I can’t say this is a big surprise: GREE has just launched its own messenger app on the App Store and Google Play – very, very quietly.
Aptly named GREE Messenger, the app is limited for download in a few countries for this soft launch. On iOS, for example, it’s available in the Australian App Store (free). The app can be downloaded for Android here.
It’s not available in the US or Japan yet – GREE should officially announce GREE Messenger after this test phase.
The app features all the functions you could expect: cute stickers (large emoticons), group chat (for up to 100 friends), photo and video sharing, phone book and Facebook account synchronization, etc.
However, GREE Messenger doesn’t let users call each other, at least not at the moment. I would be very surprised to not see this functionality added in future versions: there is a possibility that GREE rushed their messenger out of the door before year-end to improve it later.
The app is obviously a reaction to the meteoric rise of NHN Japan’s LINE (which is approaching 90 million downloads worldwide) and comm, the chat app Mobage operator DeNA launched back in October.
After Mixi reacted with Mixi Message, a new function that makes it possible for smartphone users to chat with each other on Mixi, it was very clear that GREE had to follow up with their own product.
GREE Messenger screenshots:
