Take a look at
that “reach friends wherever they are now” image to the left. What’s missing
between the iPhone and the laptop? Ding ding ding! You’re right! A tablet.
Okay, I’m sure
it was obvious. In fact, many of you may have already assumed that Facebook has
a version of its Messenger for iPad. Well it doesn’t, and seeing as though it took the company quite awhile to launch Facebook for iPad,
the lag comes as no surprise.
This graphic
might have to change next Tuesday, when Facebook is holding an event for press
to “come and see what [they're] building.” While my
colleagues are hearing that this “what [they're] building” is a “big deal” as
in a “phone” or a slew of ads and other improvements, I’m hearing that one
of the products that could be announced is Messenger for iPad.
Specifically
I’m hearing that Messenger for iPad, replete with all the Messenger features
we’ve come to love like emoticons, photo sharing, read receipts, location
tagging, group messaging and the new voice recorded messaging feature, is ready
for the public eye. And basically, it’s what exists on the iPhone, but in a
bigger format.
According to
one source, the app is “totally” ready to launch on Tuesday, and if the event
is indeed a series of mobile product announcements, it could “totally” fit
in conceptually. Other points that back this up: We’ve head that Messenger head
Peter Deng was “cranking” a couple of days ago and Facebook partner Microsoft
is killing its Messenger service exactly a month after
whatever it is being announced.
A fully
fleshed-out Messenger for iPad, eventually including video chat, VoIP and voice
messages, could be another Facebook attempt at killing your home
phone. The combination of cheap VoIP with Facebook’s social graph and
distribution network could be enough to get people to cut back on their home
phone plans and save their mobile minutes/data.
And ”reaching
friends wherever they are now” includes on the couch, watching HBO’s “Girls” on their iPads.
With voice and video, Messenger for iPad could become the way you have
Sunday afternoon conversations with family or distant friends.
Other Facebook
apps that need to be extended to the iPad include Instagram and Poke. It could
be that Facebook is rebuilding its apps in preparation for a revamp of its core
product on mobile, and starting with Messenger. In any case, Messenger for iPad
is coming soon, so whether it’s Tuesday or not, get ready to be Messaging in a
bigger format. Go iPad or go home. [Tech Crunch]
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