Google launches
‘Messenger’ yet another
messaging app for Android
messaging app for Android
After desperate
attempts at trying to break into the messaging game with Hangouts didn’t
exactly work too well, and after losing WhatsApp to Facebook, Google has
launched yet another messaging app, Messenger, for Android. Oddly, the app also shares its
name with Facebook’s standalone messaging app. How this will go down with
users remains to be seen.
Similar to Hangouts,
Google’s Messenger app will let Android users send SMS and MMS messages by
replacing your default messaging app.
However, unlike
Hangouts, Messenger does not require them to log into their Google
accounts. The app gives users more control over how they send text messages.
For example, they can create groups, send photos, videos, voice messages,
search through conversations and archive old messages. It supports regional
languages as well as emoji.
Unlike WhatsApp
though, Messenger relies on your carrier and therefore can’t work without a
SIM.
Messenger will come
pre-installed on devices running Android 5.0 Lollipop and can be installed on
devices running Android 4.1 or higher. The app has a colourful interface that
resembles the latest Gmail app – with coloured labels showing the first
alphabet of the sender.
Messaging has become a
new playing field for tech companies, as it’s one of the most popular category
of apps. To put this into perspective, Facebook Messenger jumped to the top
charts months after migrating the messaging feature in Facebook to make it a
standalone app. Similarly, WhatsApp and Snapchat are some of the most
downloaded apps on Apple and Android app stores.