WhatsApp, the biggest interpersonal text-messaging platform in India, has started rolling out its ‘verified accounts’ feature with IndusInd Bank as one of its first customers. For now, verified accounts are limited to businesses, and will be used to assure customers that they are communicating with...
APPS
Jio users need to click on app to extend Prime membership
Contrary to rumors, Reliance Jio is not giving an automatic extension in Jio prime membership to all its users, but existing members have to ‘express their interest’ through the company’s selfcare application. “Express your interest to get complimentary membership for the next 12 months,” the...
Kotak Mahindra Bank grows customer base by 50% in 9 months with Aadhaar eKYC
Kotak Mahindra Bank said its customer base increased by 50% in nine months after it launched a mobile app to facilitate quick opening of bank accounts using Aadhaar. The company launched an app called 811 on March 29, 2017, three months after the Reserve Bank...
India’s T-Series becomes most-viewed Youtube channel
Thanks to the explosion of data connectivity unleashed by Reliance Jio and other operators, an Indian company has emerged as by far the most popular channel on Youtube by number of views. According to Youtube tracking service Social Blade, Indian record label T-Series today has...
JioTV adds multi-camera, multi-mic feature; VR coming soon
Reliance Jio, the 4G operator, said users of its JioTV streaming app can now choose any of the five camera angles while watching the ongoing Nidahas trophy as part of a new ‘interactive TV’ feature. Similarly, they can also choose to listen to different mics,...
Tata Sky takes on JioTV with free video streaming website for users
Tata Sky, the country’s largest distributor of television content, has taken decided to take on JioTV and other emerging content distributors with an online streaming website of its own. The DTH provider’s online video and TV service can be accessed at ‘watch.tatasky.com‘ and currently has...
Xiaomi’s new MiTV: Everything, except apps on this TV
When Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi entered the Indian market, few thought the brand would go from zero to No.1 in a matter of four years, leaving biggies such as Samsung, LG and Micromax in the dust. So total has been the disruption that even today,...
Mahindra invests Rs 176 cr in Bangalore-based car rental start-up Zoomcar
Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said it would invest up to Rs 176 cr in Bangalore-based car rental firm Zoomcar for a stake of up to 16%. Zoomcar, which calls itself a self-drive mobility platform, has been offering car sharing services from 2013 for...
Star India’s Hotstar to share content with Airtel’s TV app
Star India’s digital business, Hotstar, will make content available via Bharti Airtel’s TV app. The companies did not clarify if all content on Hotstar will be available or not. Given that it costs Rs 199 per month to access all content on Hotstar, that is...
Balaji Telefilms ties up with Reliance Jio for content distribution
Balaji Telefilms, the television content producer header by Ekta Kapoor, said it has decided to make its digital content available on various content applications of Reliance Jio. So far, the most of the content was exclusive to Balaji Telefilm’s own app, ALTBalaji, which also competes...
Reliance Jio tests 4G-based TV broadcasting technology eMBMS
Lost in the details of the financial and technical data disclosed by Reliance Jio on its third-quarter performance was a tiny bullet point announcing that the company had broadcast a pan-India stream over eMBMS. eMBMS or enhanced Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service is a hybrid technology...
JioTV now available on PC as well
JioTV, the IPTV service from Reliance Jio is now available on the open Internet as well. Live TV channels can be watched by anyone on their PC using a Jio ID and an Internet connection. The Jio ID, however, can be set only by using...
Exchanges seek clarification from Bharti Airtel on Aadhaar misuse charges
Stock exchanges in India have sought a clarification from India’s largest telecom company by revenue, Bharti Airtel, on a report that it was under investigation by a government agency for allegedly misusing customer data to open bank accounts in their names. “(The) exchange has advised...
Infibeam CCAvenue launches pan-India billing service on BBPS
E-commerce solutions provider Infibeam said its unit Avenues India, which operates the payment service CCAvenue, has entered the bill payment service with the launch of a new service BillAvenue. The service has been built atop the Bharat Bill Payment System created by the National Payments...
Google Assistant launches support for third-party apps in India
Google has activated support for third-party apps in its Google Assistant product in India. Before this, it was not possible for third-party apps to be launched or accessed via Google Assistant in India. Google Assistant is the company’s artificial intelligence-based mobile phone search and assistance...
PVR introduces ‘movie on demand’ with VKAAO app
PVR, India’s largest movie chain, said viewers can now watch any movie they want — including oldies, small-time and independent flicks and documentaries — by voting for them on movie-on-demand app VKAAO from Bookmyshow. When a certain number of app users sign up for a...
Just Dial says no acquisition proposal from Google ‘yet’
Just Dial, the local classifieds company, said it “does meet relevant corporates for exploring any business or strategic opportunities and tie-ups”, but there is no proposal to be acquired by Google “as of now”. The statement came in response to a report in the Business...
Just Dial app downloaded 23,871 times every day; profit rises
Online classifieds company Just Dial said its app was downloaded an average of 23,871 times per day during the three months ended September. This was nearly thrice the number of app downloads during the same three months of 2016, showing the impact of the company’s...
MobiKwik creates wallet app for bank even as rivals focus on payments bank
Wallet app provider MobiKwik announced a tie-up with IndusInd under which it has launched an app exclusively for the bank’s 10 mln customers. The move is in line with the app company’s strategy to be a partner and solutions provider to traditional financial services companies...
Balaji Telefilms to share digital content with Vodafone
Balaji Telefilms will make its digital content available Vodafone’s Play multimedia app, the telecom operator said. Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO – ALTBalaji said the aim of his company was to make the content more widely available. “Our content caters to the Indian language, urban mass audience...