Yesterday Samsung announced it's SMS killing Mobile Messaging application ChatOn. Sounds quite impressive actually. At launch available in 120 countries and provide group text and video sharing. Also available across platform. So at launch available on Samsung Bada, iOS, Android and BlackBerry. That's quite huge.
Assuming that it will be pre installed on Samsung phones? Samsung are currently the 2nd largest phone manufacturer behind Nokia (with only 70.2 million units shipped!), and the ChatOn client will apparently work on their feature phones as well as their smartphones. If pre-installed this marks access to a significant user base without having to even try!
Still despite the potential huge user base, the service doesn't default to the lowest common denominator in the event that a Customer cannot, or does not want to install the client. This is something GroupMe does, although admittedly only in the US!
There is still a huge gap in the market in sharing experience unless you have a phone that you can install a client on. Also with the Group Messaging Market so saturated now, you have to potentially install several clients so you can talk to different groups within your social network.
If only there was a mechanism that would allow universal access to anyone with a mobile. Oh wait. Yes there is. I forgot about SMS. ;-)
Still very much under utilised in the group messaging space, admittedly due to it's cost. Still another, very large scale group messaging app eating at SMS revenues might add fuel to the fire to actually do something inventive with SMS with an audience reach of several billion.
Oh if ChatOn is pre-installed on Samsung devices will mobile carriers try to get it removed with their Mobile Terminal Requirements? I wonder! ;-)
Cheers
m
Addition: The Samsung Press release for ChatOn. Doesn't mention if the client will be pre-installed on their phones or not.
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