According to Economic Times report, Google is planning to launch its own messaging application on the lines of WhatsApp. Google plans to start testing the said app in India and other emerging markets globally. NIkhyl Singhal, who is a product management director for Photos,Hangouts, Google+ core & Platform, is also touring other countries in Asia Pacific to understand local ecosystems better.
Google failed to buy out WhatsApp, for which it had offered $10 billion, to Facebook which ultimately bought the messaging app for a whopping $19 billion. WhatsApp has 65 million users in India of the 600 million global users. Other apps such as WeChat, Line, Viber and most recently Hike too have a user base upwards of 15 million users in India.
The Google messaging app is in the early stages of development and will most likely come out only in 2015, according to sources. This app will not force you to use your Google login credentials. Plans are on to add Indian language support and voice-to-text messaging. Also the messenger will be free to use.
Even though the app will be reportedly free, Google may still be able to make money from the application in the same way that Facebook does. Wired suggested that Google would generate revenue “through a new breed of low-bandwidth ad or by using data about users to target ads in other places.”
Messaging apps are popular in emerging markets because they are cheaper than SMS messaging from a cellphone wireless provider. Also, the simplicity of the apps (which are usually free of advertising) have made it very popular for first-time Internet users in countries like India and China. Google is already trying to get its Android operating system on inexpensive phones in these markets, so adding a messaging app is the next step in hooking these users.
With the launch of the Android One phones in India recently, Google is all set to woo the Indian consumer by offering affordable devices, in which there is a close amalgamation of the hardware and software side of things. With more players getting on the Android One platform, if Google could offer its upcoming messenger app in the native bundle, it could reach a lot of people.
Google Developing Messaging App to Compete with WhatsApp
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder