Many of our readers will be familiar with Viber, an app that allows users to send free texts and make free HD-quality phone calls to other users that have the app installed on their devices. Up until now it has been available for the iOS and Android platforms but news today is that beta versions of Viber have now been released for both BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
Viber already has millions of users and the expansion into BlackBerry and Windows Phone platforms is just the beginning of the company’s steps to head to new platforms. The call for Viber to come to BlackBerry and Windows Phone was noted from user demand on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter and it seems like a natural progression to make. For now both beta versions will offer just Viber Messaging but once quality standards are met, the full release will include HD-quality free voice calls.
With Viber Messaging users can exchange texts and high-quality photo messages as well as share locations with other people using Viber. Existing Viber contacts can be instantly identified avoiding the need to go through a ‘friends request’ process. Viber for BlackBerry Beta is available from BlackBerry App World here or from Viber directly for devices running OS 5 or later. Viber for Windows Phone Beta is available for Windows Phone 7 devices from the Windows Phone Marketplace here or from Viber.
This is a big step forward by Viber whose users currently make more than 7 million calls every day and send over 40 million messages. This equates to more than one billion messages and talking of over one billion minutes per month. Viber founder and CEO Talmon Marco said, “We are delighted to add BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 to our growing list of interoperable platforms, providing a universal messaging experience for millions of new Viber users.”
Are you happy to hear that the Viber app is coming to the BlackBerry and Windows Phone platforms? Do you currently use the iOS or Android versions? If so perhaps you could let our readers know what you think of Viber?