WhatsApp rolls out voice calls for Android, iOS coming soon

[Ibisevic]

WhatsApp rolls out voice calls for Android, iOS coming soon

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 31 March, 2015, 6:57pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 31 March, 2015, 7:31pm

James Griffiths [email protected] @jgriffiths

WhatsApp users on Android can now send voice messages as well as text. Photo: Bloomberg

Users of WhatsApp, the hugely popular mobile messaging service bought last year by Facebook for US$22 billion, will soon be able to make phone calls through the app.

Android users who update to the latest version of the app will see a new "Calls" tab, from which they can connect with other users running the latest version.

Speaking at Facebook's recent F8 conference, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said the feature will also roll out to iOS users in the coming weeks.

Acton, speaking on a panel with Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and head of Facebook Messenger David Marcus, said that WhatsApp had spent the last year refining the voice call feature before launching it on Android.

WhatsApp is notoriously slow when it comes to adding new features, prefering to focus on speed and reliability. Earlier this month, Facebook announced a major new expansion for its Messenger platform, adding apps and games to bring it in line with Asian competitors WeChat and Line.

WhatsApp is the largest messenger platform in the world, claiming more than 700 million monthly active users, followed closely by Facebook Messenger, with 600 million. It has even overtaken text messaging, with around 30 billion messages sent over WhatsApp every day, compared to 20 billion over SMS.

According to statistics released by the company, it has a 71 per cent market share in Hong Kong, compared to less than 5 per cent in China, where Tencent's WeChat mobile messaging app is dominant.

WeChat has long allowed users to make voice calls on the app, as well as send short recorded messages.

The move will come as a blow to traditional telecommunications carriers, who have already complained of messaging apps (which use WiFi or mobile internet to transmit voice and messages) cutting into revenue from SMS services.

 

[tonychat]

nice one!!!

 

[The Penetrator]

Singtel CEO will banned Whassap now !

 

[Arizona]

Singtel CEO will banned Whassap now !

Don't forget LINE too for their free calls

 

[flagster]

Wechat Version 2.0

 

[looneytan]

nice one!!!

nicer than GoogleNose!

 

[Rogue Trader]

Faster use before it gets blocked ah~~!

WhatsApp offers free calls, Singtel to respond

Irene Tham
My Paper
Thursday, Apr 02, 2015

First, it was free text messages. Now WhatsApp users can call each other - provided they have an Internet connection - for free.

Users simply click on the "Calls" tab to phone a friend, who can be located anywhere around the world. But this works only when both parties are on the latest version of the app and have an Internet connection: Wi-Fi or mobile data.

With the new feature, WhatsApp joins the ranks of competing apps like Viber, Skype and Apple FaceTime - services which have been eating into telcos' traditional business revenue, including voice calls and SMS.

But Singtel told The Straits Times that it will take on such competition, saying it is reviving plans to launch a WhatsApp and Skype equivalent offering both Internet voice call and text messaging services. No details are available pending the app's launch, which will be "soon".

In early 2013, Singtel came close to launching its own version of WhatsApp and Viber, called LoopMe, until a legal tussle broke out between two software firms that had worked on the app. They are Singapore-based Amdocs and Israel-based Tjat. Singtel then abandoned the app for undisclosed reasons.

Senior analyst Clement Teo of United States-based market research firm Forrester said that free calls and text messaging is a double-edged sword for telcos.

"In the short term, telcos' mobile voice roaming revenue may still be affected," Mr Teo said.

Conversely, such calls may end up being data hungry, which could benefit telcos.

"The upside is users may consume more mobile data. You need a good connection to make a voice call, and Wi-Fi connections are not available everywhere," he added.

M1 said that Internet voice services operate on a "best effort basis", whereas traditional voice services offer better quality.

StarHub said that it still has a "sizeable base" of customers who require high-quality voice connections.

The call feature has been released to Android users first. According to market research firm GfK Asia, Android users account for more than three-quarters of the smartphone users here.

US-based Internet statistics firm Statista estimates that more than 70 per cent of all mobile Internet users in Singapore are on WhatsApp. Globally, WhatsApp's users number more than 700 million.

An iPhone version of the app is expected to be available "in a couple of weeks", according to several online reports. WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook last year for US$19 billion (S$26 billion), did not respond to queries from The Straits Times by press time.


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[tonychat]

I have tried the WhatsApp voice call.. It is much better than line and wechat.. The clarity is astounding..

Ang moh are the best

 

[laksaboy]

Gee... I wonder what is the PAP govt's stance on net neutrality?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality

Net neutrality (also network neutrality, Internet neutrality, or net equality) is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.

Chua Sock Koong
Cousin of the Lees
Chua Sock Koong is the daughter of Chua Siang Chin, Singapore's former Minister of Health, and so is a cousin of the Lees.

 

[blackmondy]

Gee... I wonder what is the PAP govt's stance on net neutrality?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality

Chua Sock Koong
Cousin of the Lees
Chua Sock Koong is the daughter of Chua Siang Chin, Singapore's former Minister of Health, and so is a cousin of the Lees.

Whatsapp call to compete with my Stinktel ?

MOLE TUCK KENG !