Apps

INON | The Maximum Saving & Discount Grocery App in Kuwait

Posted on by ryuker
25
Oct

INON (It’s Now or Never) is a revolutionary grocery app that offers maximum savings and discounts in Kuwait. It is offering prices I have never seen in Kuwait with a very interesting business model. I know of something very close during my stay in the US, but still INON is still different. With INON the moment you open the app, you will see browsing products by expiration date and the sooner the expiry the more is the discount. For example 2 weeks until expiry, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, and 4 months. When I was studying in the US, I remember seeing my friends spending much less on groceries and consumer products than me. I thought they were buying products that have lower quality, but I was surprised to see they were buying the same exact products that I use at a much lower prices. I discovered that they are going to stores that sells the products at much lower prices. Then I did my research on how these stores can sell at such prices.

  • Products are near expiry. I just bought 11 Tide boxes for 600 fils each because it has 2 months to expire.
  • Products are out of style. Sometimes the manufacturers change the design of the packaging
  • The company target slimmer margins. Thin margins and volume can make up the difference

 

 

This is an example of Lipton tea that has 2 weeks to expire, which is perfect to save more than 1 KD for the Diwaneya and the other is Pif Paf that has 1 month to expire. If you see the savings it goes up to 75%.

INON is using this business model to disrupt the market in Kuwait, and everyone I know is extremely happy with the App. The main reason I was happy is because I want to save as much as possible on the monthly purchases for the consumer product. Try INON out and let me know how many items you bought and how much you saved.

iOS | Android | Website

Update: I was notified that much more products will be included by next month, so check them out.

Services

Al Muzaini App Made Transfers Much Easier

Posted on by ryuker
15
Oct

I used to go to Al Muzaini branches whenever I have to transfer to my house keeper. The process of going to the branch and sometimes wait in line is very annoying. One day I was complaining to my brother and he told me why are you going to the branch. You can do all transfers online, and all of the transactions that I have done in the branch will show in the app. I can literally see all the beneficiaries that the branch entered for me and choose the amount and send the money. I was resisting at first because I didn’t feel like to enter all the data for the beneficiary to transfer, but all the info was already there and I just enter the amount and pay by KNET. Try the app and you will save lots of time.

To download the app iOS / Android

Technology

Anker 737 Power Bank With 140W Output

Posted on by ryuker
11
Oct

This is my new favorite power bank which is extremely powerful. I was surprised to see the Gan technology reach such levels where the power bank USB C can give a total output of 140W. On the power bank there is a display that shows how much wattage each device is getting. Some phones doesn’t receive much wattage, while others do. The 140W power bank is perfect for charging the new Macbook Pro 16″ which comes with a 140W charger. I also got the 120W Gan wall charger to charge my 737 power bank at an extremely fast speed. It takes about 30 minutes to be fully charged. The Anker 737 power bank isn’t available in Kuwait and I recently got it from the UK, but I highly recommend getting one.

E Commerce

Trikart | E-commerce With an Impressive Customer Service in Kuwait

Posted on by ryuker
17
Sep

About a year ago, I discovered an E-commerce called Trikart which I didn’t know about at that time. Whenever I see a website that I don’t know, I hesitate to order and go to the big retailers especially when it comes to the expensive stuff. I tried to order small items from Trikart few times and everything was delivered very fast. I was very happy with the experience, and it became part of my favorite E-commerce platforms in Kuwait. Now things are taken to the next level where I was impressed beyond what I had in mind. So far I haven’t experienced a customer service that great in Kuwait. Few days ago, I ordered a 512GB Samsung Z Fold 4, and their pricing was the best in the market. When I got the phone, it was a 256GB. I was very disappointed, because whenever I face such issue with the big retailers. I usually go through hell just to replace the product, just like what happened recently with my Sony TV, where it took 2 months and a total of more than 10 long calls just to try to return a TV that has an issue of fading colors. The issue started after 3 days from receiving the TV, and returning it was almost impossible. Of course since then I created a guide of how to test the TV before receiving it. With Trikart I just contacted them via Whatsapp, and I explained the issue, and I told them the phone is still sealed. They were like OK, tomorrow you will get the 512GB. I was like WHAT ? impossible, because I am used to other retailers and how hard they make it to replace or repair a product. In less than 24 hours, Trikart replaced my phone, and I was extremely impressed. I was like WOW that reminds me of my days in the US, where Amazon replaces any item very fast. When I came back to Kuwait, I realized they make it very hard where you have to use Wasta or threat that you will go consumer protection department or call them every few days and see that you are persistent. With Trikart that isn’t the case at all. Their customer service is amazing, and they win my loyalty big time and I am already recommending it to everyone. I don’t mind anyone making a mistake, and I faced mistakes with most of the retailers in Kuwait, but the main thing is how to solve it and Trikart did an impressive job. I was about to get a new Sony TV for my Diwaneya, and now I will get it from Trikart. Waiting for them to restock.

Thank you Trikart for the impressive customer service.

Technology

Apple Pay is Launching in Kuwait in October 2022

Posted on by ryuker
16
Sep

Finally Apple is launching Apple Pay next month, and most of my friends who are using iPhones have been waiting for this day. For me I have no worries since I stopped using iPhones few years ago and now I use Samsung Z Fold. On Samsung I use Samsung Pay for my NBK cards and Google Pay for my US cards. Paying by phone is so convenient and it saves a lot of time. I usually hold my phone and keep my wallet in my pocket, so I used to grab my wallet and pay by card. This is no longer the case where I pay by phone for all my transactions. Try mobile payment few times and it will eventually be much more comfortable than paying by cards.

Kuwait

Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj | The Best Comedy TV Show in Kuwait in Recent Years

Posted on by ryuker
12
Sep

Season 1 from Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj was released 3 years ago as a 4 episodes season only. The TV Show got a lot of attention for being very funny and for being something that people can relate to. Since then I have been waiting for season 2, and it was released on September 1st, 2022. It is a 10 episodes season and it is available only on Shasha. I have seen Shasha being promoted on AlQabas all the time after trailers from the Black Box by Ammar Taqi. I didn’t pay for subscription until Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj was released. I paid for the 1 year subscription for $59.99, which is a lot for a platform that doesn’t have much content.

After Abdulhusain Abdulredha passed away, I thought we will never get the opportunity to laugh the same way as we used to. I was totally wrong because Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj brought very similar laugh and joy. I recommended the show to my friends and family, and everyone loved it. My Saudi friends were so reluctant to watch it, because they thought our recent entertainment isn’t as good as the old days, which I agree with, but after they watched the show. I got a call few weeks later, and they told me they were so impressed and they watched the show twice and can’t wait for more episodes.

My favorite episode from Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj is episode 2 from season 1 and episode 8 from season 2. It is a must watch

Kuwait, Technology

Sony & Samsung QD OLED TV’s Are Available in Kuwait

Posted on by ryuker
04
Sep

Less than a year ago, I got the LG C1 OLED TV. Back then that was the best gaming TV in the market. Of course OLED TV was and still very impressive, but it has it cons as well. The brightness is known to be one issue and the other is the possibility of burn in. Such issues doesn’t exist with QLED TV’s, and they come with their own issues such as less contrast between black and the other colors. Now the best of both OLED and QLED are combined into QD OLED, and they are finally available in Kuwait. So far there is two companies that are offering QD OLED TV’s, which are Sony and Samsung. The only limitation is that they come in 55″ and 65″ sizes only. I really want a 77″ or 83″ for my next upgrade which will be few years away.

Sony A95K 

Xcite (65″)

 

Samsung S95B

Andalus (55″ , 65″)

Best Electronics (55″ , 65″)

Lulu Hypermarket (55″ , 65″)

Blink (55″ , 65″)

Video Games

We Need a New Generation of PSP (Playstation Portable)

Posted on by ryuker
08
Aug

I have always been a fan of portable consoles and it all started with Nintendo Game Boy. Back then my favorite games were Tetris, Super Mario, and Pokemon Blue. When Sony released their first PSP, I was blown away and couldn’t believe that a console can look that good. Even though I played Sega Game Gear, PSP was so different. I really enjoyed having a PSP and I played lots of games. When Sony released PS Vita, I believed that things were taken to the next level. The console had an OLED screen, and it was extremely well built. My main issues were the price of memory cards and the amount of games. Both of the issues can be solved with the upcoming PSP if there is one. When Sony decided not to support the device, I was really disappointed, because I have seen how Nintendo supported the 3DS back then even though most people thought that it would fail.

Seeing my friends and family who bought Nintendo Switch just because they wanted a portable console whenever they travel. What Nintendo did was really a genius move. The consolidated the console and portable market in one ecosystem. Now they no longer worry about developing a game for the home console and the portable one. After the release of Steam Deck, I see my friends and family wanting one, and they think of it as a replacement of the PSP. I believe that Sony still has room in the market, but can be done in a total different way than the PS Vita.

This is what I think Sony should do

  1. Make the new PSP with the same specs as the PS4 and uses the same operating system as the consoles. This way the development will be consolidated and Sony platform will have a larger user base. If that happens, I will be able to play all the PS4 games and all the upcoming indie games that doesn’t require PS5 power such as Sifu, Stray, Hades, and Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge.
  2. Make storage expansion very simple similar to the PS5, where they can use something generic not proprietary like Xbox Series X or PS Vita that can be easily bought online like an SD Card or so.

If that happens, Sony will get back the people who played PS Vita and especially the ones who played Japanese games. The user base will be much larger for Sony, and Sony will be able to leverage their PS Plus much better because they are investing in bringing back PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on PS Plus. That should bring more sales to PS Plus and it will make more sense for Sony to invest in having PS3 games downloaded on their consoles. Not only that, with portable consoles, I see each family member having his/her own Nintendo Switch where it isn’t the case for a home console like PS5. It equals to more sales eventually and a larger user base.

 

Products

How To Brew The Best Tea Ever

Posted on by ryuker
28
Jul

I have been trying to find better ways to brew tea than the samovar, and I recently found one that tastes much better. I found a special kettle from Orca that brew tea leaves using steam. The bitterness is nonexistent using this method, and everyone who tried it was impressed. So far it is my very favorite tea.

The process that I used is the following.

1- 2 small spoons of AlMunayes White Box Tea.

2- Turn on Orca kettle and set it to A, which stands for Automatic.

3- The kettle will heat the water and it will stop at one point.

4- Pour & Enjoy.

 

Video Games

The Winner Between Playstation 5 (PS5) Vs Xbox Series X | S

Posted on by ryuker
12
Jul

I have read many articles and tweets about how the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S will be used in this generation. The argument was very interesting where Xbox with Game Pass will be the everyday console just like Netflix where great games will be released day 1 on Game Pass including all Bethesda, Microsoft, EA Games, and more. Playstation will be like the movie theatre where every now and then there will be a great exclusive that are a must play. I believed that would eventually be the case so I subscribed to Game Pass for 3 years, and the value keeps increasing because Microsoft is acquiring big studios and release all their games day 1. Last week I wanted to buy the new Ninja Turtle game on PS5, but then I decided to check my Game Pass and found the game. I played the game without paying $25 on Playstation. I believe Microsoft need another 2-3 years to be really competitive with Sony, because as of today Sony own lots of established studios with strong IP’s such as Uncharted, The Last of Us, Horizon, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider Man, and more. Even the small studios which released console exclusive games such as Sifu and Kena are only on Playstation. I mainly play such games so 99% of the times, I am playing on my Playstation and rarely play on Xbox even though I thought with Game Pass, Xbox will be my everyday console. That wasn’t the case, and my everyday console is Playstation 5. My favorite games are the single player with a really good story, so Xbox games aren’t relevant to me. I don’t know if many people are like me, because most people I know play online games such as Fortnite and COD, and I don’t play any online games. In my opinion Playstation is wining so far, because they are releasing amazing exclusives one after the other. 2022 is really packed with amazing games such as Horizon Forbidden West, The Last of Us Part I, God of War Ragnarok, GT7, and more. The pipeline keeps getting games that are very exciting.

Why do I think Microsoft needs another 2-3 years to fully compete, because they have games in the pipeline and they are acquiring big studios that Sony can never buy, so eventually they will catch up and they will offer much better value to Game Pass and Microsoft can afford it even if they lose billions in the short term.

The remaining studios that can be acquired in the market are the following.

  • Take-Two
  • EA Games
  • Ubisoft
  • Konami
  • Capcom
  • Sega

I think Konami is the most relevant for Sony to acquire, the rest can be acquired by Microsoft. I personally don’t know if such deals will go through since there are laws that protect industries from monopolies. Whatever is happening right now in terms of competition between Microsoft and Sony is better for customers and we keep getting better offerings because of the competition. In this generation of console wars, I think Sony is winning so far, but let’s see if things change the next few years. I believe it will be very competitive and eventually they will compete neck to neck.