Popular Over The Top (OTT) communications app WhatsApp has added a new voice messaging “one-press record and send” function to its service.
WhatsApp Voice Messages is an expansion of the company’s existing IM chat messenger experience and works by making users tap and hold the microphone button while recording a message.
Users could previously send short audio notes which were limited to a set time, as well as images.
After the message is recorded, it is sent to another user in the chat window within the app immediately instead of opening a media player, and playback automatically switches from a handset’s speakers to its earpiece for private listening.
There are no length limits to how long you can record a message for.
WhatsApp Voice Messages is available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BB10 and Nokia Symbian.
The company recently announced that it reached 300 million users worldwide as the OTT messaging market continues its rapid growth.
Informa estimates that by the end of 2013, 41 billion OTT messages will be sent daily, compared with 19.5 billion P2P SMS text messages.
In 2012, there were 3.5 billion P2P SMS users in 2012, compared with 586.3 million OTT messaging users, and OTT users sent 32.6 OTT messages on average a day, compared with the five SMS text messages each day per P2P SMS user.
Mobile operators are increasingly looking at their own telco OTT services.
The GSMA-backed joyn initiative is currently live in nine countries around the world including Spain, Germany and the US and is supported by 14 operators including Orange, Vodafone, Movistar and MetroPCS.
Telefónica, meanwhile, has launched its TU Go and TU Me brands as it aims to keep customers tied to its own network.
Vendors are also getting in on the act. Tyntec, for example, signed a deal in April with Polish operator P4 to provide OTT communication services that it claims will generate new revenue streams as well as helping it to gain some control over the OTT market.