Tuesday, February 06, 2007
MXit - Instant Messaging on cellphones
INTRO: It's time now for Cybersurf, a weekly look at what's happing on the internet. Today thanks to convergent technology, we hear about instant messaging - but this time on cellphones. A South African business called MXit (pronounced "mix it") has just notched up its three millionth user for its instant messaging service. Steven Lang asked Herman Heunis, CEO and founder of MXit, what exactly is MXit.
Audio Insert
IN: MXit is an instant . . . .
OUT: . . . . talking to kids in Europe.
DUR: 3'16"
OUTRO: That was Herman Heunis, CEO and founder of MXit talking to Steven Lang on Cybersurf. If you would like to find out more about the service go to www.mxit.co.za
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MXit Press Release
MXit reaches the 3 million mark
In less than two years since its official launch in May 2005, popular instant messaging service, MXit, has reached the 3 million mark in its registered user base.
³Between 18:00 and 19:00 on the 29th January our 3 millionth user subscribed to MXit. We continue to grow at a rate of between 9 000 and 12 000 new registered users per day. But, as our international rollout gains momentum, we expect this number will increase dramatically,² says Herman Heunis, CEO and founder of MXit. ³We have recently established a premium rated payment gateway in the UK, as well as permanent infrastructure in the USA, and are looking forward to an extended international presence by the end of 2007.²
MXit is currently one of the largest generators of GPRS traffic in South Africa.
³Our user base currently logs on to our servers more than 6 million times per day and the total traffic between our servers, mobile phones and other gateways is well over 500 million packets a day. We are continually upgrading our servers and our ongoing commitment to infrastructural growth is massive,² says Heunis.
³We launched greeting cards over the festive season which have proved to be a huge success with 660 000 cards already sent. To our knowledge, we offer the only service in South Africa where users can send greetings cards from their mobile phones via an Instant Messaging system. At a cost of only 10 cents per card and with unique content available to our subscribers, it is understandable why this has been so popular,² says Heunis.
MXit also launched ³Trivit² during the festive season, a trivia game where players answer general knowledge questions covering a wide range of topics.
Swist Technology Solutions (Pty) Ltd, one of MXit¹s primary development partners, developed the game and continually provides updated content.
