Stickers are not only a great way to express emotion, but they’re also a fantastic feature for companies to utilize when it comes to promoting new or old characters. Disney, for instance, has just brought its Simba, Scar, and other characters from the Lion King to the BBM Shop.

Disney’s The Lion King isn’t alone, though. The Suzy’s Zoo sticker set has also been released in the store, giving BlackBerry Messenger users even more choices for expression.

You can find the Lion King sticker set via the BBM Sticker Shop here and the Suzy’s Zoo sticker set here.

As always, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the latest version of BBM downloaded on your Android, BlackBerry, or iOS device to ensure a premium experience. Right now, BBM Shop is only available on BlackBerry, iOS and Android, but we expect Windows Phone users will receive the feature soon.

What do you think of the new BBM Shop offerings? Let everyone know by posting your thoughts in the comments below this article.

LINE Camera is very popular, no doubt about that, and the world got an indication of its popularity today when LINE announced that the LINE add-on just surpassed 100 million total downloads around the world.

LINE Camera is a popular photo editing applicaion that lets you enhance your own photos with stamps and filters galore. The app was initially launched in 2012 and was the second app ever to be integrated with LINE. The Stamp Shop was added in April 2013, and most recently the Frame Shop this past April, giving users more features with which to edit their photos.

The app’s Beauty and Collage feature was released this past year, along with other features aimed at skilled photographers and those that “enjoy putting extra care into their pictures.” As LINE describes it:

The Collage Feature allows photographers to arrange multiple photos any way they like, making this feature extremely popular for creating pictures to be posted on social networks and blogs the world over. With interfaces this simple, even a beginner can start beautifying and collaging photos like a picture-taking Picasso in seconds!

To celebrate LINE Camera’s milestone accomplishment, LINE has made available a special set of 24 stamps (shown above) that can be used in the photo editor and they can be downloaded for free via the LINE Camera app’s Stamp Shop. Download LINE Camera via Google Play or iTunes. You’ll also want to make sure you have the latest version of LINE on your device.

BlackBerry’s Messenger for iPhone and iPad has just been updated to support the newly-released iOS 8, joining a growing number of applications that now support the newest version of Apple’s mobile platform.

The full chanagelog for the update includes:

• Updates to support iOS 8
• Resolves some issues experienced in right to left language support
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

This new update follows a heightening push by BlackBerry to enhance the overall experience of its communication platform. Most recently, BBM money was launched as a way to enhance the mobile capabilities of the platform. BlackBerry also partnered with social management platform Hootsuite to enable BBM Channel owners to be able to update their channels via that software instead of being limited to web only.

Download the new update via the App Store here and be sure to share your thoughts on the new update in the comments section below this article.

Thanks Zack for the tip!

While WhatsApp continues to rank as the top messaging platform in the world, Tencent’s WeChat ranks as a close second. In fact, GlobalWebIndex says 35% of the global mobile audience aged 16-64 are using it each month.

This puts it ahead of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Skype, but this is largely due to China, which isn’t really a shocker considering most WeChat’s users reside there. Over 80% of the country’s mobile users engage with WeChat each month, giving it a vast national following.

In other markets, WeChat still struggles in the vastly growing messaging space. WhatsApp ranks in first place outside China with 39 percent, while Facebook’s Messenger now stands at 38 percent.

Despite its growth and strides lately, being used by over half of teens in the UK and Canada, as well as its seemingly never-ending headline coverage, Snapchat is still a relatively minor force globally: just 5 percent of the global mobile audience are using it each month, according to GWI. This is slightly below Viber, which has 8 percent.

After releasing compatibility with iOS 8, the next thing up for imo.im is to release more sticker packs.

Today, the instant messaging platform launched by former Oracle engineer Ralph Harik and former Director of Googlettes Georges Harik, has indeed launched a new pack, this time depicting Leo the Pug, a character that’s been on the platform for some time. The stickers launched today are fully animated. One is shown at the right, giving you an idea of what you can expect from the cute and cuddly character’s new offerings.

The new stickers are availble for free via the imo.im sticker shop on Android, iOS, and Amazon, and there are also plenty of other stickers to choose from as well.

imo.im has been launching an extensive number of stickers recently as it battles for continued relevance against a host of other apps in the messaging and IP calling space.

Before you try downloading the new stickers, make sure you update your imo.im app first and let us know in the comments what you think of imo’s new offerings.

Skype has announced a new “advanced audio processing technology,” present in the latest version, that puts the focus squarely on improving VoIP calling audio quality, no matter where you are or which device you happen to be using.

“Audio signal processing over mobile devices is getting more sophisticated all the time. We can therefore leverage the audio capabilities that have been optimized for a specific device’s acoustics,” notes Sriram Srinivasan, Senior Program Manager, Audio Digital Signal Processing. “Several Lumia phones, for example, have multiple microphones, and what we do is work with the Lumia team to make sure those devices’ capabilities are perfectly aligned with what we want Skype to do.”

“further improvements to come”

Advanced audio processing technology is just one of the many updates Skype says it’s currently working on.

“There will be further improvements to come,” says Karlheinz Wurm, Partner Product Manager for Skype Real-time communications.

Don’t know if you have the latest version of Skype? Use these nifty QR codes with your mobile device and you’ll be able to ensure you’re on the cutting edge of Skype calling and messaging. Let everyone know what you think of the new update in the comments below.

We knew it wouldn’t be too long, and sure enough, Kik Messenger has rolled out iOS 8 compatibility in its latest update for Apple’s latest mobile OS, and is also giving users a wider array of themed smileys to choose from to boot.

The themed sileys are just the latest of a number of things Kik has been doing to improve the overall experience of its app for users. The company gave its Android version a new look while also continuing the expansion of its popular Kik Cards feature. TruTower‘s own Kik Card can be found by searching for “TruTower” using the search function in your Kik app.

That’s not all Kik has added to the new update, however. In addition to the aforementioned new themed smileys and the iOS 8 compatbility, some additional bug fixes and stability improvements promise to give you an uninterrupted conversation hopefully every time.

You can download the new app via the Apple iTunes App Store using this QR code. Be sure to share your thoughts on the new update and compatiblity in the comments below.

Voxer is a popular push-to-talk / walkie-talkie application that primarily serves the enterprise, but also has a consumer solution, all accessible via one unified application on Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.

TruTower spoke with Voxer President Irv Remedios recently about Voxer’s thoughts on the new voice features in Apple’s iMessage found in iOS 8. Simply put, though Voxer is happy to see voice as a more popular alternative to text for communication, something Voxer has always held near and dear to its heart, iMessage’s solution, like so many others, is a record, then send, download, and playblack solution. In other words, it’s not an instant form of communication like Voxer’s voice solution.

Voxer is being used as part of NASA’s NEEMO mission

Then the next big question: how about using Voxer in space? Well, as it turns out, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project (NEEMO), a mission that sends scientists, engineers, and of course astronauts to live in Aquarius, is using Voxer for primary communications and for potential use in future exploration missions, including trips to Mars.

Aquarius is the world’s only undersea research station. Its purpose is to simulate space exploration conditions for field tests of new technologies and systems. To that end, and to simulate how “real-time” communications would work over the great distance between Earth and Mars, Voxer implemented an artificial delay of between three and twenty minutes. During a demonstration with NEEMO 18, Voxer was able to ensure messages were delivered according to the simulated time intervals, creating a realistic experience for NASA personnel.

“This engagement with NASA is a milestone project”

“This engagement with NASA is a milestone project that demonstrates our ability to create products specifically designed for the most demanding conditions and mission-critical uses,” said Jim Panttaja, Head of Corporate Development at Voxer. “NEEMO is an incredibly impressive operation with far-reaching benefits and we are very pleased to be a part of it.”

Voxer says it’s being used by NASA because of a flexbility that allows it to be used across a wide range of networks, devices, and operating systems. At Aquarius, it must (and does) work via a “buoy that is being buffeted by 15 knot winds and six foot seas.” Additionally, Voxer is compatible with headsets for discreet communications, a benefit when users are in crowded conditions or need their hands free. Unlike live-only radios, all Voxer communications can be simultaneously recorded, so users can play messages back or archive audio for their records.

So will we be using Voxer in space? Voxer will be continuing to work with NASA on future implications, so it’s a distinct possibility. Personally, I’d like to engage in a conversation with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

image: Voxer

In BlackBerry’s Fiscal 2015 Second Quarter the company announced a net loss of $207 million, but still beat Wall Street estimates by $0.14. The company also managed to add 6 million users to its BBM calling and messaging application, available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone, growing from 85 million to 91 million in the last quarter.

“We delivered a solid quarter against our key operational metrics, and we are confident that we will achieve breakeven cash flow by the end of FY15,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry. “Our workforce restructuring is now complete, and we are focusing on revenue growth with judicious investments to further our leadership position in enterprise mobility and security, driving us towards non-GAAP profitability during FY16.”

BBM had 80 million users as of last October, which went up to 85 million users this year, finally surpassing 90 million users this quarter to end at 91 million. BBM is a key part of BlackBerry’s plans to return to profitability and was most recently relaeased on Windows Phone, with features such as BBM Channels coming to the platform later this year.

Stickers are a great way to express yourselves (or show off your interests) while you’re chatting with your friends and BBM now has a couple more sticker sets to add to its already extensive collection that will be especially helpful if you’re a big fan of Garfield or lasagna.

Stickers depicting the much beloved orange feline from Paws Inc. are now available in the BBM shop starting today to give you a nice taste of nostalgia if you’re a fan of the classic cartoon from the 80’s or if you’re a fan of the new character iterations.

Garfield’s not the only one launching a sticker set in the store today either. Stickers for girls that are portraying Mini Marilyn, a character set by Authentic Brands Group, are also available.

Both sticker sets are running for $1.99 USD and can be downloaded via the BBM Shop. Download the latest BBM update and head to the sticker shop to download. Post your thoughts on BBM’s new offerings in the comments below.

As WeChat continues to dominate messaging alongside WhatsApp, the app continues to gain new features from parent company Tencent that help set it apart from the growing competition in the space.

WeChat users on iOS received one such new feature today. Called “Sight,” the new feature is an echo of Vine as it allows you to record 6 second animated clips or “sights” and send them to your WeChat friends over WiFi and 3G. You can take these Sights while in the chats tab by pulling down the screen.

• Sight for Chats:
  Tap the ‘+’ button and then the Sight icon to take and send a video message instantly.
• Sight for Moments:
  Visit Moments and tap the camera icon in the upper right corner.
  Select a ‘Sight’ moment to post a new video.

In addition to Sight, if you’re on iOS, you’ll also find several visual enhancements, including a new tab bar for iOS and full iOS 8 compatibility.

You can download WeChat 6.0 via iTunes. Post your thoughts on the new update in the comments section below.

We all know Vonage has a mobile app, but the company is not stopping there and has decided to make even a customer’s home phone mobile. While TruTower normally focuses on the mobile calling app, this new service actually does echo the app quite a bit, allowing for both national and international calls wherever a cellular smartphone is used.

The new mobile inbound calling functionality, standard on all Vonage home plans, is now part of the patented Vonage Extensions App, and it’s not just call forwarding like Google Voice‘s base services use. It’s actually using your family’s Vonage home phone. Calls made to the home phone number will ring through to the smartphones so anyone can take the call.

With the new service, inbound calls to the app indicate that the call was made to a user’s home number, and outbound calls are displayed with the home caller ID, both of which are very similar to Google Voice.

“When Vonage was founded in 2001, the Company helped shape a new form of communications – one that had no boundaries, delivered unprecedented value and forever changed the telecommunications industry,” said Joe Redling, president of Consumer Services for Vonage. “Today, we launched the next evolution of our service, combining the benefits and utility of a shared home identity with the value of low international calling rates, and the convenience of enabling customers to extend the cordless phone they use in their homes to their mobiles.”

Mobile outbound calling using Extensions has become increasingly popular with Vonage customers since its launch in 2011, especially among international callers. In the second quarter of 2014 alone, 29% of all outbound international calls on the Vonage network were made using a mobile Extension.

“Enabling two-way mobile calling will drive even more mobile usage of our service and change the way people think about and use their home phone”

“Vonage has seen a dramatic shift in consumer behavior since we first gave customers the ability to make calls from their mobiles,” Mr. Redling added. “Enabling two-way mobile calling will drive even more mobile usage of our service and change the way people think about and use their home phone.”

Residential service customers can download the Extensions app to their iPhone or Android smartphone. Calls can be made over WiFi or on 3G or 4G mobile networks. Because it uses WiFi calling, you can even potentially use your home phone number via WiFi while traveling in other countries, a perfect supplement to travel SIM cards and roaming services. It also improves coverage within homes.

Over the past three years, Vonage has received 17 patents related to mobile services covering products such as Vonage Extensions, the aforementioned Vonage Mobile app we know so well, the company’s ReachMe Roaming service, and its video voicemail feature. The Company currently has 93 U.S. patent applications pending related to mobile technologies.

Some highlights of the new plan:

1. Unlimited international calling to more than 60 countries is available through the Vonage World plan. Reasonable Use Policy applies.
2. Data rates apply.

What do you think of the new Vonage Extensions? Post your thoughts in the comments!

After you’ve had your fill of music-induced fun on the LINE gaming platform and are looking for a new game to satisfy your cravings, consider LINE Sweets, the newest game from Naver on the platform.

LINE Sweets is a map-based match-3 puzzle game that also happens to be the very first to feature LINE characters in full 3-D. Six popular LINE characters — Brown, Cony, and Moon among them — appear in 24 different variations across 15 stages, each of which offer a number of missions.

The object of the game is to move the sweets blocks and match 3 or more blocks with the same pattern to pop them and complete the missions within the limits set in the game. You’ll see a particular fruit appear above each LINE characters’ head (up to 4 characters per stage) and its that fruit that you’ll have to feed them in order to unlock special abilities unique to each character. There are also “special sweets” that will help you rack up more points.

LINE Sweets can be downloaded for free via iTunes or Google Play. You’ll also want to make sure you have the most recent version of LINE downloaded onto your device. Be sure to post your thoughts on the game in the comments below.

Not too long ago, an adorable pug found his way to the imo.im plaform as an animated sticker set and imo has just announced the latest sticker set to arrive.

The new stickers include a “donut dad” and “love robots” in both animated and inert form and, like all stickers, are used as an alternative to standard emoticons when sending messages to friends. This new sticker set was created by imo designer Ross Moody.

imo.im now supports Apple iOS 8 thanks to its most recent update on the platform, released in mid-September.

The new monster sticker set can be downloaded via the imo.im store, and is available for free on Android, iPhone, iPad and Amazon apps. Unfortunately, imo.im is still one of the very few messaging apps that doesn’t support Windows Phone, so those of us on that operating system will have to be left out and seek an alternative, at least for the time being.

For those on the aforementioned platforms, you’ll want to make sure you have the latest update downloaded on your device. You can do this here.

It may have been a long time coming, but as predicted last month, the major Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp has been approved by the European Union today, which was revealed as the deadline early last month.

“We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market. Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps,” European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

“Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps”

This approval follows the approval of the United States trade commission back in April and a high level of scrutiny by Europe’s governing body.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes the chat app can get 3 billion users but that awaits to be seen. WhatsApp is already the most popular messaging app in many countries.

Now that the acquisition has been approved, will you continue using WhatsApp? Speak your mind in the comments below.

Remember the Kik partnership with Columbia Records and One Direction? Well it’s just earned the popular messaging company a Smarties Award from the Mobile Marketing Association, the company’s first-ever time receiving the award.

The Smarties Awards recognize the most effective mobile marketing campaigns around the world, and the aforementioned campaign included a Kik Card that, in addition to connecting fans with the band, gave One Direction a 24/7/365 presence on Kik and a new channel to drive engagement. It also provided fans on Kik with exclusive unlockable content.

“we’re super excited to be working with tons of new partners to create cool content”

“We’re so grateful for the recognition, and we’re super excited to be working with tons of new partners to create cool content to share with our awesome users,” the company said of the win.

The Kik Cards continue to be an effective means for brands to make their presence known on Kik. In fact, you can also find TruTower‘s own Kik Card by using the app’s built in search function on iOS and Android and searching for “TruTower Mini.”

Congratulations to the Kik team for the win, and if you haven’t already, you can download Kik Messenger on Android, iOS, and Windows Phone to experience the free messaging phenomenon for yourself.

If you’ve ever wanted to use a celebrity’s likeness in a conversation with a friend (who hasn’t?) then you’re in luck thanks to WeChat Indonesia’s latest sticker launch, which includes a variety of celebraties such as Bastian Steel, Jupe, Luna Maya, Zaskia and Ayu Ting Ting. Each of the aforementioned has 16 different looks and expressions, all of which are now available for Indonesia users to download in WeChat’s Sticker Gallery.

“For fans, this is an interactive way of staying connected to their favorite superstars and the unique characteristics that make them so loveable,” WeChat said of the new sticker set.

The new sticker sets include:

• The Sassy Singer (above left) – If you’re a fan of the multi-talented and beautiful Jupe, famous for her acting, modeling and singing career, you’re probably a glamour queen yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you’re feeling sad, happy, excited or annoyed, her stickers will let you express these emotions in style.
• The Hipster Solo Artist (above center) – If you’re channeling all things hip and cool, maybe Bastian Steel, the former boy band and now popular single artist, is No.1 on your list. With his trendy afro, he has the perfect look for when you want to let out your crazy side.
• The Graceful Beauty (above right) – Followers of Luna Maya, one of Indonesia’s most popular actresses, know that she has perfected looking cute all the time. Now, you too can use her sweet expressions to send messages. Whether it’s to tell someone you’re missing them or show a bit of gratitude, Luna Maya has the girl next door look you’re searching for.

You can download the above stickers and more via the latest version of WeChat, and WeChat says that “even more celebrity stickers will be available soon.”

If you’ve ever wanted to send a friend some money through Facebook Messenger, you’re apparently going to be getting your wish, at least someday, as soon as Facebook turns on the feature.

Screenshots and video taken using iOS app exploration developer tool Cycript by Stanford computer science student Andrew Aude (via) show the functionality is indeed there, and will allow you to send payments to friends one way in about the same way you would send a photo. You’ll be able to add a debit card (no credit cards or bank accounts apparently) or use one they already have on file with Facebook, with an in-app pincode added for extra security.

You’ll eventually be able to send group payments

Facebook hasn’t officially announced the feature, so it’s unclear whether you’ll be able to send money for free or by paying a small fee and the social network has been pretty mum about the functionality.

This is a confirmation of rumors in late July in which payments were rumored to be a part of the future Messenger app, with code first discovered by security researcher Jonathan Zdziarski last month.

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PayPal may also be an option in the feature according to Aude, who notes about PayPal is mentioned in the code. Payments will also eventually be able to be made in groups, though it will be one friend to another friend for now.

There’s no telling when everyone will get access, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground for any new information.

Will you be using Facebook Messenger to send money to friends?

In keeping with the somewhat cute and somewhat creepy Halloween theme that was started with the monster stickers released last week, the folks over at imo messenger have released some new Zombie hand stickers on their messaging platform.

The new stickers were created by imo designer Dave Keller and imo says that the sticker set is “more hilarious than horrifying,” and it’s hard not to agree.

the Zombie hand sticker set is “more hilarious than horrifying”

Like many stickers on the platform, the Zombie hand stickers are animated and should provide you a fun way to communicate with friends and family over imo over the course of the next month leading up to Halloween (and beyond).

The new stickers are available for free on Android, iPhone, iPad and Amazon, and you can get them by downloading the latest update to imo.im. Leave your thoughts on the new sticker set in the comments section below.

Halloween is in the air, and to celebrate the coming of the ghoulish holiday creeping up at the end of the month, KakaoTalk is launching a new sticker that features KakaoTalk characters gathered in front of a full moon (which incidentally features a familiar KakaoFriend on its face).

Stickers have not only become a great way for people to communicate alongside or instead of word-based chat, but they’ve also largely replaced the coveted emoticons that we’ve all known and loved for over a decade of messaging via instant messaging applications like Windows Live Messenger (which is now a part of Microsoft’s Skype) and others.

KakaoTalk stickers feature original characters that have slowly started to adopt local traditions and holidays as Kakao looks to expand across the world to stay competitive with fellow Asian chat apps LINE and WeChat as well as a growing number of others.

You can get the new KakaoTalk Halloween sticker via the latest version of KakaoTalk for iOS and Android.