Kik Messenger App for Android Gets Built-In Browser

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Here's an intriguing bit of news that dropped in on us this afternoon. The Android messenger app called Kik just expanded beyond its current set of HTML5-based Cards, and has now become the first messaging app with a built-in mobile browser. This new feature is designed to make it easier for folks to share content from any website, just like users have been sharing Kik Cards.

Here are more details in their press release below,

Kik Becomes the First Smartphone Messenger with a Built-in Browser

New version of Kik introduces a browser and search bar within its messenger to allow discovery and sharing of any website

WATERLOO, Ontario – (February 5, 2014) – Today Kik Interactive, creator of the fastest, simplest and most personal way to connect on mobile, is launching a URL and search bar within its native app to become the first smartphone messenger with a built-in browser. With the launch of the Kik Browser, users can now access any website on the Internet and instantly share it with their friends on Kik. A leader in HTML5 development, Kik has also created open-source HTML5 tools that help developers optimize their website for the mobile Web, and for Kik Messenger.

With Kik’s new search feature, Kik users can use the built-in browser to find and share anything on the Web without ever having to leave Kik. For example, if a user searches for “games” on Kik, they will be presented with a prioritized list of games that have been optimized for Kik and for the mobile Web, and will also be provided with the option to go to games.com. This enhances the discovery experience and makes it easier than ever for users to find content and share it virally on Kik Messenger.

Any developer or brand with a presence on the Internet can visit their website within the Kik Browser to see how it’s presented on Kik. They can then instantly access the free HTML5 tools and libraries Kik has spent the past three years perfecting, and use these tools to optimize their website for both the mobile Web and Kik Messenger. Developers and brands can also work with Kik directly to promote their content to Kik’s global community of over 100 million users.

“The launch of the Kik Browser marks a huge milestone for Kik, and really proves our commitment to developers and the mobile Web,” said Kik CEO Ted Livingston. “This is why we’ve built our device, social and distribution APIs and are making them available to any developer, to make it as easy as possible for them to optimize their web pages for mobile.”

In the past year Kik has tripled its user base and now has well over 100 million users. The mobile messenger has already demonstrated its ability to help brands and new developers reach their target market and virally spread content. This past fall, Kik helped new mobile app developer Koa.la to launch an HTML5 game called Costume Party on the Kik platform, which reached 1 million users in just 22 hours. Kik plans to work with even more brands and developers to help them rapidly distribute their mobile content, and to bring more cool experiences to Kik’s user base.

Developers interested in building experiences for the Kik platform should visit: dev.kik.com

Download Kik for iOS and Android: Kik Messenger | Fast, Simple, Personal Smartphone Messaging

About Kik
Founded in 2009, Kik Interactive Inc is the maker of Kik Messenger, the fast, simple, and personal mobile messenger with a built-in browser, that allows over 100 million people across the globe to talk, browse and share content with one another. Kik continues to grow rapidly, with over 275,000 new people joining every day. Kik is the way people love to connect in mobile, and share the things they care about with the people they care about. Kik Interactive believes the future of smartphone era computing is in the mobile web. Kik is committed to building a cutting-edge HTML5 platform, making it easy for developers everywhere to optimize, distribute, and monetize new experiences for the mobile web. Kik Interactive is a privately-held company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

It's great to see this developer embrace HTML5 in such a strong way to improve their app. Let us know your experiences with this particular messenger app. You can grab this in the Google Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kik.android&hl=en