14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has just released its firs mobile app different from the main Facebook app. Facebook Messenger is a group messaging app, based on the Beluga app which it acquired earlier this year.
While it relies on SMS as well, it aims to bring together various communication methods, like email and direct Facebook messages, into one app, just like the site's revamped Messages section.
It's hardly the first or the only app of its kind, but the fact that it's tied into Facebook should help it a great deal.
"Should you send an email or text? Which will they check first? Did they even get your last message?," Lucy Zhang, a Beluga cofounder now working at Facebook, writes.
"We think messaging should be easier than that. You should be able to write a message, click 'Send' and know that you will reach the person right away," she said.
"So today, we're introducing Messenger, a new mobile app that simplifies how messaging works, and gives you a faster way to message friends and small groups," she announced.
Messenger is a stand-alone app for iOS and Android devices. There's a reason why it's separate from the main Facebook app, it's designed to be simple and fast, just open it and be able to send a message in a few seconds.
From the get go, you'll be able to reach out to all of your Facebook friends as well as the people in your phone's contacts. Everything is synced with Facebook Messages, it's essentially the mobile extension of the feature.
All of the conversations will be available in both Messages and the mobile Messenger, regardless of where they originated.
As is to be expected of this type of app, you can also send messages to a group of friends, either based on Facebook groups or an ad-hoc one. You can also attach photos or maps, to make sure everyone is on the same page when trying to coordinate a get-together.