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In spite of all the group messaging tools out there right now, there’s still room for competition. This is proven by the Hike app, a new group messaging app from India. While the startup is just focusing on India right now, it aims to take the messaging app worldwide, and across all devices.

The app is currently for Android devices only, but there are plans for iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Symbian (News - Alert) versions in the future. SMS is also a big part of Hike, which includes the Hik2sSMS and SMS2Hike options. It’s focused on group chat and file transfers, but as the group receives feedback from app users, more features may be added.

Design sense is a priority for Hike, made to be simple and judicious. Rather than being bogged down with features that are rarely used, it focuses on what’s important, thus keeping things clean and simple.

“People use messaging in various forms; they use it via different apps and modes for different purposes,” says Kavin Bharti Mittal, head of product and strategy for Bharti Softbank (News - Alert), in a statement. “What we’re trying to provide via Hike is a single application to connect with everyone via messaging. We believe that streamlining this will greatly improve the connectivity of Indians.”

Hike currently has somewhere between ten and fifty thousand downloads from the Google (News - Alert) Play store, and that’s without mass marketing. There are plans for the iPhone app to come out next month, with other devices following later.

Hike does face a good amount of competition, though. Whatsapp, Apple’s (News - Alert) iMessage, and the Chinese app WeChat all pose challenges to Hike. On a global level, its lack of features might not prove as appealing as in India, as video and voice have become quite popular. However, if it proves successful, it will be a useful tool for simple group chats.

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