Yahoo’s messenger, which was all set for a major revamp, seems to have received the same. A newly revamped app, called Yahoo Livetext, which combines traditional video chatting and text messaging to make a new ‘video texting’ experience, is now Live, and looks as the most probable replacement for Yahoo Messenger
Unlike Skype, Viber or FaceTime, Livetext does not cover audio. Instead you can watch your friends’ reactions while simultaneously talk to them via text chat. The new app will be a first of its kind. Yahoo says that this new facility will make you “feel like your friends are right there with you”.
The app is currently available only in the Hong Kong iTunes App Store, but we can expect it to go global soon. It will be a one-on-one messaging app for the time being (no group chat right now, unfortunately) and will work either through WiFi or cellular data depending on the facilities available on your smartphone. It offers user profile options to create your own virtual identity which include a Livetext ID and it can help you find friends based on your address book on your phone.
According to Yahoo, this new app is not an alternative to other existing mobile apps, rather it’s “an entirely new way to stay in touch”. This will be a new experience for Messenger users or any other person using social apps, for that matter.
The advent of smartphones led a shift towards convenience and speed. We have gone from communicating primarily with our voices to using our fingers to text on glass,
said Yahoo.
Our solution is to go back to the basics, by putting your words and your friend’s real-time reactions at the centre of your interaction. We have removed audio from the equation, as it’s rarely convenient in today’s fast-paced world.
The app is clearly aimed at the current multimedia generation (you can’t really categorise generations by age today, can you ?) who can be found immersed in their smartphones, texting and can’t have access to video calling as they’re in a public place, like a train, or somewhere they’re supposed to be quiet, like school.
Yahoo, which was quite clearly one of the first companies to emerge in the modern web, failed to capitalise on that early growth due to lack of innovation. However, even though its late to the party, Yahoo’s LiveText app may well make a mark, as it aims at converting simple conversations into memorable experiences, while also working to solve the problem of how to better express ourselves by not relying on typing alone.
After the launch of Livetext, the Messenger app disappeared from the Hong Kong AppStore which could be taken as a silent signal by Yahoo that the refresh we were all hoping to see, is close by.
The Messenger app was removed from the appstore [sic] as it has not been updated in quite a long time,
a Yahoo rep responded to a question of Yahoo forums, about the app disappearing from the iTunes App Store.
We would rather our name be related to fully functional new technology, instead of old and outdated apps. Look for an announcement from us about a new Messenger client coming soon.
While digging for an Android version for this app, folks at TechCrunch found this help file related to it, not the entire app though. We’ll update this story as we get to know more. Stay tuned.
