Instant Games on Messenger go global

Facebook wants to keep users on their services for as long as possible, and now has another powerful tool that will help in that goal: instant gaming on Messenger.

Messenger Lite expands to 150 countries (but not the US)

I find it kind of funny for a tech company to reach a point where its apps have grown so big it needs to launch "lite" versions; but that's how it is, and now Facebook expands its Messenger Lite to 150 new countries - though not the US.

Facebook Messenger gets Instant Games

All's fair to keep users for as long as possible inside Messenger and, after the bots, Facebook is deploying something that may do the trick: games... instant games

Facebook Messenger gets voice calls (in groups up to 50 people)

Facebook has finally deployed voice calls on Messenger for everyone, and it includes group calls of up to 50 people at once.

Path Talk lets you text stores and businesses

We all know how the SMS and messaging apps took the world by storm, making millions of people prefer typing a short message rather than actually calling someone. So, it seems surprising no one had thought of transposing this to stores and businesses, like Path Talk is now doing - letting you message them.

Layer wants to revive XMPP messaging universality for Mobiles

I'm (sadly) amazed by how sometimes things seem to get worse the more technology we have. Today, we all have powerful mobile devices, more powerful than the computers we used just a few years ago. However... if you want to do something as simple as sending a simple message... you'll probably waste more time arguing about which app you use and how much better/worse it is than the rest than simply sending he actual message.

Maybe your friend uses iMessage; maybe he prefers Skype, or WhatsApp, or Viber, or Tango, or Hangouts... or any number of other messaging apps. And in the end you'll probably give up and just send him a regular SMS... or an email. Old... but "universal"!

This sounds even crazier when we consider that not long ago, this problem wasn't a problem. Thanks to the XMPP/Jabber, people could send messages back and forth between different "messengers": you could talk to Yahoo users using Gtalk, for instance... and so did anyone else implementing this same, open, protocol.

Well... XMPP creator is back with Layer and he want to do the same he once did... now for the app-infested mobile world. You see, XMPP wasn't created with mobile devices in mind - which can pop in an out of connection at any time; but this new system is - and it caters for text messages, photo, video, and everything else you might ever need. Their goal is to make messaging as simple as possible, allowing any developer to just "add it" to their apps and not have to worry about anything else.

... I sincerely hope they can do just that - because I'm tired of living in a connected world of disconnected networks!

Facebook Messenger App gets Voice Messages

If you can't keep away from your Facebook Messenger App, you'll like to know that besides texting, you'll now be able to send and receive voice messages via the Facebook Messenger App for iOS and Android.

This means you'll no longer have to worry about typing on your smartphone keyboard while walking down the road (or driving!), as well as for those times when... things are better said than typed.

This update also shows how Facebook is getting ready to enter a new market. Canadian users will soon be able to make free voice calls using the Facebook Messenger, putting it in direct competition with the likes os Skype and other popular VoIP services. And I think it won't take a genius to figure out that once they've taken that service out of beta and make it available to the entire world, soon after we should have videochat as well - possibly even with group chat capabilites, to serve as an answer to Google's Hangouts.

when talking about these things I can't stop thinking about the missed opportunity Apple had when they launched Facetime - a protocol that was supposed to be open for other developers to use... but that - if that ever comes to be true - will most likely be overdue and not needed at all.

iBuddy for MSN Messenger Addicts

Can't keep away from MSN Instant Messenger for more than a coupls of seconds? Then this is the perfect gadget for you!

Meet the iBuddy. A nice looking toy that lights up and flips its wings whenever a buddy pops up in the messenger network.

You can customize its actions for up to 8 buddies, and it won't break the bank at just $20.

You desktop will certainly be a lot more fun! :)
(unfortunately, it only works with MSN Messenger - no Google Talk, ICQ, or any other instant messaging applications.)

[Brando via Gizmodo]