There are over 2.8 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store today. With the number of Android smartphone users in Nepal increasing by the year, developers and coders too have constantly come up with some fantastic apps to compliment the Nepali taste. Ranging from utility to gaming apps, they provide great functionality, and most of them come for free, helping make the smartphone experience all the more convenient. 

Here are five Android apps which will become indispensable to your day-to-day affairs once you download them. 

Hamro Patro

Probably one of the most popular Nepali apps, Hamro Patro has been downloaded over a million times over the years. It is the go-to app for many Nepalis because it features not just a Nepali Calendar but also a wide range of other functionalities and incorporates a myriad of information regarding a variety of different topics. 

Hamro Patro alerts users about important dates and tithis. It also allows them to listen to online radios and podcasts. The app also has a tab where it posts updates on the latest news from select news websites in Nepal. 

The app, you will notice, is also incredibly up-to-date. For example, the app developers have curated news regarding Nepal’s local-level elections 2017, making it a one-stop portal for a lot of essential information. In addition, Hamro Patro features different tabs for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly horoscopes, and also lets users convert currencies according to the latest daily exchange rates. 

The one drawback is that you sometimes do have to install a different app or plug-in to get some of the features to work. But the fact that it displays the market rates and lets its users make e-cards based on different festivals observed in Nepal, makes up for the flaws.

eSewa

Imagine how convenient walking into a store and paying your bills with your smartphone through Android Pay would be. Sadly, this option isn’t available in Nepal right now. We can expect it to enter the Nepali market sometime in the future, but until then, we need to make-do with what we have. This is where eSewa comes into play.

eSewa is a digital wallet through which users can pay their bills. The app has a clean user interface and is really simple to use. First, users will have to download the app, and then register an account through a fairly easy process. Once you are registered, you add funds to your account through eSewa’s member banks.

The third step is the money transaction itself. The app lets users recharge their mobile phones, and pay various other types of bills. Users can also buy bus and airlines tickets, movie tickets or even book an adventurous retreat through the service. 

At a time when online safety is making news time and again, the eSewa app is pretty secure and comes with a dedicated tab just to remind users about the ways they can keep their accounts safe. 

It is commendable that eSewa has been a major factor responsible for increasing the trend of online payments in Nepal. However, it wouldn’t harm to see the app broaden its scope by becoming the Android Pay of Nepal through which users are able to pay for what they eat in a restaurant or what they buy in a supermarket.

Nepali Dictionary—Offline 

An offshoot of Hamro Patro, you will be impressed with the effort Nepali Dictionary’s developers have put into their app.

The Nepali Dictionary—Offline is a simple database consisting of thousands of words and their meanings, both in English and Nepali. Although some of the English words didn’t show their exact meaning in Nepali, the dictionary is generally reliable. 

 The app has come up it phrases and games and has grouped them into different segments. However, the constant popping and flashing of advertisements can be distracting and annoying. A price you have to pay for using a pretty decent app for free! 

Like most of the international dictionary apps, the Nepali Dictionary—Offline also comes with a text to speech function to assist users in pronouncing difficult words. If the users don’t like something related to the app or want to contribute by adding new words, they can also do it through the ‘Feedback’ option.

Hamro Nepali Keyboard

Going to Google transliteration every time you want to type in Nepali can be exhausting, just like searching for a website that will help you to do the same hassle-free. The struggle can be frustrating when you want to make a quick or quirky reply in Nepali and Hamro Nepali Keyboard app is exactly what you need.

Hamro Nepali Keyboard is a keyboard app with a few tricks up its sleeve. Featuring a simple layout, it instantly changes Nepali words typed in English as soon as you hit the space key. This keyboard also suggests words according to the structure you type in. But if you are having trouble writing in this manner, the Hamro Nepali Keyboard app also has other layouts which include a proper Nepali keyboard.

But even with all these features, the Hamro Nepali Keyboard app is not the complete package. It only has a limited number of emoticons and does not support GIFs. It also doesn’t have the ‘glide typing’ feature, if you are used to typing as such. 

Nonetheless, even with its shortcomings, the Hamro Nepali Keyboard is the go-to app for someone who usually has to type in Nepali and an easy way to keep your online conversations interesting.

NET TV

Launched in 2015, NET TV is steadily climbing to the top not just as an app, but also as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). It is the first commercial IPTV to get a valid license from the Government of Nepal. This service is currently available on both Android and iOS and also through various Internet Service Providers (ISP) here in Nepal. 

So what does NET TV provide to its users as an app? It has gives you a list of channels to play from, most of which can be streamed for free. It also streams some Nepali and Hindi movies, although the options are only limited. There is also a tab where users can watch and listen to music which is directly streamed from YouTube. 

One feature which does feel out of place is the blog which updates some of the latest news from just one website. Although it saves the hassle of going through the website, it can stick out as a sore thumb on a streaming app.

The channels that you have to pay for on the app can be bought by recharging your user’s account through NET TV Recharge Card, eSewa, Ncell, iPay, IME Pay or SCTnPay. It has a simple interface and could come in handy when there is no television around. It is not without reason that NET TV’s popularity has soared in the past year.

For more news, reviews and information on new and old technology in the town, visit 

www.gadgetbytenepal.com If your technological devices are giving you a hard time or if you’re just curious about certain things, please drop us an email at [email protected].