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Google Close to Acquiring WhatsApp for $1 Billion?

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Digital Trends reports that Google is on the verge of acquiring WhatsApp, the company behind the popular cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp Messenger.
While the deal started four or five weeks ago, we've been told that WhatsApp is "playing hardball" and jockeying for a higher acquisition price, which currently is "close to" $1 billion right now.
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WhatsApp Messenger is currently a $0.99 app in the App Store, but the company has announced that it will be shifting to a subscription model later this year under which the app would likely be free for the first year and $0.99/year thereafter. The subscription model is already in use on the company's Android and Windows Phone apps.

whatsapp_top_paid.jpg
WhatsApp Messenger consistently ranks at or near the top of Apple's charts for Top Paid apps in countries around the world, and is in fact currently in the #1 position in the U.S. App Store.

The service is one of many messaging services available on iOS and other mobile platforms, including Apple's own iMessage service integrated into iOS and OS X. Such services have become increasingly popular as users seek to avoid mobile carriers' SMS charges and expand their conversations to include devices not directly connected to cellular service.

Article Link: Google Close to Acquiring WhatsApp for $1 Billion?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/08/google-close-to-acquiring-whatsapp-for-1-billion/
A billion dollars for an instant messaging app? How could it POSSIBLY be worth that when so many of them exist and how easy they are to make.
 
Isn't it amazing how an app that was originally just a "$.99 company (per-say) is now valued at $1 billion by one of the biggest companies in the world?
 
Between Verizon offering unlimited text messages and Apple's iMessage, I'm just not seeing the need for this app on my phone.
 
johnnnw said:
A billion dollars for an instant messaging app? How could it POSSIBLY be worth that when so many of them exist and how easy they are to make.
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A huge user base that already exists?

Although all my friends use whatsapp, I never installed it because I didn't know who owned it/would have access to my data. If this is true, I'll know who owns it, but I still won't install...
 
Baklava said:
It's the amount of users making it worth.
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You'd figure Google could spend a few million just to GIVE IT AWAY to gain that many users.

Messaging apps are easy to gain user base.

In fact, Google could finally decide to release a Google Chat app on their own, with a few engineers, and some marketing/branding money.
 
I was hoping for a Mac OS X version you can easily access from the row of icons at the bottom of the screen. It would have a new icon in the shape of a cartoon rabbit and be called 'WhatsAppDock'.
 
I happen to be a frequent user of the app due to friends in Europe. It is quite a common app over there. However, I am hoping for more gateways between the various systems. There are too many of them
 
seems like any app that does data-mining (or can be abused for it) is worth a lot these day - pretty scary - and $1Billion is really a lot for an app that does not do too much but feeding data to the owner (the company behind it, not the user) of it.
 
Steps to early retirement

1. Make messaging app
2. Gain millions of users
3. ? Google/FB acquisition
4. PROFIT
 
martygras9 said:
Between Verizon offering unlimited text messages and Apple's iMessage, I'm just not seeing the need for this app on my phone.
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Whilst I use iMessage a lot, it requires the recipient to have an iOS device. You cannot ell people what to buy.
 
martygras9 said:
Between Verizon offering unlimited text messages and Apple's iMessage, I'm just not seeing the need for this app on my phone.
Click to expand...

AT&T offers unlimited text messages. Unfortunately they ONLY offer that, which I don't want to pay for, so i have no text plan. This would help me use texts even less (free texting to a larger % of people i know).

It'd be funny if Apple responded with iMessage for Android (not their style, I know...)
 
So worthless. What cell plan doesn't include text these days?

Useful for an iPod touch MAYBE. But then again, there are free alternatives.
 
Squilly said:
Isn't it amazing how an app that was originally just a "$.99 company (per-say) is now valued at $1 billion by one of the biggest companies in the world?
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My theory is that Google and Apple just buy these companies and squash them just to break up something that is successful on the other guys platform. It seems that both companies gain developers to work internally and then just break up the companies they buy.
 
Apple pays $200 million (estimated) for Siri based on "functionality potential". Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion and Google's rumored to bid $1 billion for a messaging app based on "amount of users." See the difference?

Basically Google and Facebook want to buy you as a product. Apple wants you to buy their products. This is a huge paradigm difference in the tech industry, and one (of many) reason why I purchase Apple products.
 
martygras9 said:
Between Verizon offering unlimited text messages and Apple's iMessage, I'm just not seeing the need for this app on my phone.
Click to expand...
Apps like WhatsApp, Viber, etc. offer way more features such as location tagging, audio clips, emoticons, stickers, etc. Takes texting to a whole new level.
 
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