Last time we described the first wave of messengers, which boomed in the late 90s – early 00s. The first generation of messengers is out of date, whilst the second still can be seen in almost every smartphone. The second wave of messengers began with the vast increase in smartphone users when the iPhone and Android appeared on the market in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The ‘Application’ became the new fundamental concept, which led to a complete overhaul and rethinking of the messenger concept.
Perhaps WhatsApp (at first based on XMPP protocol, and then evolved) is the most famous and most common messenger for smartphones. Other players of the second generation are: WeChat, LINE, Google Hangouts, Viber, KakaoTalk, Telegram, ChatON, Hike, Kik, and Facebook Messenger (which is still competing with WhatsApp even after Facebook purchased it).
