HOLLA TO HAVE INDIA-SPECIFIC FEATURES

MOBILE APPLICATION MAKER NIMBUZZ PLAN TO OFFER INDIA-SPECIFIC FEATURES ON ITS FREE CALLER IDENTIFICATION APP HOLLA,WHICH IT SAYS HAS CROSSED ONE MONTHS AGO,AS IT SEEKS TO DIFFERENTIATE THE PRODUCT FROM ITS BIGGER RIVAL TRUECALLER IN ITS LARGEST MARKET.

            HOLLA, WHICH EMULATES TRUECALLER IN HELPING, BLOCK SPAM CALLS FROM PESKY SPAMMERS OR OTHER UNWANTED CALLERS,ALLOWS USERS TO SEE DETAILS, INCLUDING THE CALLER’S NAME,PHOTO AND LOCATION DURING AND INCOMING CALL LIVE.

          “WE WILL ADD ANEW FEATURE SOON WHERE YOU CAN PRESS A PANIC BUTTON ON THE APP, WHICH ALERTS THE CENTRAL MONITORINGS SYSTEM OF OF THE DELHI POLICE ABOUT  A NUMBER THAT IS STALKING YOU” SAID NUMBUZZS CEO VIKAS SAXENA ADDING HOLLA WILL BE A BIG DRAW FOR CONSUMERS IN THE INDIAN MARKET WHERE SPAM CALLING IS RAMPANT.

            THE COMPANY IS SIMULTANEOUSLY WORKING WITH SOME TELECOM OPERATORS IN JAKARTA,WHERE SPAM CALLERS WILL BE CHARGED HIGHER THAN NORMAL CALL CHARGES,TOUGHENING THEIR BUSINESS CASE.

            INDIA’S TELECOM REGULATOR HAS IMPOSED TOUGH RULES ON SPAM CALLERS AND SPAM MESSAGES,WITH PENALTIES VARYING FROM HIGH CHARGES TO BLACKLISTING FOR TWO YEARS.MOBILE PHONE USERS CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHETHER THEY WANTS SOLICITED CALLS OR MASSAGES,AND SPECIFIC KIND OF SUCH CALLS CONTINUE,LEADING TO INCREASED USE OF SPAM BLOCKING APPS.

TRUE CALLERS HAS MORE THAN 100 MILLION DOWNLOADS,WITH INDIA BEING ITS BIGGEST MARKET. THE SWEDISH START-UP GOT $60 MILLION IN FUNDING FROM KLEINER PERKINS CAUFIELD &BYERS AND SEQUOIA CAPITAL LAST YEARS-VALUING THE COMPANY AT $250 MILLION –AS PER FINANCIAL TIMES,ENHANCING INTEREST AMONG INVESTORS IN THIS CATEGORY OF SERVICES OR APPS.

            IN COMPARISON, HOLLA IS MUCH SMALLER AND IS YET TO RAISE INVESTMENT ON ITS OWN BUT,NIMBUZZ’S SAXENA SAID THAT IDENTIFYING PHONE CALLS AND BLOCKING SPAM CALLS WILL BECOME MAINSTREAM SOON AS LARGER COMPANIES LIKE FACEBOOK ARE PLANNING TO GET INTO THE RING AND EARLY STARTER TRUECALLER HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED A MARKET.

            FACEBOOK RECENTLY TESTED AN ANDROID CALLER ID APP CALLED’PHONE’,ACCORDING TO SEVERAL MEDIA REPORTS,AND COULD BE READYING TO LAUNCH THE SERVICE SOON.HOWEVER, FACEBOOK HAS NOT TALKED ABOUT THE APP OFFICIALLY YET

            GURGAON-BASED NIMBUZZ,WHICH WAS RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY UK- BASED NEW CALL TELECOM PENDING APPROVAL FROM FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROMOTION BOARD (FIPB),BROUGHT FORMER EMPLOYEES FROM TOP PHONE MAKING COMPANIES,INCLUDING A SOFTWARE CONSULTANT WHO HAS WORKED WITH APPLE INC IN CUPERTINO, A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER AND A PRODUCT MANAGER FROM NOKIA AND ADVERTISING SERVICE MANAGER FROM BLACKBERRY, AT ALMOST THE SAME REMUNERATION LEVELS AS THAT IN SILICON VALLEY.”GIVEN THE PACE AT WHICH THE INDIAN START-UP SPACE IS MOVING, PROFESSIONALS CAN DO THE SAME KIND OF WORK HERE AS IN SILICON VALLEY”. SAXENA SAID.

            HOLLA DOES NOT REQUIRE INTERNET CONNECTION TO WORK, UNLIKE TRUECALLER, AND OFFERS ANALYSIS OF THE USER’S CALL PATTERNS AND TIME SPENT ON PHONE CALLS.

            THE APP IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE,IN ENGLISH,FRENCH,SPANISH,ARABIC,PERSIAN AND PORTUGUESE.NIMBUZZ’S CHAT AND FREE CALLING APP HAS MORE THAN 200 MILLION USERS GLOBALLY, OF WHICH OVER 30 MILLION ARE IN INDIA.