WhatsApp ready to launch free voice calls?
After the acquisition by Facebook for $19 billion early this year, it is more and more clear the big picture Zuckerberg has outlined for WhatsApp.
During the last MWC, WhatsApp CEO’s Jan Koum has announced that voice calls will be available on the app. This is a good news since right now the only two services providing a decent communication are Viber and Skype which right now charge 1.9 cents and 1.7 cents per minute, respectively, in the U.S.
The best thing is that with WhatsApp, voice calls are expected to be free.
Voice calls could be a huge market for the messaging app, now counting 330 million users all over the world. WhatsApp has witnessed a rise of 15 % in its traffic since the acquisition, a really big marketing boost!
Apart of every rumor, people are curious about what is going to happen next? With the latest app release the microphone is highlighted close to the camera logo. People are using frequently the voice message functions, especially when they are driving or a busy doing other stuff.
Possibly, this is kind of transaction phase, where WhatsApp is testing how often people are sending voice messages instead of text messages. If the rumors and announcement from sources are reliable, Facebook and WhatsApp are all set to come up with the free voice calling feature in WhatsApp.
Reports from various agencies say WhatsApp is investing a huge amount of its revenue with service providers to establish a better connectivity over the internet. Also, right now there are several messaging apps, but no one combines a voice+messaging service with a high level delivery. If WhatsApp will introduce this feature it would become the absolute leader. Right now is the most used, and voice calls will be the final shot to completely erase the competition.
What about the quality? As said before, WhatsApp is investing to develop a more stable and better connectivity to cancel a possible delays in communications.
But, as we well know, Facebook is a cash machine and its strategy is always inviting people to enjoy a service for free and that, when the market is done, make them pay.
Same thing could happen with WhatsApp, may be free the first year and then with a monthly or yearly fee.
We’ll see what happens! Or better “whatsappen”!
Photo credit: PhoneArena.com
