Earlier this week, Sprint announced a new messaging app was headed to its handsets, one aimed at synthesizing different types of mobile communication in a single spot.
Messaging Plus serves as sort of communication hub, Amir Sarhangi, CEO at the app's maker Jibe Mobile, told us at MobileCon. The cloud-based app enables everything from SMS to phone calls to video chat with certain devices on any carrier.
Available for iPhone (iOS 6 and up) and Android (2.3 and up), we wanted to know if Jibe had any interest in pursuing the app-starved Windows Phone platform.
"Yes we do," he replied. "Timing-wise, I can't comment on that. But absolutely. What we're doing is all about multi-module communication. Whether Windows Phone, whether it's the web. For us, this is kind of the beginning. With Windows, we're definitely looking at that side."
Messaging plussed
Messaging Plus is polished enough, smoothly switching from SMS over to sending photos or videos before jumping on a Facetime-like chat. It has an iMessage feel, showing you when a message has been seen by the receiving party, for example.
The idea, Sarhangi said, is for anyone from the tech savvy user to the novice to be able to pick up a device, go into the app and start communicating with friends and family (who also have the app and live in North America - some key points).
Sprint will start preloading Messaging Plus on all its Android devices starting next month, a sign the nation's No. 3 has faith in Jibe's creation.
The landscape is littered with various over the top messaging options, but Sarhangi said these OTTs are "fragmented islands, copying what the carriers have done 10 years ago."
Can Messaging Plus take on other messaging platforms like Skype, Tango and WhatsApp? Landing pre-loaded on Sprint Android phones isn't a bad way to start.
