Samsung's ChatOn IM service hits 100M users
Korean electronics giant says its mobile messaging platform is now available in 237 countries and 63 languages.
ChatOn, Samsung's mobile messaging platform, doubled the size of its user base in the past four months, now tallying more than 100 million registered users.
Preinstalled on Samsung's feature phones and smartphones running both Android and the company's own Bada mobile OS, the cross-platform client is also available as a free download for other mobile platforms, including iOS and BlackBerry.
While available in 237 different countries and 63 languages, ChatOn has experienced steady growth in India, China, and the US and is growing in popularity in Europe and the Middle East, Samsung said in a statement Sunday.
Launched in October 2011, ChatOn is part of a market of multi-platform IM tools that have moved into the realm of social networking. One of the bigger players in the sector is WhatsApp, a 4-year-old platform that has garnered more than 300 million users in more than 250 countries.
It may face increased competition from BlackBerry's Messenger service as well. Once an exclusive to BlackBerry users, the struggling handset maker's BBM service is slated to be made available for Android and iOS users.
Updated 9/30, at 8:35 a.m. PT to correct availability of BBM on Android and iOS.