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Kik Messenger - BBM for iPhone
- Thread starter terakristen
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Absolutely, Kik to Kik messaging is free and unlimited.
If you want to send a message to someone that doesn't have Kik - we convert it to an SMS and it requires credits. Currently the credit payment system is not in place so they're free as of now.
Hi!
I'm Tera - I'm the Community Manager for Kik. We have developed Kik Messenger, a cross-platform messenger that is very similar to BBM. We didn't think it was fair that you had to have a BlackBerry in order to have a BBM style experience, so we took it to the iPhone.
You can check it out in the App Store here.
And there's also a short demo video on YouTube.
I would love to hear what iPhone users think about the app, as well as what you think about the marketing. Are you interested in the product? I'm new to this game and learning as I go. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread so please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions - I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
PLEASE Make this avaivable to UK user's, Thanks
We're making some pretty big changes to the service to be released about a month from now...
Mainly, sign up will not require a 10 digit North American number - but rather an email address. I would like to allow people who follow the Kik Messenger threads on smartphone forums to be among the first to try it out.
So please check back here periodically - or check us out on Twitter or Facebook - to get the latest news from Kik.
Thanks everyone!
Mainly, sign up will not require a 10 digit North American number - but rather an email address. I would like to allow people who follow the Kik Messenger threads on smartphone forums to be among the first to try it out.
So please check back here periodically - or check us out on Twitter or Facebook - to get the latest news from Kik.
Thanks everyone!
Waittttt...so you're saying your Kik contact info will no longer be your phone number, but your email address? I definitely do not like that.
That being said, I've been a Kik user for about two weeks and have been actively spreading the word to all of my family and friends, trying to get them to adopt the program.
Here is some suggestions I have:
1) Group Chat - Everyone of my blackberry friends complains about Kik saying its missing the most important BBM feature, which is group chat. Being an iphone user, I'm not familiar with this feature, but I can imagine how useful it could be.
2) Multimedia messaging
Will make another post later when I get some feedback from my friends who are using Kik.
Suggestion to help spread the word quickly....add Twitter and Facebook "Tell your friends about Kik Messenger!" functionality in-app. If I like an app I always use that feature!
Hey!
Thanks for the suggestions - we're always listening and working hard on incorporating features so it's imminent that those features will come. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
And no, your email address will just be used for verification (so only we will have it) - you will get to make up your own username for adding contacts purposes. I will post the new version here when it's all ready and you guys can be among the firsts to try it out (and nab a username!).
Right now, there's a tweet your Kik Code function - to show your Twitter followers how they can add you on Kik. There are also text message invites that you can send to your contacts that don't yet have Kik. The Facebook idea is great too! Maybe a way to quickly and easily share your Kik Messenger username on Facebook and Twitter
Thanks guys, check back regularly for updates and cool surprises
Thanks for the suggestions - we're always listening and working hard on incorporating features so it's imminent that those features will come. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
And no, your email address will just be used for verification (so only we will have it) - you will get to make up your own username for adding contacts purposes. I will post the new version here when it's all ready and you guys can be among the firsts to try it out (and nab a username!).
Right now, there's a tweet your Kik Code function - to show your Twitter followers how they can add you on Kik. There are also text message invites that you can send to your contacts that don't yet have Kik. The Facebook idea is great too! Maybe a way to quickly and easily share your Kik Messenger username on Facebook and Twitter
Thanks guys, check back regularly for updates and cool surprises
Hey!
Thanks for the suggestions - we're always listening and working hard on incorporating features so it's imminent that those features will come. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
And no, your email address will just be used for verification (so only we will have it) - you will get to make up your own username for adding contacts purposes. I will post the new version here when it's all ready and you guys can be among the firsts to try it out (and nab a username!).
Right now, there's a tweet your Kik Code function - to show your Twitter followers how they can add you on Kik. There are also text message invites that you can send to your contacts that don't yet have Kik. The Facebook idea is great too! Maybe a way to quickly and easily share your Kik Messenger username on Facebook and Twitter
Thanks guys, check back regularly for updates and cool surprises
Weird...I didn't notice the tweet option!
i had been using the app for a week and a bit and loved it, other then how it takes a bit to load when the preview pops up and i click view message. sometimes it takes a few minutes. but that was minor. last night out of nowhere after id send a kik message a box would pop up and say error the user connection is no longer active. how do i fix this? my friends are saying that they are only experiencing this same problem when talking to me. but for me its when i talk to everyone. anyone that knows how i can fix this please help! thanks
I like the app so far, but there is one thing that is really annoying me. When I talk to people they don't know it's me because they only see my number (as screen name) and not my name! I tried contacting support but it's been a week and I'm still waiting for a reply. That is the only thing keeping me away from using it on a regular basis.
Hi guys!
It's been a while - I hope the app is serving you well
I just want to address a couple things here -
@boricuazo - When you message someone that doesn't have Kik Messenger - we have to reassign your message to a different phone number. That is what makes it free for you - AND because we assign it to a phone number that is free for your recipient to message back. I agree that it's a little awkward sometimes but for each person that you message you get a unique number. This way - your recipient can store that 'random' number - and they will always be able to message you back.
@jacobtwotwo - That is definitely an annoying issue - and I have had someone else tell me about it so I will definitely be looking into it. It's just an annoying error message that doesn't mean anything because I'm sure your messages are still being delivered (that is what was going on with the other person). Can you tell me what version of OS that you're running?
That said, I want to apologize for any issues you have been having running Kik Messenger on iOS4. We do not yet have an iPhone4 so we're a little unsure of what exactly is going on with it BUT, we are getting one shortly so hopefully we will have Kik Messenger running seamlessly on all future iOS releases
The app may be a little bare bones right now - but personally I'm a big fan of minimalism as long as every aspect is done properly. Considering the app is an instant messaging application we're very much focusing on the instant aspect. Of course, we will be adding all the extras that will make the app amazing - we're just working hard on making sure that the app does what we say it does. We have a lot coming in the next few months so stick with us
It's been a while - I hope the app is serving you well
I just want to address a couple things here -
@boricuazo - When you message someone that doesn't have Kik Messenger - we have to reassign your message to a different phone number. That is what makes it free for you - AND because we assign it to a phone number that is free for your recipient to message back. I agree that it's a little awkward sometimes but for each person that you message you get a unique number. This way - your recipient can store that 'random' number - and they will always be able to message you back.
@jacobtwotwo - That is definitely an annoying issue - and I have had someone else tell me about it so I will definitely be looking into it. It's just an annoying error message that doesn't mean anything because I'm sure your messages are still being delivered (that is what was going on with the other person). Can you tell me what version of OS that you're running?
That said, I want to apologize for any issues you have been having running Kik Messenger on iOS4. We do not yet have an iPhone4 so we're a little unsure of what exactly is going on with it
BUT, we are getting one shortly so hopefully we will have Kik Messenger running seamlessly on all future iOS releases The app may be a little bare bones right now - but personally I'm a big fan of minimalism as long as every aspect is done properly. Considering the app is an instant messaging application we're very much focusing on the instant aspect. Of course, we will be adding all the extras that will make the app amazing - we're just working hard on making sure that the app does what we say it does. We have a lot coming in the next few months so stick with us
I disagree and wish for your app to succeed. The main problem with whatsapp was bb users tried it out to talk to their iPhone friends yet most bb users (at least I know) have deleted it because it was not full featured soon enough and still isn't.
Although being "instant" is a key part, you will always have iPhone users and android users downloading this app ( just look at whatsapp In the AppStore it's in the top ten). The key is to give bb users another venue to talk to other phones without losing the experience of bbm. Nearly all of my friends who have bb say the same thing when installing kik "where's group chat, pictures videos, voice notes etc etc." They are never complaining about the "instant" but the features of the app.
Please also note that i think this app seems to be the one which has the most potential and could break the bbm barrier and be truly cross platform. You will have android and iPhone users onboard easily. It's bb users that need the convincing.
Although being "instant" is a key part, you will always have iPhone users and android users downloading this app ( just look at whatsapp In the AppStore it's in the top ten). The key is to give bb users another venue to talk to other phones without losing the experience of bbm. Nearly all of my friends who have bb say the same thing when installing kik "where's group chat, pictures videos, voice notes etc etc." They are never complaining about the "instant" but the features of the app.
Please also note that i think this app seems to be the one which has the most potential and could break the bbm barrier and be truly cross platform. You will have android and iPhone users onboard easily. It's bb users that need the convincing.
You're right - and it's often hard to determine what's more important - new features or bug fixes. Because when time is not on your side it's very hard to do both (especially as a start-up company). Our goal is definitely to provide an experience similar to BBM - it will just take some time as a company to be able to provide that. This has definitely been a learning experience in terms of the trade-off between launching a product to see how the market responds and waiting until you have something ready. I don't think we could have been able to know how exactly to improve the app if we didn't give people something to play around with and then provide feedback.
So thank you for your feedback! My job is to listen to you guys and it makes me happy (and purposeful) when you guys are vocal about what you want and what you know
Getting an app noticed for iPhone is pretty tricky because of the abundance of awesome apps that are out there. Where do you learn about iPhone news (besides forums)?
Gizmodo, engadget, Cnet is where I get my tech/iPhone news. That would be a great advertisement if one of those could do a piece on this app. As for bugs I have experienced a missing keyboard sometimes, contacts is poorly displayed/ organized and cannot be edited, sometimes messages do not come through fast enough but the app works ( I have an iPhone 4). Those bugs can be fixed over time but as an iPhone user I have nothing to compare it to. Bb users immediately compare it to bbm which as I stated earlier the features comes in.
I think this app is headed in the right direction. Keep it simple, then expand on the features. Work on the bugs first, make sure your infrastructure can scale otherwise you will get some really unhappy users jumping ship.
The BB version looks pretty mature, it seems like an easy sell for BBM users who want to talk with iphone/android users.
BTW: I noticed an increase in performance today! Good work.
The BB version looks pretty mature, it seems like an easy sell for BBM users who want to talk with iphone/android users.
BTW: I noticed an increase in performance today! Good work.
I'm going to bump this thread cause this app is pretty good. It's a good step in the right direction and with the addition of more features, could be one of the better ones. There are many issues with messaging people without the Kik client but still, can't wait to see the updates in the future.
Good job Team Kik!
Good job Team Kik!
I just downloaded this to my iPhone 4 and I'm on the fence about it.
I like the feel of it. Definitely reminds me of BBM.
But I don't like the integration with my entire Address Book as well as the inability to delete contacts.
For some reason I've got Kik contacts who weren't even in my Address Book, as well as about 20 'Unknown' contacts.
I have no clue what's going on with this app right now.
I like the feel of it. Definitely reminds me of BBM.
But I don't like the integration with my entire Address Book as well as the inability to delete contacts.
For some reason I've got Kik contacts who weren't even in my Address Book, as well as about 20 'Unknown' contacts.
I have no clue what's going on with this app right now.
downloaded updated version
hi tera I have some feedback for the new version of kik I just downloaded today (Oct 20/2010)
- there are contact pics, but no way of changing your contact pic
- with iphones there is a downloadable tweak that allows you to quick reply to your sms messages
~ so instead of having to unlock the phone and waiting for the convo to reload in the kik app, you can instantly reply via the lock screen
~ not sure if this is compatible with kik, but that would be a great feature
either than that kik has been working flawlessly for me compared to other messenger programs..alot of other messenger program's servers are constantly down and therefore you are unable to send and receive messages
thanks
hi tera I have some feedback for the new version of kik I just downloaded today (Oct 20/2010)
- there are contact pics, but no way of changing your contact pic
- with iphones there is a downloadable tweak that allows you to quick reply to your sms messages
~ so instead of having to unlock the phone and waiting for the convo to reload in the kik app, you can instantly reply via the lock screen
~ not sure if this is compatible with kik, but that would be a great feature
either than that kik has been working flawlessly for me compared to other messenger programs..alot of other messenger program's servers are constantly down and therefore you are unable to send and receive messages
thanks
True but you'll ask your friends to pay for the app? It only takes a minute to setup a new account.
KiK on Itouch
Ok so i had kik messenger on my itouch 3rd generation for about a month, but recently its been acting weird. It kept logging me off and then taking 20min to refresh all my contacts, so i deleted it, and tried to re-install it but its not showing up in the App store at all anymore. What happened????
Ok so i had kik messenger on my itouch 3rd generation for about a month, but recently its been acting weird. It kept logging me off and then taking 20min to refresh all my contacts, so i deleted it, and tried to re-install it but its not showing up in the App store at all anymore. What happened????
KiK on IPhone
Now, my friends that have IPhone are also having problems with KiK...I was able to get kik back on my itouch becuase i backed it up on my mac...but i only get the notifications of ppl hittin me up bt it wont load any messages or contacts
Now, my friends that have IPhone are also having problems with KiK...I was able to get kik back on my itouch becuase i backed it up on my mac...but i only get the notifications of ppl hittin me up bt it wont load any messages or contacts