Cross-platform messaging app WhatsApp, which recently dismissed the notion of being bought over by Facebook and Google, may just be headed to Firefox OS. The app, which currently has over 300 million active users a month across more than a 100 countries, might be getting an official version released for the alternative OS before the end of the year, according to a report from a Spanish tech site. According to an unconfirmed translation by OMGubuntu, it seems like telecom carrier Telefonica has said that an official client for the app will be released. And the release could be timed around the launch of new Firefox OS-powered handsets from LG and Sony, although there has not been any word from either of the smartphone manufacturers about this.
Branching out across platforms is what has always made WhatsApp popular, and official clients are already available on Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Adding Firefox OS to the list makes sense. With more and more companies launching smartphones based on the new OS, big named apps like WhatsApp appearing for the same seems inevitable.
Firefox OS may be getting an official WhatsApp version soon
While there is still no official word, it can be wondered if big named apps are looking at another OS, the Ubuntu Touch. Canonical’s mobile OS was last in the news when the developer preview versions began rolling out for Nexus devices back in February. The company is currently aiming for a full release in 2014, but lacks in hardware partners as well as telecom carriers. It is worth noting, though, that any WhatsApp client running on Firefox OS will likely make use of HTML5, JavaScript and open hardware APIs. Creating the same to run for other platforms that make use of web apps should not take too much effort for the app’s developers. That being said, there is still no confirmation from WhatsApp that a client is indeed being created for Firefox OS, and it may be a while before we see it coming for Ubuntu Touch.
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