Samsung killing off ChatOn app

Johannesburg - South Korean electronics giant Samsung plans discontinuing its messenger application ChatOn in early 2015.

ChatOn was launched in 2011 and is available in 200 countries across various mobile operating systems including Google Android, BlackBerry and Windows.

On the Android’s Google Play store, ChatOn has notched up over 100 million devices.

But the app’s high download figures are boosted by Samsung equipping its smartphones with the app. According to research firm Gartner, Samsung shipped 73.212 million smartphones during the third quarter of 2014 alone.

ChatOn has also faced tough competition from WhatsApp, which has 500 million downloads on the Google Play store.

“On February 1, 2015, ChatON will be discontinued in all markets except the United States, as we strive to meet evolving consumer needs by focusing on our core services,” Samsung told popular US technology website Engadget.

The killing off of ChatOn comes as Samsung has also been cutting costs amid slower global uptake for its devices and increasing Chinese competition.

While Gartner reported that Samsung shipped the most smartphones worldwide during Q3 2014, the researchers noted that the South Korean electronics company’s market share in this space has fallen from 32.1% during the same period in 2013 to 24.4% this year.