Domikado, a handy personal Yellow Pages

Rizka Agustina ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 04/04/2010 10:42 AM  |  Sci-Tech

As the BlackBerry smartphone strengthens its grip in Indonesia, domikado.com has entered the fray to offer a downloadable and potentially helpful application for all BlackBerry users.
This free, locally-developed application offers a bunch of helpful information, ranging from eateries to current foreign exchange.
Its website lists domikado as an old Indonesian children’s game, where a group of children gather in a circle, their hands on top of each other’s, and clap as they sing the lyrics to a song.
The use of the name Domikado serves as a reminder of childhood times when life was easier and perhaps more fun.
“With Domikado, life is definitely made easier, so you can enjoy the more fun things in life,” the site says.
Domicado.com is accessible by all people, BlackBerry users or not, and provides categorized headlines compiled from various news portals and media websites.
However, the developers promise optimum use for BlackBerry phones, declaring it “the ultimate guide for Indonesian lifestyle”.
It basically promises unfettered access to all you need in Jakarta – in the palm of your hand. With Domikado, you now have your “personal Jakarta Yellow Pages” at your fingertips. Lists of hotels, embassies, hospitals, spas, florists, taxis, emergency contacts and so much more are presented in its directory.
You’ll never run out of ideas of what to eat, either. Its list of more than 2,500 restaurants may be confusing, but with an advanced keyword search, you can find the right trattoria or warung to sate your cravings.
Feel a sudden craving for Chinese or Thai? Scroll through Domikado’s restaurant list and filter by specific criteria (family-friendly, serves alcohol, bakery, coffeehouse) or by the type of cuisine (Continental, Indonesian, American, Italian). Once you’ve found the one you want, click the phone number to make the call for a reservation.
Domikado also provides live exchange rates for 13 major currencies. A detailed stock exchange listing is accessible simply by clicking the criteria: Open, Day Range, Volume, Best Bid/Ask, PE, EPS, 52Wk Range, Average Price, Market Capital and Shares. The index lists Open, Day Range, Volume, Value, Gainers, Losers, and Unchanged for Indices.
Need the latest gossip fix from the Twitter mill? With a click of trackball, Domikado provides access to all the most talked about topics on Twitter – without you even having to sign in. Which you can, if you want to update your status.
Upcoming events at Jakarta’s hippest clubs, the latest sports scores, concert schedules, TV listings, art shows, exhibitions and movie schedules are also available. Domikado is currently working with the Ismaya Group, Fitness First, My Body Gym, First Media, Blitz Megaplex, Cinema 21, Java Musikindo, X2 and other industry insiders to keep you ahead.
Three days after its release, the Domikado app has been downloaded 20,000 times.
Making the most of Domikado, though, really requires a Blackberry. Ronald Ishak, founder and CEO of the site, said recently on CNet Asia, “Domikado is BlackBerry’s first Alliance member in Indonesia that works together with BlackBerry RIM in making applications specifically for their devices.”
There is talk of expanding the application to other devices such as the iPhone in the future. But for now, the Domikado application works best with BlackBerry devices.