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> English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. In all my years of living in India, I've not come across one person using anything ot

> English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. In all my years of living in India, I've not come across one person using anything other than English. Most people, even in IT, hadn't the slightest clue about how to type their own language into a PC. Didn't stop them from being "proud" of <insert object> though.

dingo_bat 9y ago
I see a lot of Uber drivers using Kannada for the entire phone here in Bangalore. Usage may be more than what is visible to us.
namanyayg 9y ago
I've seen Uber drivers use Uber and Google Maps in Hindi, and I assume it would be the same in other regions for their regional languages. These things exist because there's a market for it.
srisa 9y ago
I have not seen or used the app. Having the labels in non-English languages can be very helpful. Typing vernacular languages on keyboard with just English alphabet is complicated to say the least.
avip 9y ago
Not sure what echo chamber you live in. Many people in India don't speak, read or write English. Most of them carry and use mobile phones. Why would you exclude them from using the app?
- balladeer 9y ago
  That comment is either just a low effort troll attempt or made by someone not at all familiar with India and definitely not familiar with her linguistic diversity. Or maybe someone with extremely limited existence in one of this country's many urban bubbles. In fact had Google launched the app only in English or English+Hindi I would have been really surprised because they would been losing on the clear majority of India - the rural India, 2nd tier cities, and town and below. Internet is exploding there, clearly engendered by Reliance Jio and other operators following close and in panic. Also, the way Govt went all guerrilla on demonetisation (nationwide) and the way Govt is pushing digital money the larger population, who are not at all proficient in English, will have to come on board the digital payment system (and in my humble opinion will have to suffer a lot because planning and infra neither are well prepared; but that's another matter) and for the inclusion of regional languages are not a smart move per se, but a must.
someonenice 9y ago
I myself am one who type using Google Indic keyword for typing local. In all my local whatsapp group majority of the conversations are in local language.
halflings 9y ago
Might be good enough for somebody launching an app under a restricted budget, but Google usually tries to support all local languages, even rare ones, and Bengali is definitely not a rare language to use. GBoard also makes it much easier to write Indic languages (transliteration from Latin etc)
train_robber 9y ago
Being an app developer here; the reality can't be further than this. From our figures atleast 30% of our base use it in their vernacular. English is only a good start; if you really need to penetrate the masses - localization is a must.

dingo_bat 9y ago

I see a lot of Uber drivers using Kannada for the entire phone here in Bangalore. Usage may be more than what is visible to us.

namanyayg 9y ago

I've seen Uber drivers use Uber and Google Maps in Hindi, and I assume it would be the same in other regions for their regional languages. These things exist because there's a market for it.

srisa 9y ago

I have not seen or used the app. Having the labels in non-English languages can be very helpful. Typing vernacular languages on keyboard with just English alphabet is complicated to say the least.

avip 9y ago

Not sure what echo chamber you live in. Many people in India don't speak, read or write English. Most of them carry and use mobile phones. Why would you exclude them from using the app?

balladeer 9y ago
That comment is either just a low effort troll attempt or made by someone not at all familiar with India and definitely not familiar with her linguistic diversity. Or maybe someone with extremely limited existence in one of this country's many urban bubbles. In fact had Google launched the app only in English or English+Hindi I would have been really surprised because they would been losing on the clear majority of India - the rural India, 2nd tier cities, and town and below. Internet is exploding there, clearly engendered by Reliance Jio and other operators following close and in panic. Also, the way Govt went all guerrilla on demonetisation (nationwide) and the way Govt is pushing digital money the larger population, who are not at all proficient in English, will have to come on board the digital payment system (and in my humble opinion will have to suffer a lot because planning and infra neither are well prepared; but that's another matter) and for the inclusion of regional languages are not a smart move per se, but a must.

someonenice 9y ago

I myself am one who type using Google Indic keyword for typing local. In all my local whatsapp group majority of the conversations are in local language.

halflings 9y ago

Might be good enough for somebody launching an app under a restricted budget, but Google usually tries to support all local languages, even rare ones, and Bengali is definitely not a rare language to use. GBoard also makes it much easier to write Indic languages (transliteration from Latin etc)

train_robber 9y ago

Being an app developer here; the reality can't be further than this. From our figures atleast 30% of our base use it in their vernacular. English is only a good start; if you really need to penetrate the masses - localization is a must.