Hike and seamless communication

Recent buzz that has hit the media is the huge success of instant messaging app "Hike" launched by BharatiSoftBank - a joint venture of Bharati and Japan's mobile operator "SoftBank". As media reports the USP of this app is that it seamlessly integrates with SMS feature so that user can easily chat with those that have not installed the app or have only a feature phone.

This USP has helped the app to reach to millions of people on Android market and is evident from millions of downloads in just three months. Launched on 14-November, this app is currently not accepting any sign-ups due to heavy load on servers, which in itself is a nice problem to have.

When thinking about the USP, it is clearly a very handy app for smartphone owners. They need not worry about whether the recipient has the same application installed or not as the app will send out SMS in case the recipient doesn't have the app installed. The app is tied up with your phone number and hence doesn't need any login-password and once installed you will be "always connected".

If the app is updated to tie up with email address (optionally), it has a potential to be a lot more useful. It could give a consistent experience on all of your computing devices such as home desktop, office laptop and a smartphone on the move. I remember a similar concept from a leading provider in the USA few years back, unfortunately it never took off in the market. When I read about Hike, I instantly remembered that platform. Hike may take the same path down the line...

More about Hike: http://get.hike.in/


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