After reports that
WhatsApp will be launching a voice-calling feature soon, we’ve managed to get
screenshots of how India-based instant messenger Hike will also be adding such
a feature to its service.
The news comes after Hike recently acquired US-based voice-calling
company Zip Phone for an undisclosed amount. Zip Phone, a one-man startup
founded by Anuj Jain in the US, is a voice-calling app that works globally.
According to sources,
Hike Messenger’s voice-calling feature could be coming very soon to the app,
within the next few days. The service will be optimised for 2G networks in
India as well as trying to ensure minimum bandwidth usage so that data costs
don’t go through the roof.
Hike’s voice-calling.
which will require Internet access, shall be more data efficient and thus work
well even on networks where Internet connectivity is poor. Given how poor and
patchy Internet connectivity still remains for many in the country, this
feature of Hike could make it stand-out from the crowd. The service will be
available globally. Hike has officially refused to confirm these rumours.
The voice-calling feature on messaging apps is something we
might hear about a lot in 2015. Facebook-owned WhatsApp had revealed plans to
launch the feature last year but that didn’t happen. Interestingly it was reported that one of the reasons for the delay was because
WhatsApp was finding ways to implement voice calling services in areas
where Internet connectivity is poor because 3G services and Wi-Fi access is
restricted in many parts of the world and consequently 2G services are still
more important.
In December, however, screenshots with
WhatsApp’s voice-calling feature were leaked. The
screenshots showed that the calling and chatting functionality will appear on
separate screens. Call logs, dialling and contacts screen were also seen in the
leaked screenshots. Another interesting feature that is rumoured in WhatsApp is
call-recording and playback. What is unclear is whether these features on the
app will be paid or whether users will have to start paying for WhatsApp once
the new features are rolled out. More recently another report claimed
that WhatsApp will integrate ‘Call via
Skype’ feature to its app.
While WhatsApp remains one of the most popular apps across the
world, Hike has also done fairly well. The Indian-app managed to crossed 35 million users since it’s launch in December 2012 which is quite impressive for
a new brand in a highly-competitive market.
“India has almost a 100
million active mobile Internet users and that number is growing rapidly every
year. That’s the market, which we’re building for. The rate at which hike
messenger has grown in the last 18 months is phenomenal and is a strong
testament of the right direction in which the product is steering,” Hike
messenger founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal had said in a statement when the
app had crossed the 20 million mark.
While WhatsApp has close
to 700 million users, up from the 600 million in August 2014, Hike in India has
proved to be quite a worthy competitor. The Indian smartphone user has apps
like WeChat, Viber, Line, SnapChat, which are all offering instant message via
Internet. Viber, Line, already offer free voice-calling over Internet. It
remains to be seen how Hike’s user base will grow once this feature is rolled
out.
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