Of course they're unattached. It's just another instant messenger. Or are people still loyal to ICQ, AIM, MSN Messenger...?
(Even worse, WhatsApp relies on teenagers. How many social circles endure beyond high school? Do you still IM people you knew back then... or even as recently as two years ago?)
Maybe adults will fall back on the best messenger based on technical merit (probably Hangouts?), but WhatsApp is neither sophisticated nor particularly appealing for the long term. I'll put down money that it'll be forgotten within the decade. What the hell was Facebook thinking?
Existential threat combined with huge non-US userbase.
What happens if Google buys WhatsApp? Or if Microsoft buys them?
Facebook has saturated the US market and is, in fact, losing people. I suspect Europe is close if not already there. So, the battle has shifted to other countries.
Why not saying: another 230 million may be added in the next nine months... If you know qq or wechat, you will understand IM has serious market value...
(Even worse, WhatsApp relies on teenagers. How many social circles endure beyond high school? Do you still IM people you knew back then... or even as recently as two years ago?)
Maybe adults will fall back on the best messenger based on technical merit (probably Hangouts?), but WhatsApp is neither sophisticated nor particularly appealing for the long term. I'll put down money that it'll be forgotten within the decade. What the hell was Facebook thinking?