Watch Out Skype, Viber Climbs to 200 Million Users and Launches Desktop App
Third-party messaging services are proving ultra-popular. Just ask Viber, the latest free messaging and VoIP app to skip past the 200 million users mark. Viber, which allows free calls, text messaging, and picture sharing, has been playing it smart by supporting a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, BlackBerry, Nokia, and Bada. As of today, it's also available on the desktop for Windows and Mac systems.
"People spend a substantial amount of time on their smartphones," said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber. "However, a lot of that usage takes place at home or in the office, where they have laptops or desktops close by. With Viber Desktop you always get to use the most convenient device. You can seamlessly switch devices while messaging and even transfer calls between your mobile and desktop."
One of the cool things about Viber Desktop is that users can seamlessly transfer calls between it and Viber's mobile app(s) with a single click or tap. So, if you start a conversation on your PC and don't finish by the time you have to leave, you can continue to chat on your mobile device.
There's also intelligent synching between devices. Sent and received messages show up on all devices (but only beeps on the device you're currently using) and messages and conversations you delete from one device will be removed from all others, too.
Does Viber have what it takes to ultimately compete with Microsoft's popular Skype platform? That remains to be seen, but with 200 million users and now a desktop app, you can bet Viber has Microsoft's attention.
"People spend a substantial amount of time on their smartphones," said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber. "However, a lot of that usage takes place at home or in the office, where they have laptops or desktops close by. With Viber Desktop you always get to use the most convenient device. You can seamlessly switch devices while messaging and even transfer calls between your mobile and desktop."
One of the cool things about Viber Desktop is that users can seamlessly transfer calls between it and Viber's mobile app(s) with a single click or tap. So, if you start a conversation on your PC and don't finish by the time you have to leave, you can continue to chat on your mobile device.
There's also intelligent synching between devices. Sent and received messages show up on all devices (but only beeps on the device you're currently using) and messages and conversations you delete from one device will be removed from all others, too.
Does Viber have what it takes to ultimately compete with Microsoft's popular Skype platform? That remains to be seen, but with 200 million users and now a desktop app, you can bet Viber has Microsoft's attention.
