Latest technology at hand

Prior to purchasing a phone or any kind of new technology, a thorough research is a must. But where or to whom does one look to in such situations? Is it better to trust a friend’s opinion or the varying reviews that float around the internet? With this thought in mind, cousins Deepak and Samant started ‘Phonemaya’, a website that reviews and updates people about the latest gadgets that enter the Indian market.

Launched two and a half years back, the site has a healthy following of people who are looking to stay updated with the tech world. Run by the two cousins and Prashanth (a late joinee), ‘Phonemaya’ tells you when the latest Android updates are available and for which phones, if there are any price cuts, the latest entries into the market and more.

Says Deepak, who is an engineer, “We started this as a hobby as all of us were interested in technology. At the time, Android phones were just coming in and we knew they would be the next big thing.” What eventually started as a blog has now turned into a full-fledged website that requires much research and time.

They initially specialised in phones but moved on to tablets and wearables. Talking about wearables and the different kinds, Deepak says, “There are different categories, and although they aren’t yet popular in India, they are going to be the next big thing. One can either get fitness wearables, to track their body when exercising, smart watches, which are yet to become popular here or heads-on display wearables, which are used for various sports like skiing.”

Although there is a huge market for technology around the world, ‘Phonemaya’ caters to just the Indian market. “We cater to domestic players who don’t know much about the latest advancements. At first, smart phones were expensive and not widely used, but now a large population of people have them.” There are many phones coming in from China that are cheap and people don’t know about them, and the site helps people get in touch.

They are planning to expand to the various sections of technology available. Deepak adds that it is their personal interest and knowledge about how these devices are made and work that fuels the site. The launch was delayed by a year and this set them back a bit as the Androids had already entered the market. “We just tried to capitalise on this and find ways to express it to the layman.”

Where do they get the content from? “We write it ourselves and get updates from Twitter and companies themselves,” he says. How did the name ‘Phonemaya’ come about? “We wanted at least half the name to be Indian as that’s where our readership lies. We named it ‘maya’ because of the magic that phones have on people and the illusion they cast,” he adds.