News Byte

Xobni’s Jeff Bonforte Officially Running Yahoo’s Communications Products

According to his LinkedIn profile, Jeff Bonforte has been named SVP of communication products at Yahoo. An insider tipped me to the new title for the former CEO of Xobni, the maker of address-book apps and plugins which Yahoo bought in July. “I have responsibility for Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Groups, Contacts, Calendar and some other stuff,” wrote Bonforte on his profile helpfully (to me!). AllThingsD had previously reported that the well-regarded former Yahoo was likely to get just this key portfolio at Yahoo, which could certainly use his expertise.

News Byte

Messaging App KakaoTalk Hits 100 Million Users

KakaoTalk, the increasingly popular South Korean mobile messaging app, announced Tuesday that it hit the 100 million global registered user mark just over three years after launch (South Korea itself has a population of only 50 million). The app is one of a number of mobile messaging services growing in popularity in recent months, facing stiff competition from the 250-million-user-strong WhatsApp and more recent competing service MessageMe. Facebook has also stepped up its messaging game in the past year, updating its Messenger app with more features on a regular basis.

News Byte

WhatsApp Hits Record High in Daily Message Volume

WhatsApp, the massively popular mobile messaging service, announced a new record on Wednesday for daily inbound and outbound messages sent in a single day. The company processed 27 billion messages in a 24-hour period, up from 20 billion processed in a day just two months before.

Facebook Home Isn’t a Stateside Hit on Launch Day — Here’s Why That Doesn’t Matter

Hint: It’s all about the international markets.

Ten Minutes With Adam Mosseri, the Guy in Charge of Facebook Home

More background on Facebook’s major mobile announcement with the guy in charge of the project.

Facebook Partners With Carriers to Bring Cheaper Messaging Abroad

In a new initiative, cheaper data access will be available for some international users of the social network.

News Byte

Days After Twitter’s Vine Launch, Facebook Adds In-App Video Capture

Not more than a handful of days after Twitter launched its Vine video-sharing app, Facebook updated its main iOS application on Monday, adding the ability to capture and add video from inside the app. While the timing is curious, it’s still a relatively incremental update; the Facebook Messenger app received voice message capabilities earlier this month, a feature that has also been added to the main Facebook app as of Monday.

Facebook’s Platform Policy Explanation Only Raises More Questions

Facebook posts an addendum to its policy for developers building on the platform. But how much is it really saying?

News Byte

Facebook Messenger Now Offers Free Phone Calls for U.S. iPhone Users

Pretty straightforward here: Facebook will now offer free voice calling for users of its Messenger app on the iPhone, as was first reported by The Verge and confirmed to AllThingsD by a Facebook spokesman. Data rates still apply over 3G and 4G, mind you, but Wi-Fi calling is free in the truest sense. The move comes after a string of updates for Messenger, including voice memo capabilities and the ability to use Messenger without having a Facebook account.

Facebook Messenger Finds Its Voice

Facebook Messenger, now with voice capabilities, is the company’s key to continued growth.