Read the original story on: The Guardian
In a rather surprising move, WhatsApp unveiled a new desktop web app that will finally let you use the mobile messaging app in a browser. The web portal relies on a constant connection with the smartphone app to operate, and is currently only open for Android and Blackberry users. Messages are seamlessly synced to the smartphone and are not stored on the web app.
Watch we try out the SComm messaging interface for the hearing impaired. Stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @ipglab for more CES coverage throughout the whole week.
Watch we try out the SComm messaging interface for the hearing impaired. Stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @ipglab for more CES coverage throughout the whole week.
Read original story on: Ad Age
Snapchat employed a special edition of “Our Story” streams, its live-event based feeds, to cover Sunday night’s American Music Awards, with the first-ever brand sponsorship of the feeds by Samsung. Back when the feature first launched in June, we wondered whether it could be a new revenue driver for the messaging app, and now it looks like Snapchat has found a way via sponsorship.
Read original story on: Wired
Ever since the SnapChat hack a few weeks back, security issues on messaging apps have been raising concerns. So it is definitely a welcome surprise that the most recent update to WhatsApp’s Android app includes strong end-to-end encryption, developed in partnership with Open WhisperSystems, that is enabled by default. This means that WhatsApp won’t be able to decrypt the messages itself, even if the company is compelled by law enforcement. For now, it’s unclear when such feature will come to iOS, but it’s still a huge step towards better mobile privacy for millions of Android users.
Read original story on: The Next Web
One step ahead of Facebook’s plan to put payment in its messaging app, Snapchat has teamed up with payment company Square to announced Snapcash, a new service that will allow users to send money to each other via Square’s system without leaving Snapchat. Now when a user signs up for Snapcash, they’ll be creating a Square Cash account at the same time. This partnership could be particularly helpful for Square, which has been trying to stay relevant in the face of the formidable Apple Pay.
For more information on the current state of mobile payment market, download and read our latest POV here.
Read original story on: Business Insider
OnBeep, a year-old startup based in San Francisco, just unveiled its first hardware product – a real-time wearable communicator named Onyx. Inspired by the futuristic walkie-talkie featured in Star Trek, it pairs to a smartphone via Bluetooth and works with Wi-Fi or data service. Sporting a slightly bulky but lightweight circular design, Onyx can support up to 15 people in real-time group conversations—an interesting take on bringing group messaging into the physical world.
We here at the Lab are very delighted and honored to learn that our previous campaign for One Direction on the popular messaging app Kik has earned a Smarties Award from the Mobile Marketing Association. The Smarties Awards recognize the most effective mobile marketing campaigns around the world, and the aforementioned campaign included a Kik Card that, in addition to connecting fans with the band, gave One Direction a 24/7/365 presence on Kik and a new channel to drive engagement. It also provided fans on Kik with exclusive unlockable content.
Windows-owned Skype and content discovery service StumbleUpon couldn’t be more different from each other, but with their newest updates, it looks like both services will be putting messaging features front and center. And given the continuous rise of the messaging apps, this shift seems reasonable.
On both its mobile and laptop version, Skype has optimized its instant messaging function to be prominently displayed on the main interface. Meanwhile, StumbleUpon is introducing a new social chatting feature, which lets users who have a webpage easily start a conversation about it right away with fellow StumbleUpon users with just a few taps.
Look out, PayPal and Venmo! According to leaked images, Facebook might build a mobile payment platform that’s seamlessly integrated into its Messenger app. With the service enabled, users could send money to friends with the ease of sending a picture—a much more convenient way than launching another app. Combined with its vast user base, Facebook might just make a grand entry into mobile payment. Whether consumers would trust a company with a spotty track record when it comes to user data, however, remains to be seen.
