October 24, 2014 – The Metrognome

Intra-city seaplane flight between Juhu and Girgaon chowpatty was successfully tested very recently, while crucial clearances were obtained for operations.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If this flight becomes operational soon, Mumbaikars are in for a really pleasant ride.

The city’s wait for intra-city seaplane flights between Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty is soon coming to an end. The city witnessed a successful trial of the Juhu to Girgaum-Chowpatty flight on October 22, 2014. MEHAIR, along with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), has been working on the project for nearly two years and has already obtained crucial clearances from several authorities, including a nod from the Ministry of Defence, Coast Guard, Indian Navy, Mumbai Police, Urban Development Department, BMC, Mumbai Port Trust, Environment Department and the Airports Authority of India.

MEHAIR is already operating daily seaplane flights between Mumbai and Pawna Dam and has successfully conducted trial landings of its seaplane in Mula Dam (Meherabad/Shirdi) for which the commercial operations are being launched from early next month. The seaplane to be operational within Mumbai is the company’s Cessna 208A amphibian aircraft, which will take off from Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai and touch down in Girgaum chowpatty about 10 minutes later. By road, the estimated travel time between the two points is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Speaking on the occasion, Siddharth Verma, co-founder and director, MEHAIR, said, “With the commercial launch of the service, Mumbai will become one of the few cities in the world that have a seaplane service originating in the heart of the business district. We are confident that the public at large will see the value of the service and take full advantage of it.”

He added that a seaplane offers the public the “last mile connectivity”. He said, “Essentially a seaplane service begins where normal airliners end, and therefore, offers connectivity from the last airport to areas even beyond which are remote but have suitable water bodies that can accomodate seaplane operations.”

This just in: A smartphone for senior citizens

Mitashi launches Play Senior Friend, a smartphone for senior citizens priced Rs 4,999 and addressing the age group’s basic needs.

by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Mitashi has launched a new phone named the ‘Play Senior Friend’, which is aimed at senior citizens. The phone is equipped with an SOS button in case of an emergency to contact the user’s trusted contact quickly and coloured icons for those who can’t read small text.

The Play Senior Friend sports a 4-inch LCD IPS and has dual cameras for taking pictures and making video calls. It runs on Android 4.4 with Mitashi’s own custom skin for convenient usage by senior users.

“A detailed market research done by us suggested that the senior generation, while being largely technophobic, is also looking at their grandkids engaging actively on Android platform and definitely want to get into the bandwagon – all they need is a little push!” said Adnan Chara, Vice President (Gaming, Toys and Telecom) Mitashi Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. “Research also indicated that current generation smartphone users were guilt-conscious while using a high priced smartphone for themselves because their parents and grandparents at home were still active on a low priced feature or bar phone. Thus we thought of addressing the need of a smartphone exclusively made keeping their needs in mind,” he added.

This phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor along with 512 MB of RAM. It has 4 GB of on-board storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card. There’s FM Radio, Bluetooth and microUSB for connectivity. The phone comes in a different kind of see-through packaging that allows you to look at the box’s contents before opening it. The phone has been priced at Rs 4,999.

What do you think of this device? Will it serve the purpose for senior citizens? Tell us in the comments section below.