The mobile messaging space is certainly getting crowded, not to mention fragmented. It seems like every week there’s a new app coming out on app stores, and it’s certainly difficult to keep up with all of them. While we cover the most popular apps here on TruTower, we also spotlight a number of startups that appear to have the most potential to shakeup the market and bring some of that fragmentation down.
Our latest Startup Spotlight shines on Keith Teare, a veteran Valley entrepreneur (and founding executive of TechCrunch) who just launched an app called just.me, which combines email, multimedia messaging and cloud storage in a single app currently available only for iPhone.
Strangely enough, despite it being an iPhone exclusive (for now), the app is backed by Google’s venture division as well as True Ventures. Even so, Teare acknowledged that his company is facing a great deal of competition. But he argued his app, which is integrated with the iPhone’s address book, could stand apart because its users are able to send messages to recipients who do not have just.me, whereas rivals like WhatsApp require both parties to have the same app.
Sound familiar? It should. In our previous Startup Spotlight segment, Cardup also works this way, allowing users to send messages even to those who aren’t on the same messaging app.
But just.me looks to differentiate itself by offering its users a “private cloud” where they can store their multimedia content. Users can also post both private and public messages.
The app is now available in 155 countries, so if it sounds like something you would like to give a try, it shouldn’t be too hard to locate in the Apple App Store.