Leaked image shows VoIP for WhatsApp
The much expected voice-calling service for
WhatsApp has been delayed and will arrive in the first quarter of 2015.
Earlier reports had suggested that the update would be released in the second quarter of 2014.
WhatsApp’s CEO Jan Koum had made the announcement at the 2014 Mobile
World Congress. He was quoted as saying, “We are going to introduce
voice in WhatsApp in the second quarter of this year”. According to
Koum’s announcement, it was revealed that the service would first come
to Android and iOS, followed by Windows and BlackBerry.
Now it appears that there has been a delay in plans. Speaking at the Code/Mobile event by Re/Code,
Jan said that the company is facing some technical hurdles. One of the
reasons why voice calling has not yet been activated is because the
company is finding ways to implement voice calling services in areas
where Internet connectivity is poor and 3G services and Wi-Fi access is
restricted and thus where people are still on 2G services.
According to the CEO, this feature will not clash with Facebook
Messenger which already has voice calling over WiFi. He said that
although the two are similar in nature, WhatsApp is a strictly mobile
only service and will not compete with Messenger offering, which is
accessible via Desktops as well. Facebook had acquired WhatsApp earlier this year.
Koum adds, “Before [the acquisition] we experimented with
monetisation, we tried to charge in some countries,” Koum told Re/code’s
Liz Gannes at the Code/Mobile conference on Tuesday. “We didn’t have the long-term financial support of Facebook.”
The company tried to make profits by charging users in a few
countries before the acquisition, but they generated only $10 million in
revenue in 2013. That revenue came from user subscriptions, not social
ads which drive the bulk of Facebook’s revenue. Koum says, WhatsApp has
“no plans” to bring advertising into its app.
Voice calling on WhatsApp can also give competition to popular apps
such as Viber, LINE and Skype. Hopefully, we shall see the launch of
voice calling for WhatsApp by the first quarter of 2015.
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