. So its fun-time for kids! Yayyy! J

I'm surrounded by kids all the time. I have a little sis, my little cousins and there is a gang of cute and naughty kids in the neighborhood, and i'm loving it!

The other day I was thinking what my cousins can do in summer vacations so that it also contributes towards their development. I want my 'bachcha party' to make the best out of their two months long summer vacation. I thought of shopping a few things for them, so that they can use their time productively.

I have shortlisted a few good items. Handicraft kits with a variety of knitting patterns will be good for the girls. They can learn knitting by using these easy-to-use kits. It will also help develop their motor skills.

Sport gifts will be good for the older boys to keep them active and fit. When boys are free football is all they need! When they'll see a new football, new sets of jersey and shorts, stocking and shoes I am sure they will love it. New toys and gifts always fill the kids with so much enthusiasm.

There are a lot of interesting animated movies for kids. I'm planning to order DVDs like 'Underwater adventures' and 'Mozart and friends sleepytime'. I think they will be good for my cousins who are two to three years old. Why should big kids have all the fun?

So this is what I've in mind. Do share your ideas through your comments. J