Ola Company to launch the mobile app Ola Play

Posted on November 22, 2016

In the wake of stiff competition from Uber, in the cab – hailing business in India, Ola will soon launch the mobile app, Ola Play to enhance its customers’ experience while taking a ride in an Ola cab. Ola Play will be an in – car connected entertainment platform. It will allow users to change the music/song being played in cabs, to change the radio station being played in cabs, to alter the volume of the speakers and will give access to high – speed internet in Ola cabs. Ola has partnered with Apple Music and Sony Pictures India to develop Ola Play. Ola has also tied up with Audio Compass and Fynd to build content for Ola Play users. Ola Play will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip which will enable all the above mentioned features. Users will also be able to control the A.C. in Ola cabs! Read more on Mobile Apps

Ola Play will be launched in for Ola Select customers in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi starting from Wednesday this week. It will be available for Ola Prime users in three months across other cities and to over 50,000 vehicles by March 2017. Third – party developers will also be able to develop apps for Ola Play. Entertainment, shopping and tourism apps will be among the first to be featured. The co – founder and CEO of Ola, Bhavish Agarwal said, “The entire Ola team is proud to launch Ola Play, the world’s first connected car platform for ride – hailing. I believe this will completely transform the consumer’s ride experience, giving the user the power to control the interactions within the car and usher in a new era in the ride – hailing industry. With over 60 million minutes spent in Ola rides every day, the impact on consumer comfort, convenience and productivity can be transformative. This will further propel ride – hailing as the first choice of mobility for many more millions of customers. As a young Indian company, we’re proud to be at the forefront of the Startup India movement. Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world and be global leaders in technology and innovation”. The Indian cab – hailing market is estimated to be worth U.S. $7 billion by 2020 according to SoftBank.

Ola Play is truly a brilliant idea formulated by Ola. Customers, who avail Ola cabs, can now change the music/song, the radio station, the volume of the speakers and can even alter the A.C. in the cab without requesting the driver to do so all the time. Sometimes the driver and the customer get into a verbal argument because of this. It will make Ola rides a lot more enjoyable and convenient for Ola’s customers. It will give its nemesis, Uber, something to think about in the coming days. This app will definitely increase Ola’s customer base and will improve its market share. Like Bhavish Agarwal, we are also proud that such a brilliant idea was thought of and implemented by an Indian company and an Indian. Ola has shown that it can compete with the best in the world and has made India proud! Read more on Startup News