September 27, 2012 By

Samsung ChatOn building traction, could soon include voice and video calling

Samsung relaunches instant messaging service

Samsung’s messaging service, ChatOn, has started gaining steam following its relaunch earlier this month and could soon provide video and voice calling options. A shortcut to an app called ChatONV has been spotted on a pre-release version of the Samsung Galaxy Camera, which Android Authority speculates as being an abbreviation for ChatOn Video. This makes sense particularly for the Galaxy Camera, which has a SIM-slot that can connect to 3G networks, but not GSM. A video or voice calling app that is executed via the data network as opposed to GSM would therefore be a handy tool to have.

What is ChatOn?

ChatOn is more than just an instant messaging service. It rivals the likes of WhatsApp and BlackBerry messenger, but with a greater range of features. What has made WhatsApp so popular is the ability to send text messages over an internet connection, thus saving you from using your GSM text message allocation. With ChatOn, not only can you send text messages (including group messages) over an internet connection, but also animated messages and anicons (animated emoticons). The app also includes some social networking services; the ‘Trunk’ feature keeps a record on any media that you have shared in a chat, which can then be viewed by buddies. ‘Interaction rank’ shows how often you chat to other people, plus it’s possible to post comments to a buddy’s profile at any time.

Worth a try

Samsung has developed ChatOn to be cross-platform compatible, so it’s not just Android that it runs on, but also iOS and BlackBerry devices as well. It’s certainly worth giving it a try if you have a compatible device.  At the moment it has a strong competitor in Whatsapp, which is effective in its offering, but ChatOn does the job just as well and has some extra features to offer. We would also like to see a web app and Windows Phone app, which could help to bolster is user base. 

Moving forward we can expect to see voice (and video) calling via the data network gradually replace GSM voice calls as the reliability of the infrastructure improves. It therefore makes sense for Samsung, and other companies, to start making provisions for this as soon as possible. At the moment there are several messaging services that offer alternatives to GSM text and voice calls – ChatON, WhatsApp, BBM, Skype and MightyText to name but a few. These offer a variety of services – data voice calls, data messaging, desktop messaging, media sharing – all of which could be completed with only an internet connection. The first company to be able to offer all services effectively from inside one app will have a great opportunity to capture the lion’s share of users.

ChatOn already has the data messaging side of things covered very well, hopefully it will soon be able to offer voice and video calling services of equal quality.

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About Chris Ward

Better known as 'Wardy', digital media is where his interest lies. Responsible for many elements of the Clove website and external advertising activities, Wardy is our interactive media graduate.

Always chilled out, there is never a time when you see 'Wardy' stressed. A keen music follower, he knows his DJ's and how to mix a few tracks together. Always eating, he remains stick thin and is the envy of the rest of us! A very deep character, there are some suprising twists to what Wardy knows and you'll never meet a nicer bloke if you tried!