Facebook is taking social networking to a higher level by integrating an easier method of voice communicating primarily through handheld devices. Last year, the company acquired WhatsApp, its Facebook's messaging rival then for $19 Billion. Obtaining rights over the application was at their advantage due to its growing popularity. To put to figures WhatsApp's reputation, the then-470 million app users had already gathered an estimated $33 Billion SMS revenue from wireless operators and this number is increasing.
From these digits it is estimated that the telecommunications companies gets a combined loss of $386 billion by 2018. Moreover, Ovum Research further predicts that WhatsApp is expected to hit the 1-billion user mark by the end of 2015.
This month, Facebook begins testing the App and integrations between WhatsApp and Facebook can now be experienced for Android App users. WhatsApp for Android now allows users to send and share in their Facebook account through WhatsApp.
The new WhatsApp features a send button which directs you to the contact list in WhatsApp. Experiences about this application from around the web posted that the "Send" button is not available yet in Facebook v32 suggesting that the integration is only limited to the voluntary beta testers.
Facebook has not made any announcements yet how and if there is a complete integration between the two. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum states that the application continues to function separately from Facebook, nonetheless an integration is on its way. The marriage between the two applications is seen to bring in more users of the two platforms which translates to more revenue. Although both Facebook and WhatsApp are silent as to the extent of the level of integration between the two, speculations mention that the two apps do not only allow message exchanges to each other but will also have a shared contacts lists. Moreover, prospects on online voice call technology are currently looked into by both companies.
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