Hike Messenger's 'Total Phones' Let You Chat, Get News Update Without Any Internet Connection
19 January, 2018
One of WhatsApp’s biggest competitors, Hike, has introduced a new version of Android that's able to send messages as well as make payments without having an active data connection.
Called Total, the idea for it is to appeal to users who aren’t yet able to access the Internet, and eventually get them to come online to experience the rest of Hike.
Total will let users chat with contacts, catch the news, buy bus tickets, get cricket scores, pay their bills, and even recharge their mobiles, all from a single location and all without any Internet access.
How does Hike's Total work without Internet
To do this, Total is using a custom-designed technology called Universal Transfer Protocol (UTP), based on the pre-existing Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) on GSM phones the last few years. It’s basically a way of transferring data between a phone and an application in the network through the carrier’s sever without 3G/4G. It’s similar to an SMS except a text can be “stored” if the recipient’s phone is off or out of network range, but UTP only works during a session.
This only works with mobile phones that have partnered up for the technology, which is what Total has gotten for itself. It’s teamed up with local smartphone companies like Intex and Karbonn to introduce new smartphone models with UTP support, each priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,000. All you have to do when you buy the device is log in with your phone number and you’re good to go immediately. Of course, your telecom operators will be charging for access to this, though with hopefully cheap prepaid packs.
Right now, just Bharti Airtel and and BSNL are on board, with packs of Re 1 that you can buy through Total.