People Group’s real estate property, Makaan.com, has launched an SMS based mobile application, developed by sister concern, Mauj Mobile. The difference being that while those like Magicbricks have apps that require GPRS connectivity, ‘Makaan Mobile’ is purely SMS based. The release quotes Aditya Verma, Business Head, Makaan.com, stating “With the launch of this service, we anticipate a 30% growth in daily property listing rate over the coming months.”

Good luck. The entire application centers around sideloading, usage of which is almost completely driven by free media like mp3’s, video and themes. Sample the download instructions here, which will only make sense if your handset is compatible. Further to the same, only registered Makaan.com users can use the service, which, you guessed it, requires you to logon to Makaan.com. The process doesn’t end there, a third step requires a usage guide to be downloaded and referred to before listing your property. Besides tech-savvy early adopter brokers, a rare species altogether, I doubt this service will have much uptake. While the obvious choice would be to have a 57007 based SMS search service, there might have been more than just technical hitches stopping Operator friendly Mauj from getting that done. In other news, we had earlier reported People Group planning a 2009 IPO, the recent hiring spree and high profile campaigns (someone please get that worm-hole hopping mouse off my IPL match), could be indicative of a pre-poned listing. As a reminder, we have a tip box to your left or you can drop in a mail to cerius (at) contentsutra.com or nikhil (at) contentsutra.com.

• People Group Plans 2009 Listing, Targets Revenues Of Around $80 Million By 2010
• MagicBricks Launches GPRS App For Real Estate Search Via Mobile