Showing posts with label whatsapp. Show all posts
We're bigger than Twitter: WhatsApp CEO
Look who's trying to upstage Twitter. Surprise, surprise, it's WhatsApp! The CEO of the cross-platform messaging app service has boasted that WhatsApp has a bigger user base than Twitter.
On stage at the D: Dive Into Mobile, WhatsApp’s CEO Jan Koum said that the messaging service had more monthly active users than Twitter. While he did not reveal the exact number, but he confirmed they are far more than Twitter's figure. This means the figure is somewhere north of 200 million.
Koum said that WhatsApp processes eight billion inbound messages and 12 billion outbound missives daily, making it one of the most successful cross platform messaging app. The app has a great impact on messaging, with millions of smartphone users all over the world using WhatsApp to communicate with each other.
On stage at the D: Dive Into Mobile, WhatsApp’s CEO Jan Koum said that the messaging service had more monthly active users than Twitter. While he did not reveal the exact number, but he confirmed they are far more than Twitter's figure. This means the figure is somewhere north of 200 million.
Koum said that WhatsApp processes eight billion inbound messages and 12 billion outbound missives daily, making it one of the most successful cross platform messaging app. The app has a great impact on messaging, with millions of smartphone users all over the world using WhatsApp to communicate with each other.
Bigger than Twitter?
WhatsApp has been in the news recently for being a lucrative acquisition. According to reports, rumours have been rife about Google aspiring to acquire WhatsApp for a figure of $1 billion for the longest time now.
t's been rumoured for quite some time now that a mobile messaging service would be the next big buy in the mobile space. It was rumoured in December last year that Facebook was in talks to acquire WhatsApp. However, multiple sources soon refuted the talk. WhatsApp also said that the article was a rumour and not factually accurate.
At the conference, Kuom denied the rumours vehemently again. WhatsApp has slowly been slowly trying to introduce the $0.99 subscription based model. Surprisingly, it has not affected a drop-off in the service. Monetisation is not an issue currently.
“We’re looking forward to a world with billions of phones,” Koum said. “And once that happens it’s going to be extremely easy to monetize. But a lot more people need to join the smartphone revolution and a lot more people need to buy more goods on their phones.”
There is definitely no scope for advertising within WhatsApp, says Koum. “We do have a manifesto opposing advertising,” he said. “We’re proud of that. Who likes advertising? We’re so bombarded with ads so much in our daily lives and we felt that smartphones aren’t the place for that. Our phones are so intimately connected to us, to our lives. Putting advertising on a device like that is a bad idea. You don’t want to be interrupted by ads when you’re chatting with your loved ones…Our monetization strategy is simple. One dollar a year. If we did something besides that, it would just get in the way. … We want a great product and great user experience.”
Viber beta for BlackBerry brings voice calling finally
Viber has launched a new beta version for the BlackBerry OS 5 and OS 7 devices that brigs VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calling support over WiFi and 3G, as they promised. The Viber for Android had voice calling feature since the launch back in May 2011. Voice calling feature for the Viber app for BlackBerry and Windows phone has been the most expected feature since the first beta release back in May 2012. Viber for Windows Phone 8 got voice calling with HD voice and lots more new features in the latest update earlier this month.
Viber for BlackBerry v2.3 update got stickers and emoticons in text messages in the version 2.3 update earlier this year. Voice calling support which is available only for BlackBerry OS 5 and OS 7 devices technical limitations. The new version 2.4 beta also brings bug fixes, performance enhancements and stability improvements.
Download the latest Viber beta for BlackBerry (OS 5 and OS 7 only) from the official viber website for free.
