2 ms·

This is certainly possible, especially because they could have done it before iMessage too, and thus been able to gain mainstream traction even in the US. In 20

by xp84 3y ago

This is certainly possible, especially because they could have done it before iMessage too, and thus been able to gain mainstream traction even in the US. In 2008 when the App Store launched, SMS 'plans' were still an annoyingly expensive add-on here, and iMessage didn't exist. That was the window where anybody who really had a vision to do so could have become the WhatsApp AND the iMessage of today, all in one. However, I'm really not sure how lucrative it would have really been to just control the messaging market. I'm assuming people wouldn't take kindly to a huge amount of ads to monetize it. Perhaps there could have been value in offering businesses a business-tier of account on the BBM network, kind of like Apple's Business Chat. On the other hand, I rarely see that feature actually being used today.

thaumasiotes 3y ago
> In 2008 when the App Store launched, SMS 'plans' were still an annoyingly expensive add-on here, and iMessage didn't exist. That was the window where anybody who really had a vision to do so could have become the WhatsApp AND the iMessage of today, all in one. That already existed at the time. I had a BlackBerry in 2008. I never heard of BBM and would have had no reason to send a message that way, but I installed AIM on the BlackBerry just fine.
- xp84 3y ago
  Good point to mention that -- I agree BBM at the time was hobbled by the requirement to have a single brand of device. If your friends had all happened to have BlackBerries, I bet you'd have all used it. However, you point out that "that already existed" as AIM. I'd argue AOL similarly missed the opportunity for AIM. They ought to have, the day the App Store launched, immediately started a massive branding campaign to revitalize AIM, probably introduced purely phone-number-based accounts, the way Telegram and Whatsapp do, removing the "username creativity" barrier to entry for new users. Everyone in 2008 should have been immediately reminded: AIM is mobile now, it's completely free, shares media better than MMS, and works on every device with a data plan (BlackBerry, iPhone, Sidekick, Android, and ideally even those terrible flip phones with BREW apps). Note: I'm aware AIM was in the App Store right away. Their primary failures were in not winning over hearts and minds to actually use it on Mobile. I liked AIM and used it on my iPhone back then, but most of my Buddy List wasn't usually even online, because they didn't think of AIM as a mobile tool, it was for using on their laptop.

by xp84 3y ago

thaumasiotes 3y ago

> In 2008 when the App Store launched, SMS 'plans' were still an annoyingly expensive add-on here, and iMessage didn't exist. That was the window where anybody who really had a vision to do so could have become the WhatsApp AND the iMessage of today, all in one. That already existed at the time. I had a BlackBerry in 2008. I never heard of BBM and would have had no reason to send a message that way, but I installed AIM on the BlackBerry just fine.

xp84 3y ago
Good point to mention that -- I agree BBM at the time was hobbled by the requirement to have a single brand of device. If your friends had all happened to have BlackBerries, I bet you'd have all used it. However, you point out that "that already existed" as AIM. I'd argue AOL similarly missed the opportunity for AIM. They ought to have, the day the App Store launched, immediately started a massive branding campaign to revitalize AIM, probably introduced purely phone-number-based accounts, the way Telegram and Whatsapp do, removing the "username creativity" barrier to entry for new users. Everyone in 2008 should have been immediately reminded: AIM is mobile now, it's completely free, shares media better than MMS, and works on every device with a data plan (BlackBerry, iPhone, Sidekick, Android, and ideally even those terrible flip phones with BREW apps). Note: I'm aware AIM was in the App Store right away. Their primary failures were in not winning over hearts and minds to actually use it on Mobile. I liked AIM and used it on my iPhone back then, but most of my Buddy List wasn't usually even online, because they didn't think of AIM as a mobile tool, it was for using on their laptop.