Articles about Messaging and Collaboration

50 percent more messages are now sent using WhatsApp when compared to texts, threatening to kill off SMS communications entirely. CEO of the mobile messaging app Jan Koum announced record results last week, demonstrating the platform’s continued growth.

WhatsApp now boasts 700 million monthly active users and processes 30 billion messages a day, or 347,222 every second. Meanwhile, the already sizeable gap in popularity between WhatsApp and texting is set to increase, with the latter experiencing declining usage figures since 2011.

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Benedict Evans recently wrote an insightful piece exploring new questions for the mobile industry. Among the five questions he brought up, I believe that the evolution of interaction models and messaging will end up being the most important.

I don't have anything to add there as think Benedict's analysis here was excellent. However, I do think that three of his questions could benefit from deeper analysis. I also think that he may have missed a crucial question brought on by the scale of the mobile industry.

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The gradual but relentless move to the cloud is about more than just making it easier to access files from multiple devices. For many people, particularly business and enterprise users, sharing and collaboration is more important. Today Google has made two small but important updates to Drive and Docs that makes file sharing easier than ever.

Now when you start to type the name of someone you would like to share a file with, you will see their profile picture alongside their name. This mimics the way things work in Gmail, and helps you to check you are selecting the right people.

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Snapchat has come on leaps and bounds since it was first introduced to mobile users in September 2011, despite the photo application gaining a negative reputation with its initial release.

By some, it was seen to perpetuate the sexting trend, with researchers claiming its primary audience to be teens who predominantly shared sensitive content that handily disappeared after the app’s timer runs out. However, since those days Snapchat has expanded its repertoire and is now being used for a variety of creative purposes that are not necessarily privacy-related. And the fundamental reason for its use, according to users, is that the application is seen to be "fun and easy to use".

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As much as Google would like everyone with word processing, presentation and spreadsheet needs to make exclusive use of Google Docs, the fact is that Office -- particularly the cloud-friendly Office 365 -- remains stubbornly popular. To try to win people over from the dark side, Google has added editing support for an extra 15 Office formats to Docs.

This is not the only change that has been made to try to encourage Office users towards Docs. Google is also making it possible to edit Office documents that arrive in your Gmail inbox as attachments -- no more downloading just to re-upload for editing!

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Microsoft is giving Office 365 users an early glimpse of what it hopes will become the future of enterprise video sharing. Office 365 Video harnesses the power of SharePoint and Azure Media Services to create a tool that gives businesses a one-stop-shop for uploading, sharing, delivering and streaming videos.

A number of possible scenarios are set out by Mark Kashman, a senior product manager in the Office 365 group. From providing employees with access to training videos to delivering CEO messages, this is a flexible tool that has been designed with security and simplicity in mind. Office 365 Video is not expected to launch until early next year, but a sneak peak is available right now.

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Installed apps are becoming a thing of the past. Microsoft is just one of a raft of technology companies gradually moving to the cloud and the latest display of this is a new beta version of Skype for Web. The messaging tool has been designed to be used in a web browser without the need for plugins, extensions or other software. At least that is the aim. During the beta stages you'll still have to install a small plugin.

Work being carried out by the Internet Explorer developers should bring plugin-free Real-Time Communications (RTC) to browsers in the near future, and Skype for Web will be able to take advantage of this. The beta is not being made available to everyone straight away, so you'll need to check your account to see if you can try it out.

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As part of the simplification of its portfolio, Microsoft is dropping the Lync name as it rebrands the business messaging and conferencing tool. The name will change to Skype for Business in the first half of 2015, and interface tweaks will see the business version of the tools closely mimicking that of the consumer Skype product.

The aim is to create a more uniform experience for people using Microsoft's communication tools at home and in the office. After a decade of Skype, and bearing in mind the success of Lync, it was almost inevitable that the two products would ultimately become one, and that day is now almost here. As Microsoft puts it: "The magic of Skype and the power of Lync are coming together".

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For a whole weekend, I thought the new smartphone I had just bought was defective. Because why else could it not send any SMS messages to any of my contacts nor connect to the Internet via 4G? It was the only logical explanation at the time, as everything else -- my monthly plan, the 4G coverage in my area, the settings -- was in order. While that was happening, I could receive SMS messages, calls were working fine. Getting a defective device is not impossible, after all. I am also not the luckiest person in the world. These things happen.

The problem, however, was not with the device, or even the SIM as some may think. As it turns out, whenever this happens, you just happen to be in the wrong place. Literally. Some may be lead to believe that their setup is to blame, when it is actually the carrier's 4G network in the area that is at fault. You may find that it works great in some places, and only have problems at work, for instance.

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Today, there is a messaging service for just about anything and anyone. The core features are pretty much the same across the board, however. Where they differ is mostly in the way those features are implemented. For instance, you can chat with others using any messaging app, but not all offer encrypted conversations or delete your messages after they're received. The devil is in the details, as always.

Despite all the different options available today, there is still room for new messaging services to make their mark. Wiper is among the new up and coming players, with its main highlights being the option to delete conversations everywhere, on-demand, and provide secure HD video chats.

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A new update has been rolled out to WhatsApp that lets users see when the person they are talking to reads a message. The check marks that appear next to messages to indicate that a message has been successfully sent and successfully delivered now have a third indicator mode. A double blue check mark means that the message has been read.

WhatsApp took the messaging world by storm when it first appeared on the scene. Despite having been found to be one of the most insecure messaging tools out there, it remains incredibly popular with around 600 million monthly users. WhatsApp's impact was such that Facebook parted with $19 billion to buy it, and this month the service celebrates its fifth birthday.

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There are days when I get absolutely swamped with email -- my work and personal inboxes are frequently filled to bursting -- and I’m not alone in struggling with the never ending deluge of demanding messages.

Unroll.me, a service which helps users keep their inboxes under control, has put together a Halloween-themed infographic detailing some of the most frightening facts about email. Did you know, for example, that the average person in the US, spends four hours a day reading, composing and replying to messages?

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With Android 5.0 Lollipop, Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 on the horizon, as well as some great Android devices already on the market, some of you may be thinking about ditching iOS for Android. It is unquestionably a big decision, so you may want to ensure that the switch from an iPhone or iPad will be as painless as possible.

To help with the switch, Google has prepared a nifty guide that explains how you can migrate your data from iOS to Android, tackling key areas such as multimedia content, contacts, email, messaging and, of course, apps. You may recall that Apple posted a similar guide last month, detailing to would-be customers the steps they need to take to move from Android handsets to iPhones. Google now looks to simply be returning the favor.

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Often the easiest way of getting information across in a meeting or presentation is to have it in a visual form like a graph or chart.

Collaborative work management company Smartsheet is unveiling a new way to visualize work management and show how people contribute to a project. Instead of the traditional organization chart view, Smartsheet Account Map shows how both employees and external contributors form work clusters around processes.

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On Android, setting up email services other than Gmail involves using the built-in Email app or heading over to Google Play to install dedicated clients. But it looks like users may soon get another option, as Google will likely offer support for more email providers, like Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail, in its upcoming Gmail 5.0 app.

This appears to be Google's way of ensuring that Android users will finally be able to enjoy a consistent email experience no matter what device they may use or what customizations and apps the operating system features. It is a welcome change, and one that is long overdue.

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