Last week when Facebook updated its Facebook Messenger app for the iPhone it included free voice calling in the U.S. A users can place a call to contacts from the conversation list if that person has Messenger for iOS meaning both parties need to be using the Messenger app.
The APK also revealed that there's a host of circular Facebook-flavored icons and tight Facebook Messenger integration.
Previously Facebook Messenger was an app for Facebook users to communicate with other Facebook users through instant chat.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
It has been building its Messenger app out, recently launching a feature that enables Android users to send messages through the Facebook Messenger app without needing to have a Facebook account.
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Facebook is going after the SMS text messaging business, opening up its Facebook Messenger app to a broader set of users.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
Either way Facebook will want to bump up the 14% of smartphone users who use Facebook Messenger, according to researchers at Analysys Mason.
The Facebook Messenger app is not just about sending a traditional Facebook message.
Facebook Messenger (for Android) in certain regions now allows people with no Facebook account to sign up for the service with just a name and phone number, without any Facebook account.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
Whether they annoy or delight you will depend on how much you use Facebook Messenger.
If Facebook Messenger does finish off the need for a phone number, its demise will come only after a long decline.
Users can now make calls to each other via the Facebook Messenger app anywhere they have a wi-fi or a cellular-data connection.
In Facebook Messenger they can also send photos for free.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
The company released a stand-alone messaging app in late 2011 and only started allowing people to sign up for a Facebook messenger account with their phone number last year.
If you're a fan of the Facebook Messenger app keep your eye out for an interesting update coming down the pipe today for both the iOS and Android versions.
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Facebook Messenger might as well be as ubiquitous as SMS text messaging for some, but there's a catch to getting everyone to agree: despite there being over a billion Facebook users, not everyone is able (or willing) to fire up a social networking profile to get started.
ENGADGET: Facebook Messenger allows sign-ups with just a name and phone number on Android devices
In some of these international markets, Facebook could get new users on Messenger, then eventually grab new members by onboarding them to Facebook.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
If hardware is the barrier, then you'll need to get the patched versions of Facebook, Messenger and Home (via the source).
Note: To ensure that everything works the way it should on your phone, make sure the official Facebook and Messenger apps are installed and completely up-to-date.
Windows Phone users will be able to view photos and social networking updates for just that group, if they want, and talk to each other as a group through email and instant message services such as Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat.
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You can see with a single swipe the messages that are waiting to be read, and having your incoming messages (be they email, text, BlackBerry messenger, Facebook, and so on) in one consistent interface makes them much easier to handle during a busy day.
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Now Facebook is not the first to roll such an offering out and this voice calling through Messenger is not the only way Facebook is challenging carrier voice revenue.
Windows Phone even has Facebook Chat, Messenger, check-ins and photo tagging all built-in so you can stay connected without missing a moment.
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The desire to own smartphones keeps everyone continuously plugged-in and attached to our email, Facebook, instant messenger and an endless barrage of applications.
It doesn't mean that Facebook and Blackberry Messenger have caused the drop in crime, but I do wonder whether the two may be linked.
If your issue is location (rather than device) you'll need the latest version of Facebook's regular and Messenger apps first.
It comes pre-loaded with a selection of native social networking apps: Facebook, Twitter and eBuddy messenger, as well as WhatsApp on the single-SIM versions.
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Screens shots that purportedly show the new Android homepage, possibly called Facebook Home, show buttons along the top for common Facebook actions, such as updating a status, posting a photo or checking into a location, and icons for the major Facebook apps including Instagram and Messenger in the center of the screen.
Ideally Facebook hoped, they would use Messenger instead of the main SMS on their phones.
FORBES: Facebook Messenger Takes On SMS, With No Account Needed
These are the profile pictures of people who send you Facebook messages or text messages via Messenger.
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