Messenger app upgrade: Facebook is going after millions more

Facebook’s Messenger app for Android will now allow users in India to log in with just their name and mobile number. Previously, to log into Facebook Messenger, users had to sign in via their Facebook account but they can now join the Messenger app without having a Facebook account. The new update for the app is an extremely smart move on Facebook’s part and here’s why: Going with Android: The fact that the update is currently only available for Android phones is a strategic move to first attack a large and growing, emerging market. Note that the update is only available in India, Indonesia, Venezuela, Australia and South Africa and will be launched in the US and Europe later. There is however a substantial low-cost market in India, that finds Android phones too expensive as well. As far as India is concerned, Android has a clear lead in the smartphone market. According to this Wall Street Journal, report Apple sold only 100,000 phones in India in the first six months of 2012 and Apple’s market share of handsets in India is 1.2%, according to research firm IDC. And the Android story doesn’t just end with India. According to IDC’s most recent numbers, Android has 68.3% of market share for 2012. The report also goes on to say that,

The high price point of the iPhone relative to other smartphones will make it cost prohibitive for some users within many emerging markets. In order to maintain current growth rates, Apple will need to examine the possibility of offering less expensive models, similar to its iPod line. Until that happens, IDC forecasts iOS to ship lower volumes than Android.

So yes, the sheer numbers as far as Android is concerned show that Facebook is right about tapping into Android users first, rather than going after Apple users. [caption id=“attachment_547825” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Facebook’s Messenger App for Android. Image from Facebook.[/caption] Spreading the Facebook brand: The Messenger app now requires just your name and your mobile number. Facebook might have one billion users but it has no intention of stopping there. In terms of numbers, India is one of Facebook’s largest growing markets and there are currently 60 million Indians on Facebook. That’s about half of India’s active Internet population ( which is currently at around 137 million and growing). China might have over 500 million Internet users, but until the great censorship wall of China comes down, India is one of the best bets for Facebook as far as growing users are concerned. ComScore data shows social networking accounted for 25.2 percent of all time-spent online in June 2012 as far as Indians are concerned. Facebook is also the second most popular site accessed after Google, according to the research. The updated Messenger app means Facebook wants users in India and other upcoming markets to go beyond social networking, and into messaging but via their app. Urban India might have a Facebook account but the Messaging App is still not very popular. On Android, Facebook’s Messenger App is ranked 14 as far as top free apps are concerned. By asking users to sign into the app with only names and mobile numbers, Facebook is looking for more users, and this time its starting with messaging. Rivalry with WhatsApp: WhatsApp is currently the Number One Top free app on Android and it’s clear that for Facebook this is the biggest rival. WhatsApp is free for the first year but users have to pay for subscription from the second year. What is interesting however is the WhatsApp has now made it to feature phones with Internet capabilities such as Nokia Asha 201 and Nokia Asha 306 which are still some of the cheapest phones in the Indian market. Facebook too is available on such phones but the Messenger app also needs to get into this segment if it wants to compete with WhatsApp seriously. However the advantage that Facebook’s Messenger has over Whatsapp is that it’s free. And like WhatsApp it allows users to send Photos. It does not however allow users to send videos yet. Once it does, it could have a significant edge, given that the Facebook brand is so large and growing all the time. Mobile is where Facebook is placing all its bets for the future and the Messenger upgrade is part of this strategy.