'I see Facebook a lot more like Microsoft and Amazon,' Blau said, 'and they're going to have a whole series of apps.' - Evelyn Cheng, special to CNBC. 'For an IPO, you have to show revenue.'Īs the Asian apps have built large platforms that bring users together through multiple communication media, Facebook may be approaching the same goal by streamlining its mobile interface, analysts said.

'They really have to have a large and sustainable business for Wall Street to buy into it,' he said. Last fall, Reuters reported that Japan's Line may also go public later this year, with a possible valuation of $10 billion.īut Blau thinks that acquisitions rather than IPOs are more likely for most messaging apps, at least in the West. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Korean messaging app KakaoTalk was in financing talks with Morgan Stanley and Samsung Securities for an initial public offering as high as $2 billion. Below you can find file(s) assigned to this version: BBNotePad1.1.0-Beta. BBNotePad 1.1.0 Beta seem to be the latest available version. Two of the apps are doing so well that they are planning IPOs. BBNotePad is a text editor application for RIM BlackBerry mobile phones. Forrester studies show that 54 percent of online adults in metropolitan China alone use mobile messaging apps at least daily, as opposed to 22 percent in the U.S. With the ever-increasing features of WeChat, the popular Japan service Line and Korea's KakaoTalk, Asia is immersed in a messaging-app culture to a much greater extent than the West. The best free calling and texting apps for Android and iOSTextNow Best free calling and texting app. 'But once that happens, social messaging apps and, together, social networking apps are going to be front and center.' Blackberry Messenger (BBM) Telegram Messenger. 'I think there's a long way to go before the technology community embraces one mobile e-commerce solution,' Blau said. (Facebook is also likely to get into financial services.)īrian Blau, consumer technology analyst with Gartner, said that most people aren't used to shopping via social messaging apps at this point. With TextMe you and your friends can: Send Texts (real SMS) to any number in the US, Canada, Mexico, China and more than 40 countries worldwide FOR FREE.

Other developments she said to watch for include subscribing to deals via messaging. Stores such as Starbucks and Burger King already let customers use smartphones to pay, while Ask said she used WeChat to buy takeout in China.

Free texting app for blackberry