Anytime: New messaging app by Amazon
Amazon possibly working on new
stand-alone messaging app called Anytime. Despite there being
dozens of different apps in the category, many of them have managed to garner
millions of users. It appears as though Amazon wants a piece of the action and
is working on their own stand-alone messaging app called Anytime.
Amazon has begun surveying
customers about a new messaging service to gauge which features are most
important to users. It’s unclear how far along the new service is, but one
customer said the survey seemed to imply it was a readyproduct. Based on the images I’ve been
provided, Anytime by Amazon seems to be an all-in-one
feature rich service that could even rival social networks. The focus seems to be messaging, including voice and video calls, but there’s also mention of photo sharing with @mentions, as well as filters for photos and video with “special effects and masks.” Anytime will also provide tasks that can be done in groups, like playing games, listening to music, and ordering food.
feature rich service that could even rival social networks. The focus seems to be messaging, including voice and video calls, but there’s also mention of photo sharing with @mentions, as well as filters for photos and video with “special effects and masks.” Anytime will also provide tasks that can be done in groups, like playing games, listening to music, and ordering food.
The service claims to keep chats
private and allows users to “encrypt important messages like bank account
details.” That’s especially important because the service will also allow users
to chat with businesses, make reservations, and of course, since this is from
Amazon, allow users to shop.
The biggest hurdle of any new
messaging service is getting people to use it when no one they know is using
it. Anytime by Amazon will apparently let you “reach all your friends just
using their name” without needing their phone numbers. It’s unclear what that
means exactly, but it could mean the app hooks into existing social networks
and other messaging services.
Amazon already in this field by announcing Chime earlier
this year, which is a communication service for enterprise users. This new
Anytime messaging service could use the same backend and technology as Chime,
but for regular consumers.
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As is to be expected, Anytime by
Amazon would work across both desktop and mobile devices, including both
Android and iPhone. There’s no indication how far along the service is or when
we could expect it to launch.
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