Samsung Electronics Co. announced that it will cease support for its mobile-messaging chat service ChatOn early next year after heavily promoting the application in recent years.
The ChatOn application was officially released three years ago and is currently available in 237 countries, supports 67 languages, and is run across several platforms, including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and the Web.
“Under changes in the services operation policy, ChatOn will be closed as of 9 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2015,” Samsung said in a statement. “The move came in line with efforts to meet the changing demands in the market and provide differentiated services to users, focusing on other areas such as health and mobile commerce.”
The service will be officially shut on February 1st in most countries, except for the U.S., where it would be closed before the end of March. The decision was perceived as the South Korean companys latest sign of struggling to develop software and services used in its best-selling smartphones.
ChatOn fell behind its competitors despite having a great advantage – it came preinstalled on every Samsung smartphone that runs the Android operating system. It also offered a series of features, which were not provided by its rivals, including a free text translator. Even so, the messaging service failed to accumulate a significant user base and successfully compete with its far more popular rivals such as Viber and WhatsApp.
Samsung said in its statement that it is shifting focus to other areas, including health and mobile commerce. Recent rumors have indicated that the Korean tech giant has been working in collaboration with the mobile payment start-up LoopPay to release a competitive service to Apple Pay.
The Managing Director at Rutberg & Co. – Mr. Rajeev Chand – commented on the companys move for the Wall Street Journal: “Samsung’s failure in messaging apps is endemic of a broader struggle for the company in software and services. If they don’t succeed in apps and software, Samsung has a very large risk of being relegated to an increasingly shrinking-margin company.”
Samsung Electronics Co. settled 4.90% higher at KRW1 328 000 per share on Friday in Seoul. The company is valued at KRW208.5 trillion.
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