The land-grab for the mobile instant messaging (IM) market has intensified, with the launch of Pooosh.
It aims to go where the others don't, by targeting more of an adult market, says Pooosh CEO Don Tredoux.
The new IM service was launched last week and, by Wednesday, had attracted 2 500 subscribers. Tredoux says, as competition is tight, it will, along with the other players such as Mxit, not release subscriber numbers in future.
Other players in this space include Nok-Nok and Meep.
Pooosh offers a telecommunications mix of products and services along with its IM, including voice SMS and chat rooms. The company has also aligned itself with Altech Autopage, which will offer Pooosh bundled with new cellphone contracts free for six months.
Last year, Mxit said it had more than five million subscribers.
Lindsey Mc Donald, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, says the IM market still has a lot of room to grow.
"Mxit has become the more mature of the applications that we have in the market. However, there is still a lot of appeal for the younger generation. The important thing is not the innovation of the technology as such, but the innovative way that products are being put together," she says.
Tredoux says Pooosh will differentiate itself by offering a voice SMS service, whereby a subscriber can pay R2 per day to send as many of these voice messages as he or she needs. The company also plans to offer a voice over Internet Protocol service in future.
"What is hampering the VOIP service is that it is still not yet a great experience and, secondly, that GSM operators are not that keen on it being offered over their networks," Tredoux says.
He says Pooosh's model is to offer free IM services, but subscribers will pay for their voice calls.
"We believe that consumers will pay for a service that gives them a good experience, but as long as they are making a saving at the same time."
Tredoux, who is co-founder and former MD of Orion Telecom, says the company was considering the possibility of advertising and sponsorships to increase its revenue stream, but that these would come with some kind of opt-out functionality.
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