The Economic Times is reporting that Google is working hard to launch a messaging service similar to WhatsApp. Because what the world definitely needs is another messaging app.
While every tech company under the suns continues to try and crack messaging once and for all — without ever really seeming to know how to go about it — the Times suggests that Google is working on a WhatsApp competitor, initially focused on emerging markets like India.
What’s more, the report claims, the app won’t require users to use a Google login, and it will be free to use. That is, in isolation, arguably not a bad idea; after all, emerging markets are where WhatsApp started, and where much of its popularity continues to lie.
But of all the things that Google needs to offer, yet another messaging app is not one of them. With a cluttered array of ways to receive messages from our nearest and dearest, what the world needs is unification of messaging — not further fragmentation. Hopefully that’s the next trick up its sleeve. [The Economic Times]