Facebook share price: WhatsApp adds voice call feature

It emerged on Monday that WhatsApp, the mobile messaging company that signed a $19 billion takeover deal with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) last week, plans to start offering a voice call feature, throwing down the gauntlet to competitors such as Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Skype.

The move was revealed by WhatsApp’s co-founder and chief executive officer Jan Koum at the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona. Speaking at the same forum, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the messaging company was “much more valuable” than the amount the social media giant had agreed to pay for it.

In yesterday’s trading Facebook shares closed down 1.3 percent at $69.85. The company share price has soared nearly 28 percent so far this year, bolstered by a forecast-beating fourth-quarter report.

Minimalistic approach

WhatsApp’s voice call product will focus on simplicity, much like the company’s popular text-based messaging service. The company plans to release the new feature as early as April, initially on Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and phones running on Google Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android.

Versions for Windows Phone, Blackberry and Nokia will follow at a later date, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Koum as saying,

“We want to continue to have that minimalistic approach to the product. We at WhatsApp want to get out of the way and let people communicate.”

Adding voice calls could be a way for the company to boost sales, which are not particularly impressive at the moment given its massive user base. It is thought that WhatsApp, which has 465 million monthly users and 330 million daily users according to Koum, generated around $20 million in revenue last year.

The text-messaging service is free for the first year, and after that costs 99 cents annually.

To achieve financial success from its voice call feature, WhatsApp will have to overcome some serious competition, as the market is currently dominated by products such as Microsoft’s Skype. The WSJ quoted a Microsoft spokesperson as saying,

“Skype continues to grow and focus on driving innovations that deliver the best possible communications experience for our users across a broad set of features.”

More valuable than $19 billion

The fact that in its current state, WhatsApp isn’t much of a money maker, doesn’t seem to worry Facebook’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg stunned the tech world last week by announcing the $19-billion acquisition of the mobile messaging start-up, but Facebook’s top man believes he has got a bargain.

“They’re all incredibly valuable, much more valuable,” than WhatsApp’s $19 billion price tag, Zuckerberg said.
According to him what makes the service so valuable is that it has the potential to connect a billion people around the world – a feat that “very few services” can accomplish.

As of 10:18 UTC buy Facebook shares at $70.38

As of 10:18 UTC sell Facebook shares at $70.22