nimbuzz

Over four years ago Nimbuzz was launched which allowed users to add their Gtalk, Facebook, Yahoo, Windows Live, Twitter, MySpace IM, etc. They have come a long way since & now the popular smartphone IM apps maker in India has forayed into online retailing business with the launch of their e-commerce online mobile store   nCarry.com . With over 65 Million global users & a large chunk of that being Indian, the strategy behind the launch of the portal is not competing against the current leading online retailers like Flipkart, Letsbuy, DealsandYou, but go in for captive Nimbuzz users and upgrade the entire market with smartphones. Nimbuzz’s VP Business Development, Keshav Bajaj reasoned , “ We understand our customers and know that they change their handsets every 14 months. So we decided to develop a recommendation engine that will help them upgrade their handsets .” He further clarified that, “ NCarry.com is a smartphone upgrade site where you can buy good handsets. We will not show promotions. We are talking of a very innovative way of doing e-commerce. Since we already own users, it is our way of developing a relationship with them .” nCarry.com is currently offering popular local handsets from Motorola, Micromax, Spice, Karbonn as well as prominent global brands like Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson.  The devices on offer vary widely in terms of price & operating systems like Android, iOS, Symbian, Java/MIDP, Bada OS etc. The website is currently advertising iPhone 4S pre-orders as well. Shopping for mobile is not new, in fact it is surely growing. However, here we have a unique prospect of a pool of users that the company knows, use smart phones as Nimbuzz does require a better OS to run its Chat application. Does it mean, the advertising model which the application makers have recently adopted, will spill over to the Nimbuzz app? On a side note, Nimbuzz won the best mobile IM award for 2011. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency