The emergence of mobile messaging apps has been one of the big tech – in fact any news category – stories of recent years. Both globally and in Asia.
Disrupting everyone from Telcos wedded to SMS revenue, to established social networks such as Facebook, to the Chinese government, apps have been a big hit with consumers.
Developing markets have seen fast uptake of free calls and messaging. Built in social and gaming capabilities have also been hugely successful. Asian consumers now spend significant amounts of time within these walled app ecosystems – and large amounts of money.
For a glimpse of the future, look at the average Myanmar consumer of 2014 – mobile phone enabled for the first time.
Many will never send an SMS or make a traditional call to a ‘phone number’. Why would they when person-to-person communication happens within apps for free? Both voice calls and messaging. Under this model, telcos are relegated to simple data pipes.
Markets such Myanmar are a litmus test for the internet and communications technology end game globally.
Will messaging apps eventually eat even Telcos? WeChat, Line, Viber, WhatsApp and KakaoTalk, are just some of the mobile messaging brands fighting it out for success across Asia. We’ve collected together the best content and analysis covering these competitors and this dynamic space.
The Rise of Asia’s Mobile Messengers (2014)
Key takeaways on the future of mobile messaging.
Asian Landscape for Instant Messaging (2014)
Analysis of the Asian market from BNP Paribas.
Chat Apps: Active User Numbers (2014)
Latest global stats from the fantastic We Are Social Singapore.
Echelon 2013: The Future of Mobile in Asia by Thomas Clayton (2013)
With the phenomenal growth of Facebook and Twitter followed by that of Line, KaKaoTalk, Viber, Whatsapp, and WeChat across the region, what’s the future of Mobile?
Mobile Messaging Apps: Digital Intimacy Attracts Users, Challenges Marketers (2014)
High quality market analysis from Emarketer.
Messaging Apps: The new face of Social Media and what it means for brands (2014)
Great overview of the brand opportunity from IPG Medialabs.
Mobile Messaging Markets: State of Play (2014)
A snapshot assessment of the messaging markets in early 2014.
As always, we love feedback – let us know if there is any content we’ve missed.