Messenger Update for Android - No Facebook Account Required

                                                   

 

Mobile messaging over a network connection is all the rage these days. Facebook originally purchased the Beluga messaging app over a year ago and converted it into the present-day Messenger App that lets Facebook users quickly send messages to other users and sms messages to non-Facebook numbers in one interface, without opening the busy Facebook mobile app.

Fast-forward to today - It looks as if Facebook is building upon the success of the Messenger app by allowing non-Facebook users who download the Android version to create an account and send messages over a network connection to Facebook users and other non-Facebook users alike. The benefit for the user is now they can quickly send group messages and converse with many people at one time in one app (the main advantage of the original Beluga app), and not have to worry about if they have a Facebook account. My gut tells me most of them do have an account.

The benefit for Facebook stepping all the way into the messaging game is that those few humans left on earth who do not have a Facebook account, can get a "free hit" of a portion of Facebook experience, in hopes they will come back for more of the "good stuff" and finally jump on board with the rest of civilization. Even those with a feature phone, can reply to messages sent to them from a Messenger user. 

This puts Facebook on par with the likes of BlackBerry, Apple, Google, and Microsoft…If you count Skype who have their own messaging apps that lets users chat without burning up sms message limits. Right now, only Android users in India, Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela and South Africa can take advantage of the Messenger update. Soon after, us U.S. folk and iOS users will gain access to the update.

~geniusses