But, the problem with messaging apps is that no one has really worked out how to monetise them yet Not sure this is true; back in the day BlackBerry used to be

But, the problem with messaging apps is that no one has really worked out how to monetise them yet Not sure this is true; back in the day BlackBerry used to be the combo of the handset + backend services provided by RIM, including BBM, which they charged a fiver a month for and people didn’t mind paying it. If RIM had been willing to take the risk of extending BBM to other devices (sooner and better) perhaps the whole world would be paying them a vig now. Apple’s iMessage is arguably monetised in advance by hardware sales, and I’ve only recently learned does group chat too.