Facebook Inc (FB): Home Isn’t Its Biggest Mobile Innovation

Google seems poised to go in that direction as well

For its part, Google seems ready to go in that direction, too. The company has been rumored to be in the market for WhatsApp — a multi-platform mobile app designed to literally replace texting.

On its website, the company defines WhatsApp as a “cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.”

If Google was interested in WhatsApp, it might be expected to use the app’s technology for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Babble, its anticipated new messaging service. According to Android Geeks, Babble will be showcased in May and will come integrated with the next version of Android.

Babble will reportedly be an alternative to BlackBerry messenger, and will unify Google’s various chat services — Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Voice, Hangout, etc.

Without seeing Babble in action, it’s too early to say whether or not it could kill off the need for text messaging entirely. But, like Facebook and its chat heads, it will certainly give users a very powerful alternative.

Should carriers worry?

Mobile carriers like Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) could be threatened by the trend away from text messaging. Texts have long been one of the carriers’ most profitable businesses.

Fears about the damaging effects of app alternatives to texting have been widespread for years. In a story from October, 2011, The New York Times cites Sanford analyst Craig Moffett, who notes that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Wireless generates about 12% of its revenue from texting.

But despite fears stretching way back, it wasn’t until last November that text messaging declined for the first time ever in the US — and even then, only by a minor amount. Still, with app-based alternatives becoming more robust, that decline looks poised to accelerate in the coming quarters.

Facebook’s April surprise

Although Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Home looks to be a dud for the time being, the updated messenger app should make Facebook more of an alternative to text messaging — and thus a threat to the mobile carriers. Google will likely follow in the coming months, and the popularity of texting should continue to drop.

The article Facebook Home Isn’t the Company’s Biggest Mobile Innovation originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Salvatore “Sam” Mattera.

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