Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App

Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by terhechte on Thursday February 20, 2014 @03:04AM (#7269560)

WhatsApp is also really strong here in Germany and other parts of Europe. More of my friends are on WhatsApp than Facebook (only very few more though).

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by Kurtz79 on Thursday February 20, 2014 @05:39AM (#7270066)

In Spain and Italy "sending a Whatsapp" is almost as idiomatic as "Googling something".

It has basically replaced texting. Even my mom use it, which for me it's the definition of "wildly popular".

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by danieldk on Thursday February 20, 2014 @03:36AM (#7269662)

Also in the Netherlands. E.g. in June 2013, 75% of the smartphone users used WhatsApp daily. Moreover, more than three quarter of the Dutch citizens has a smartphone.

So, WhatsApp is definitely used in high-profit markets as well.

Source: http://www.nu.nl/tech/3506473/whatsapp-heeft-kwart-miljard-a...

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by sschueller on Thursday February 20, 2014 @03:47AM (#7269693)

These numbers are going to drop significantly now. Everyone I talk to is unhappy about the acquisition and will switch to something else like telegram.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by ville on Thursday February 20, 2014 @05:02AM (#7269965)

I'd say more than 99.9% of WhatsApp users haven't heard of Telegram.

WhatsApp users are mostly not early adopters like you and your friends. They are ordinary people, because WhatsApp is is a simple communication tool targeted to everyone. And that's why they keep doubling their user base.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by krisgenre on Thursday February 20, 2014 @04:49AM (#7269915)

Unless Facebook actually puts their logo on WhatsApp, hardly anyone would notice. The tech community is minuscule compared to the large number of non-tech people using WhatsApp.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by Jare on Thursday February 20, 2014 @05:55AM (#7270117)

The uproar in Spain about WhatsApp switching to $1 per year was huge, noisy and... emphemeral. Line got a lot of new signups for a few weeks, but the only person I know that still considers using Line today didn't even have WhatsApp back then (but, like everyone else, does have it now).

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by enewcomer on Thursday February 20, 2014 @04:46AM (#7269899)

Unless everybody switches, few will switch. Network effects also create some pretty powerful stickiness.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by pjmlp on Thursday February 20, 2014 @04:15AM (#7269789)

I live in Germany and must be a very poor soul as I only know one person with WhatsApp and dozens with Viber.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by eru on Thursday February 20, 2014 @05:26AM (#7270030)

My (German) mom just asked about WhatsApp. So it must be mainstream.

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by pjmlp on Thursday February 20, 2014 @06:56AM (#7270306)

Most likely because it is showing on the news everywhere?

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Re:Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App by eru on Thursday February 20, 2014 @08:11PM (#7274825)

Could be. I haven't been in Germany for 4 years now.

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