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Cape Town - Mxit announced on Tuesday that it has rebuilt its social messaging platform as the company vies for attention in an increasingly competitive environment.
The company announced the launch of Mxit 7 for feature phones, but has increased functionality to cater for smart devices.
Following this launch with support for the iPhone and iPad, Mxit said that it is part of a programme to integrate the platform with Android and BlackBerry devices within weeks, and Windows Phone smartphones in early 2014.
"Mxit 7 for iOS has been rebuilt from the ground up for iOS 7, and features such as Doodlechat and Backdrop make for a fun and immersive chat experience," the company said.
The new platform also represents a renewed focus on the core offer at the Stellenbosch-based company.
Offline messages
"Mxit 7 is a simplification of our social network and we have removed breadth and added depth to many features. Traditionally, we have been very strong on feature phones and as the market evolves we have too. As a technology company we have had to adapt to big changes a few times in our history and with that kind of adaptability comes resilience," Mxit chief product officer Vincent Maher told News24.
The re-launched application features offline messages for Nokia Asha phones, group chat and focus on multimedia content.
Critically for SA where data costs are a significant factor in the mobile environment, Mxit 7 has a smaller data footprint than previous versions and also uses less memory, making it easier and more economical for feature phone users.
On the iPad and iPhone, the application has been written to accommodate the interface of the device and includes features like image sharing and voice chatting.
"Mxit 7 is the result of our renewed focus on offering an affordable and rich chat experience that bridges the gap between feature and smartphone users," said Mxit CEO Francois Swart.
Continued support for feature phones is key in developing countries like SA where the overall majority of mobile devices are still feature phones. There are about 6.5 million active users in the country.
Online safety
"Feature phones are a massive part of the mobile market so it's going to be a long time until we stop supporting them. We have found a way to support feature phones without holding us back on smartphone platforms like Android and iOS," said Maher.
He added that while Mxit users have evolved to engage in chats with people known to them, though the company has run a significant education programme on online safety.
"We educate our users about etiquette and safety in chat rooms all the time. The trend is moving away from chat rooms to chats among groups of friends who know each other."
Mxit 7 will be available on the App Store on 15 November and is available as a free download from the website.
- Follow Duncan on Twitter
The company announced the launch of Mxit 7 for feature phones, but has increased functionality to cater for smart devices.
Following this launch with support for the iPhone and iPad, Mxit said that it is part of a programme to integrate the platform with Android and BlackBerry devices within weeks, and Windows Phone smartphones in early 2014.
"Mxit 7 for iOS has been rebuilt from the ground up for iOS 7, and features such as Doodlechat and Backdrop make for a fun and immersive chat experience," the company said.
The new platform also represents a renewed focus on the core offer at the Stellenbosch-based company.
Offline messages
"Mxit 7 is a simplification of our social network and we have removed breadth and added depth to many features. Traditionally, we have been very strong on feature phones and as the market evolves we have too. As a technology company we have had to adapt to big changes a few times in our history and with that kind of adaptability comes resilience," Mxit chief product officer Vincent Maher told News24.
The re-launched application features offline messages for Nokia Asha phones, group chat and focus on multimedia content.
Critically for SA where data costs are a significant factor in the mobile environment, Mxit 7 has a smaller data footprint than previous versions and also uses less memory, making it easier and more economical for feature phone users.
On the iPad and iPhone, the application has been written to accommodate the interface of the device and includes features like image sharing and voice chatting.
"Mxit 7 is the result of our renewed focus on offering an affordable and rich chat experience that bridges the gap between feature and smartphone users," said Mxit CEO Francois Swart.
Continued support for feature phones is key in developing countries like SA where the overall majority of mobile devices are still feature phones. There are about 6.5 million active users in the country.
Online safety
"Feature phones are a massive part of the mobile market so it's going to be a long time until we stop supporting them. We have found a way to support feature phones without holding us back on smartphone platforms like Android and iOS," said Maher.
He added that while Mxit users have evolved to engage in chats with people known to them, though the company has run a significant education programme on online safety.
"We educate our users about etiquette and safety in chat rooms all the time. The trend is moving away from chat rooms to chats among groups of friends who know each other."
Mxit 7 will be available on the App Store on 15 November and is available as a free download from the website.
- Follow Duncan on Twitter
