iWorld
Hotstar to exclusively live-stream Paytm Ranji Trophy
MUMBAI: Underscoring its position as the home of cricket, Hotstar, a video streaming platform, is the exclusive partner for the Paytm Ranji Trophy 2017-18. The Paytm Ranji Trophy, now in its 84th season, kicked off on October 6th with the group stage matches.
This season of the Trophy is especially exciting as it will see a long list of Indian cricket stars in action – Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, to name a few.
A Hotstar spokesperson said, “Hotstar has made large strides in providing a breakthrough sports viewing experience with innovations like the Fangraph and Key Moments. While the viewing devices could be individual, these innovations provide a more social and connected sports viewing experience, which raises the bar for a sports enthusiast. We are very excited to be the exclusive home of the Paytm Ranji Trophy this year.”
“The Ranji Trophy has an illustrious and long history in India, and this season should be especially exciting considering the number of India’s international players that are going to be turning out for their teams. Given Hotstar’s cricket viewing experience, we are very excited to partner with them for this season of the Paytm Ranji Trophy,” added a BCCI spokesperson.
The tournament, played between 28 teams from across India, moves into quarter finals on 7 December, with the final matches slated between 29 December 2017 and 2 January 2018.
The tournament will be available, live, exclusively on Hotstar starting from the qualifier matches.
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.
