Matrix Travel Companion app: Great discounts, but bug-infested

Matrix Travel Companion app is targeting a base of one million users by the end of 2017

So, you want to take a break from work, and you've figured out where you want to go, but have very little idea what you are going to do there. There are, after all, several things you would need to keep in mind before heading to a new destination, such as shopping, dining out, places of attraction... the list is endless.

This where the Matrix Travel Companion app comes handy. Here is a mobile application that focuses on international travellers and offers a host of services on a single platform. It is targeting a base of one million users by the end of 2017. 

To understand how the app works, we downloaded it and reviewed it.

Getting started

The Matrix Travel Companion app is available on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS platforms. We reviewed the app in Android.

Once you've downloaded and installed the app, you will have to sign up using Facebook or e-mail. The home screen has your location and when you scroll down you get a host of services such as exclusive shopping discounts, local attraction, restaurants, cabs, matrix services, hotel, apartments and mobile recharge options.

The bugs

The app isn't bug-free though -- when you click to detect your current location, you will be asked to enable the location even though it has been captured on your mobile. So you have to choose the location manually for it to be accepted. The correct location is important as it is on this basis that the app will provide the shopping discounts and other attractions such as restaurants, places for hanging out and such like, that are available at your destination.

Besides, the exclusive shopping discounts feature is dysfunctional. When you click on that option, you get information on totally unrelated locations such as US or Europe, even if you happen to be in India.

Calls made to the app's customer care number were an exercise in futility. We tried posting our registered mobile numbers but were told that they were incorrect.

Fixing the itinerary

When you click on an attraction, it shows various different tour programmes along with the cost. And when you click on the one you like, the app will run you to details of the tour package. You can directly book by clicking on the 'book now' option.

The app also provides a variety of restaurants within a 20-km radius, along with Google images of each establishment. While the app has a feature that allows you to book an Uber ride directly, the current location bug mars the experience. 

Et cetera 

You can recharge your prepaid mobile using this app and book hotels as well, and get great deals both on advance and last-minute hotel and apartment bookings.

Conclusion

The Matrix Travel Companion app is a one of its kind, one-stop-single-shop for a range of services. But the current location and shopping bugs make for poor user experience. Once these bugs are addressed, it will be a must-have app for avid travellers. If the company wants to have one million users by end of this year then it should fix these bugs.