ChatON - FREE cross-platform messenger from Samsung

Samsung has announced its own FREE cross-platform messenger app called "ChatON". The next contender to challenge the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) from RIM. You might also have heard about the forthcoming "iMessage" which is Apple's own messenger.

If BBM is currently exclusively for BlackBerry smartphones with its PIN system - not to mention the previous rumor about BBM for Android and iOS to be probably launched - this new Samsung ChatON messaging service seems to be like "WhatsApp" messenger app which is cross-platform.

Not only will Samsung ChatON be pre-installed on the upcoming feature phones, Android phones, and bada smartphones from Samsung, but other mobile platforms like Apple iOS and RIM BlackBerry will be supported as well. Samsung will also release a web client that will enable users to share from PC.

ChatON lets users interact with friends and family, regardless of device platform – functionality across multiple platforms lets all users join in, with text, images, hand-written notes and video shared instantly. Users can chat in groups, while a Web client will allow the easy sharing of content and conversations between mobile and PC.

The Samsung ChatON messaging service will go live in October on 120 countries and 62 different languages.

ChatON features two functionality options. A basic functionality option is available for feature phone users who prefer simple and easy usage, allowing users to share text, pictures, calendar, contacts and emotions through an easy-to-access client.

Samsung ChatON will be made available gradually across all major Smartphones, Tablets, notebook PCs and Samsung feature phones, including forthcoming devices showcased at IFA 2011.

Commenting on the news, Samsung Electronics’s Head of Media Solution Center Ho Soo Lee said: "With ChatON, Samsung has vastly simplified mobile communication by allowing users to connect to our upcoming feature phones and all major Smartphones in the market. Users around the world can now enjoy easier and richer interactivity with whoever they want, in the format they want—this is mobile communication reinvented and democratized."

For more details about the Samsung ChatON messaging service you should head over to the official website at http://www.chaton.com/.

UPDATE: A video has also been spotted on YouTube.