iWorld
bobbles launches Humax B1 sat STB & H3 OTT player for expat viewers across Europe
MUMBAI: bubbles media GmbH announced the availability of two new Humax receivers for bobbles.tv subscribers – the Humax B1 HEVC compliant digital set-top box for satellite reception and Humax H3 OTT media player for OTT online viewing.
The Humax B1 HEVC compliant digital set-top box will deliver bobbles world-class programming from Asia to European subscribers via SES’ 19.2 degrees East ASTRA satellite position. Thanks to High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also known as H.265, bobbles’ new satellite STB supports significantly enhanced video bandwidth efficiency for broadcast channels. This improves resource economy in terms of satellite capacity and helps streamline bobbles’ service operation. Meanwhile, the Humax B1 STB will deliver superior SD picture and sound quality for bobbles’ satellite viewers.
The Android-based Humax H3 media player for OTT viewing delivers wireless, multi-room TV enabling bobbles online subscribers to watch their favourite content anywhere in the home or office. bobbles’ OTT service benefits from the 3READY front-end whose UX enables viewers to easily discover and select content.
bobbles.tv is the pioneering multicultural satellite and OTT entertainment service for international expat communities living in Europe. Launched in August 2016, bobbles.tv delivers popular programming to Chinese and Korean communities across Europe, while the most recently launched bobbles package delivers India’s most popular TV channels to viewers in mainland Europe.
Thanks to bobbles’ innovative distribution paradigm which combines pan-European satellite broadcasting with over-the-top viewing via online distribution, bobbles aims to deliver culture-specific entertainment packages to the estimated 15 million people originating from Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin American regions who have relocated to Europe.
Humax VP sales Graham North said: “We congratulate bobbles for its commercial and technical innovation in delivering engaging, easy-to-access top-quality entertainment to Europe’s international communities. “Humax is proud to play a role in helping to bring these communities together via a great TV viewing experience whether it’s via satellite or online,” he added.
“Fundamental to our values is the need for maximum user choice and flexibility at a subscriber-friendly price,” said bubbles media CEO Arnold C. Kulbatzki. “We believe these new Humax devices help us further deliver on these goals, enabling more people to enjoy bobbles programming, and feel closer to home.”
bobbles.tv breaks new ground in viewer choice and service usability. With no need for a contract, depending on the chosen package, bobbles.tv monthly prices start from just €6.95 online and €14.95 on satellite.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
