New Facebook Messenger App for iOS & Android Now Available; To Take On BBM, iMessage & Google+?

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So let’s see, Facebook already is the most popular social network on the face of the Earth and it’s already available on plenty of smartphones and dumbphones. But that’s not enough. Facebook went ahead and developed its own messaging system so you could talk to your friends from right inside Facebook. But that’s not enough! And hey, just for the fun of it, Facebook decided to add Skype integration to its messaging app, so you can actually talk to your friends and see them at the same time. But that’s not enough?

Well apparently Facebook decided it’s time to launch a new mobile application, “a faster way to message on mobile”, Facebook Messenger. The app will work on your iOS and Android devices and it’s clearly meant to be an alternative to BBM, iMessage, Google+ and others. But do we want a new Facebook app? Do we actually need another third party application to deal with our messaging while we’re on the go? There’s a plethora of such apps available out there and we have a few accounts spread over various IM apps just to make sure we can talk to most of our friends. Not to mention that some devices will come with a native messaging application on board, so why should we install yet another Facebook application?

The app will be available in the App Store and the Android Market later today, and it’s going to be available free of charge, as expected. The app will let you IM/text anyone in your contacts list, even if they don’t have a Facebook account, so we’re certainly interested to hear how the user will get charged for these messages. Here’s how Facebook tries to sell the app to us:

More and more of us rely on our phones to send and receive messages. But it isn’t always easy to know the best way to reach someone on their phone. Should you send an email or text? Which will they check first? Did they even get your last message?

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.

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.

So, uhm, Facebook guys, you do realize that SMS messages are actually the best way to make sure someone gets the message, right? It’s a system that has been put in place by the carriers since the dawn of time the mobile device, and it’s a way carriers make money off our communication needs. And how about we call each other in case there’s something so urgent that it needs a response right away. I’m sure we can skip past IMs/SMS/MMS and dial a number instead. That way we’ll make sure that “someone” will be getting our message on time.

Or is this Messenger app meant to strictly fight against Google’s Google+ Huddle feature, you know, since it also supports group messaging or location addition to messages, so therefore Facebook needs to have such an app out in the stores for purely political reasons? Are you going to install Facebook Messenger as soon as it’s available in the app stores?