[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by mayankk

When the majority of devices are running an older version, it's patently stupid to try such a tactic.

I wouldn't call it tactic but lack of effective QA is evident. It is a perogative of the developer to check the product compatability with all common platforms.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Anyone else annoyed with flipkart.com for their forced push to download their app? I'm using a tablet and I can find no way to close the popup and move on.

Yes... See the App for offers; Offers only available on the app; and so on.

I don't know why they are doing this. Maybe their broadband traffic is too high; maybe they are getting a commission from the phone data charges --- wild speculation, I just cannot see what they have to gain by forcing people away from the computer to pick up the phone.

Maybe the simplest speculation is that they just want to force more people to download and use the app. More apps on more mobile devices equals more chance of casual shopping, like, hey, a traffic jam, let's shop.

It is not so hard for me to pick up the tablet; I did that yesterday, but (hello Flipkart!) mostly I don't bother. I don't think that any of their some-excuse-every-day sales have yet caused me to impulse-buy anything. One day they probably will, but (Hello Flipkart) I'm much more likely to do that from the PC.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Maybe the simplest speculation is that they just want to force more people to download and use the app. More apps on more mobile devices equals more chance of casual shopping, like, hey, a traffic jam, let's shop.

The option of doing fair comparisons is also not present in the app. On your computer it is easy to fire up differnt tabs and compare prices/specs etc across different products and sites.

And chances of making mistakes is more in apps. I booked a flight ticket for the wrong date and lost some 7k even though I immediately called up the airline and the aggregator

[Lalvaz]

I had recently bought a Moto G from Flipkart at 12990 and when I saw the ad for the app shopping festival, it said that one could buy it at 10990, so I downloaded the app on my Ipad, and hey, the Moto G is out of stock. No worries, I check for discounts on micro SDcards, and there's like a 35 or 37% discount on those, so I get all excited and look for a 32 gb class 10 San disk. Well, its there but after the huge discounts, its still same price or a little more expensive than on other sites. And guess what, it was at the same price on FK before the sale.

I'm getting increasingly frustrated at buying online, and these shenigans are'nt helping one bit. Flipkart, you'll get footfalls on your site only so many times, after a point, people will just write you off. Enough of these gimmicks.

[binand]

Originally Posted by dmplog

May be it's got to do with some tech limitation of the older OS or browser version?

Originally Posted by mayankk

When the majority of devices are running an older version, it's patently stupid to try such a tactic.

I (my employer, that is) publish a few apps on the Play Store. We see approx. 15% devices running older Android versions (that is, older than 4.2). FK operate in a different segment but I'm not surprised if they took the call of not fully supporting older devices/versions based on some such statistic.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't know why they are doing this.

The primary reasons are:

- Advanced analytics (user location).
- Additional touchpoints (sharing, integration with camera, android wear etc.)
- Opportunities to increase engagement (icons everywhere, notifications...)

etc. Some PM I guess churned some numbers and came up with the idea of saving development cost by not testing on older Android versions.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

I had recently bought a Moto G from Flipkart at 12990 and when I saw the ad for the app shopping festival, it said that one could buy it at 10990, so I downloaded the app on my Ipad, and hey, the Moto G is out of stock. No worries, I check for discounts on micro SDcards, and there's like a 35 or 37% discount on those, so I get all excited and look for a 32 gb class 10 San disk. Well, its there but after the huge discounts, its still same price or a little more expensive than on other sites. And guess what, it was at the same price on FK before the sale.

I'm getting increasingly frustrated at buying online, and these shenigans are'nt helping one bit. Flipkart, you'll get footfalls on your site only so many times, after a point, people will just write you off. Enough of these gimmicks.

What's needed is real consumer law with real teeth. I don't have much hope,

Originally Posted by binand

The primary reasons are:

... ... ...

- Advanced analytics (user location).
- Additional touchpoints (sharing, integration with camera, android wear etc.)
- Opportunities to increase engagement (icons everywhere, notifications...)

etc. Some PM I guess churned some numbers and came up with the idea of saving development cost by not testing on older Android versions.

Thanks. I suppose now that Flipkart have given up being actual sellers, the reputation they gained in those days no longer matter to them. I suspect that the company is now full of youngsters with marketing MBAs. Bad!

[hellmet]

My tablet cannot be called old Android. I'm running Kitkat 4.4.4 and the latest Firefox whatever number that is. I suspect they are forcing their stupid app on purpose. I'm also fed up portals running a "sale" everyday. It's got to the point where I don't care anymore.

[Chetan_Rao]

Apps are getting stupider by the day. I like the Zomato site on PC, so tried downloading the Android app. It prompts to sign up or sign in with social networking credentials (the browser site doesn't). Why does one need login credentials to look up restaurant options & reviews? Looks like a shameless plug to collect contact info for spamming.

Deleted the app and will stick to the browser version.

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by binand

...

The primary reasons are:

- Advanced analytics (user location).
- Additional touchpoints (sharing, integration with camera, android wear etc.)
- Opportunities to increase engagement (icons everywhere, notifications...)

etc. Some PM I guess churned some numbers and came up with the idea of saving development cost by not testing on older Android versions.

This app has access to:

Device & app history
read sensitive log data
retrieve running apps

Identity
find accounts on the device

Location
precise location (GPS and network-based)
approximate location (network-based)

Photos/Media/Files
read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Camera
take pictures and videos

Wi-Fi connection information
view Wi-Fi connections

Device ID & call information
read phone status and identity

Other
receive data from Internet
view network connections
full network access
read Google service configuration
prevent device from sleeping
control flashlight
use accounts on the device

Those are the permissions their app requires at the moment: why would I install this app if I can transact through a browser without having to give away so much access? Ridiculous.

For instance, "Prevents device from sleeping"? Buggy use of this permission could eat away my battery.

[theexperthand]

Adding to the woes, Flipkart and Myntra have discontinued their mobile websites - now the only option is to use app, which I find very restricting. Why should I install an App if I just want to check the price or details of an item casually (or may be to make a one time purchase)?

http://www.techtree.com/content/feat...cing-apps.html

--Anoop

[binand]

Originally Posted by hellmet

I'm running Kitkat 4.4.4 and the latest Firefox...

Again, looking at my own website's data...

85% of Android traffic come from Chrome. About 9% from the default Android browser. A measly 0.25% from Firefox. Assuming FK sees similar breakup, they probably decided it is not worth their time to invest in supporting Firefox.

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by binand

Again, looking at my own website's data...

85% of Android traffic come from Chrome. About 9% from the default Android browser. A measly 0.25% from Firefox. Assuming FK sees similar breakup, they probably decided it is not worth their time to invest in supporting Firefox.

Probably not. Here's a screenshot from Chrome on the tablet. There's absolutely no way for me to go around the banner

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Probably not. Here's a screenshot from Chrome on the tablet. There's absolutely no way for me to go around the banner

Why don't you head over to the desktop site instead of the mobile site? I suppose most browers have the option to switch. I use dolphin browser and you can choose the user agent to be desktop, android, iphone etc.

Btw, I am using a Nexus 7 running lolipop and I too don't see an option to skip the forced app download when using the mobile site.

[audioholic]

Just compared the prices of JBL T100A earphones.

Flipkart Desktop - 574 + free delivery
Flipkart app - 459 + 40 delivery
Amazon desktop - 499 + free delivery
Snapdeal - 499 + Free delivery

Its all from the same seller.

Its just pure hype and loads of BS going around with Flipkart. I would rather buy it on Amazon from desktop rather than having to force someone from installing an app and then buying it for the same price. Wonder who devises such concepts

[Thilak29]

Used Aliexpress for the first time, Ordered Kenu Airframe and it was delivered within 5 days (It made it to India in just one day, however India post and customs ensured 4 days add up). Product was priced 1/3rd of what Amazon US had listed. Overall good experience.