TNI Bureau: Facebook has released an update for its Facebook Messenger app that enables logging in without using Facebook account. The app allows the Android Smartphone users in India to log in with just their name and mobile number. The update is currently available only on the Android phones.
The step seems to be an attempt by Facebook to further increase the volume of users in India through the message App in their mobile phones.
Previously, to log into Facebook Messenger, users had to sign in using their Facebook account, but they can now join the Messenger app without having a Facebook account. For now, the app is available only in countries such as India, Indonesia, South Africa, Venezuela and Australia.
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India is one of Facebook’s largest growing markets and there are currently 60 million Indians on Facebook, which is almost half of the total 137 million users in the country. So India is a potential market for the leading social network. Perhaps that is why Facebook has opted for India, while the App is still not available in US.
Though Android phones are still very costly for a country like India, it has become the forerunner in the Smartphone race. While Android phone leads the race with 68.3 % market share of 2012, Apple’s market share of handsets in India is just 1.2% as per a report. And now introduction of the update in Facebook Messenger App (which makes it more convenient to use) will further boost sell of the Android phones.
The latest update of the Messenger App is expected to come out as a great step to fight with its main rival, the WhatsApp, which is currently the Number One free app on Android. But though WhatsApp is free to use in the first year, users need to pay a subscription fees from the second year onwards, but in case of Facebook Messenger App is totally free.
This stands as a strong point in favor of the Facebook Messenger App to grab more number of users. For now, one can send only text message and pics using
the Messenger App, but not video.