It’s fun to compare the different ways of sending a digital message, but is there a point to doing so? According to one irate analyst, the debate – as currently framed – is futile. Read more »
Until now, Viber has been a mobile-only play that sits somewhere in between Skype and WhatsApp. Now it’s on the desktop too, and the different platform versions are very tightly integrated indeed. Read more »
According to analysts at Informa, IP-based platforms such as WhatsApp now carry more messages than SMS infrastructure does. However, we should be cautious about how we interpret the figures. Read more »
Nokia’s latest Series 40 handset represents a welcome boost for WhatsApp in emerging markets, and a useful reminder of how Nokia continues to eke relevance out of its ageing platform. Read more »
WhatsApp users get 8 billion inbound messages per day and send over 12 billion per day. Read more »
Orange’s Skype-and-WhatsApp rival is gaining functionality and reach for users around the world, with particular benefits for customers of certain Orange carriers. Read more »
The beta release of Viber for BlackBerry 2.4 is the first to include Skype-rivalling VoIP functionality. However, this only applies to older versions of the BlackBerry platform, not the freshly-launched BB10. Read more »
Tu Go extends essential functionality to Wi-Fi-connected devices, making the service you’re already paying for more relevant and easier to use. It may be the first time a telco has created a genuinely sensible OTT app. Read more »
Facebook jumped into an already crowded VoIP market with the update of its Messenger app last week. Robert Gaal, of Karma, says the company’s scale ultimately will allow it to kill off the phone. Read more »
The year 2013 may bring real disruption to the mobile industry. Upstart carriers are embracing noncellular technologies to provide cut-rate services, third-party developers are gaining traction with cheap (or free) alternatives to SMS, and a major U.S. operator is preparing to drop handset subsidies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The mobile-messaging value chain is changing as OTT players upend mobile operators’ SMS business. There will be 27.7 trillion messages by 2016, and most of the growth in traffic will come from IP-based services. Successful carriers will use this new technology to extend reliability and scalability. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The France-based operator group is the latest to deploy an app that competes directly with the likes of Skype and WhatsApp, but also potentially steals away its own paying customers. Apart from evolving because it has to, what does it hope to gain? Read more »
Consumers are gravitating to an ever expanding array of OTT services – much to the chagrin of telecom operators. Andreas Bernström, CEO of Rebtel, argues that not partnering up means missing out on big revenues and the control of their market. Read more »
WhatsApp, the huge mobile messaging app, has hit 100 million downloads on Google Play. The company is still not releasing overall mobile install numbers from its other five platforms. But the milestone shows why carriers are signing deals with it. Read more »
Carriers are struggling to match the demand for data with pricing plans that keep their profits up. Over the top services like Viber and WhatsApp are causing even more pain, but 3 Hong Kong may have found a solution that would work for everyone. Read more »
Mobile companies faced with rising data use are often choosing to block or limit innovative voice and messaging apps. But that won’t solve anything — and in the long term it’s only causing the industry damage, says Andreas Bernström, CEO of VoIP service Rebtel. Read more »
So by all counts, Skype is doing fine under Microsoft ownership. The software giant has kept its paws off the baby. However, the current success isn’t enough to mask the fact that Skype is facing increased competition from upstarts looking eat into our attention to Skype. Read more »
While carriers may fret about the impact of messaging apps like WhatsApp on SMS revenue, they should really be worried abvout the continued erosion of voice revenue as people talk less, message more and turn to IP services, even those within mobile apps. Read more »
At MWC executives of two prominent operators said the industry has significant challenges in the form of over the top providers commoditizing their revenue streams without those companies putting any significant investment of their own into the network. Here’s what operators should do. Read more »
Viber. WhatsApp. Google Voice. These services are alternative ways to send IMs or speak across mobile platforms and are challenging the mobile carriers at their own game. In the last year, these apps and more familiar services helped cut $13.9 billion in operator revenue. Read more »
WhatsApp is now delivering more than 1 billion messages a day on six different mobile platforms, which it claims puts ahead of any other independent messaging apps. It’s built its success despite charging for its app, avoiding publicity and somewhat reluctantly accepting VC money. Read more »
Millions of people are embracing free mobile messaging services like WhatsApp and Kik as a way to avoid outrageous carrier charges for texti… Read more at paidContent »
As our demand for data increases, so too do the number of mobile devices and services. Add to that the infrastructure needed to support such connectivity, and a wide, complex picture of the mobile industry emerges. This report examines the various sectors of the mobile landscape and what the future holds for each. Hardware, cloud services, mobile search, advertising, location-based services and the growing ubiquity of the Internet of Things will all play an important role in the concept of mobility as it shifts and evolves over the next several years. With the help of more than a dozen contributors, GigaOM Pro presents a comprehensive analysis of the companies and trends that will lead us into the next era of mobile. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
