Kik Messenger - Cross-Platform Messaging

[tera_kristen]

Hi everyone!

Do you want to take part in the public beta of Kik Messenger for Android? Kik is a free smartphone to smartphone messenger, similar to BBM but cross-platform. There are BlackBerry and iPhone versions already released so I'm excited to say that now with the Android version - Kik is the first true cross-platform messenger. Kik is available in the US and Canada only.

You can find it in the Android Market or point your mobile browser to http://www.kik.com/m/kik.apk to download.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this forum so any questions or suggestions can be directed to me! Or check us out here:

Twitter - @kik
Facebook - Kik Interactive, Inc. | Facebook

[JCo352]

Does this use data?

[tera_kristen]

Yes - it uses data to send messages to other Kik users and you can also use data to send SMS to people that don't have Kik yet.

[gonnadie4thegov]

I dont get the point of this....

what makes it better then using the stock messaging app or handcent?

[tera_kristen]

This app is more similar to BBM than text messaging. You send the messages in real-time and the interface shows a nice, threaded conversation. If you are messaging with another person who is using Kik then you can send unlimited messages to them for free (this is where it's different than texting).

Also, you are able to use the app to send messages to people who aren't on Kik - which is how it is different than Handcent. The main point here is that you are using data to send messages and not your phone carrier (who most likely overcharge you for SMS).

[Corinacakes]

I'll check it out. We have unlimited data so this will be nice. Your link says forbidden though

[tera_kristen]

Yes - the website is temporarily down. You can find Kik Messenger in the Android Marketplace. Let me know what you think or if you have any issues.

[dragonfly1113]

I understand how this is different from texting/handcent/ but how does it differ from gtalk? just curious.

[tera_kristen]

This app is very similar to GTalk - it's an instant messenger application that allows you to chat with other users of the application for free and however much you want.

The difference is also in that you are not limited to only talking to other users of the application. Say you live in Canada and you want to send a message to your aunt in Florida - who has a really old school cell phone. You can use your data plan to send a wonderful message to your aunt even though she doesn't have Kik. You are able to use Kik to message anyone AND it's particularly useful for bypassing the extra SMS fees from your carrier (like when they charge you a ridiculous amount for sending international texts).

Since we're a start-up company GTalk and other applications have an advantage of more time and money to provide more users with the service. But we're working like crazy on making Kik Messenger an indispensable application - the messaging app is just the beginning.

I'm just having a hard time getting people excited about the app right now and in the future. I think I underestimated the natural pull of a messaging app - what do you guys think? How can I get people pumped about Kik?

[dragonfly1113]

This app is very similar to GTalk - it's an instant messenger application that allows you to chat with other users of the application for free and however much you want.

The difference is also in that you are not limited to only talking to other users of the application. Say you live in Canada and you want to send a message to your aunt in Florida - who has a really old school cell phone. You can use your data plan to send a wonderful message to your aunt even though she doesn't have Kik. You are able to use Kik to message anyone AND it's particularly useful for bypassing the extra SMS fees from your carrier (like when they charge you a ridiculous amount for sending international texts).

Since we're a start-up company GTalk and other applications have an advantage of more time and money to provide more users with the service. But we're working like crazy on making Kik Messenger an indispensable application - the messaging app is just the beginning.

I'm just having a hard time getting people excited about the app right now and in the future. I think I underestimated the natural pull of a messaging app - what do you guys think? How can I get people pumped about Kik?

Personally a while back i thought of an app that would do the same as what your kik application is doing, however the one thing i thought of adding that would make it ground breaking was the push to talk feature just dont know how you could do that over the different networks but that would be awesome the first ever web version of texting/chatting and the push to talk feature all in the same app???/ that would be out of this world in my opinion and would blow away gtalk and all other messengers!