Hike, a messaging platform launched a new service on Wednesday which will allow users to perform chat, read the news, make payments and transfer without any active data connection kind of functions.a version of Android preloaded on certain phones – will be accessible to users for starting price of Re 1, Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO, Hike said. It will be available from March 1 on few Intex and Karbonn phones.
Kavin Bharti Mittal, is son of Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal
The aim is to increase its user base beyond 100 million. The company is using a proprietary USSD-based technology to enable data transfer without an Internet connection.”USSD is nothing but that *121#” that users dial on phone to check balance, recharge and get small loans,” he said.Hike Total users will also get up to Rs 200 to spend on any of the Total services when they buy one of the select devices. Those interested in getting early access to the feature need to sign up on the dedicated Hike Total website.
Hike has partnered with major carriers like Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, and BSNL to make low-cost data packs available on Total, with prices starting at Re 1 for 20 MB at 4G speeds. The Total app will prompt users to buy data when performing data-driven functions like viewing media-rich news with photos or sending pictures or videos. Hike is also in discussions with other mobile phone manufacturers for embedding Total on their operating system.Also, other carriers including Reliance Jio are being spoken to expand data recharge options, he said.
beginning with acquiring a smartphone, buying a data pack, signing in to an operating system like Google by creating an email and opening Play store to download more apps. “You got to download 6-7 apps, sign in to them, have a data pack and then you finally get to the sweet spot of the internet. It’s a good 50-60 steps,” Mittal said.