Sometimes the writing is on the wall well before hope is completely snuffed out.
One example is the Windows Phone (News - Alert), which still limps along but has a pretty abysmal chance of rising to the ranks of a credible Android and iOS rival.
Another technology that could still play a role but looks increasingly unhealthy is the RCS-based messaging service known as “joyn.”
joyn is supposed to be a carrier alternative to over-the-top services such as Skyp, WhatsApp and others, a way to stem the tide of lost SMS and cellular voice revenue. The problem is that the service isn’t catching on.
Only 7 percent of mobile operators surveyed in a recent mobilesquared report conducted by Tyntec said they think joyn is the solution. On the other hand, 36 percent said they are uncertain of the impact joyn will have on the OTT services that are eating their revenues.
WhatsApp is seen as the biggest threat, at least according to the survey. Roughly 36 percent of operators cited the service as the OTT player to watch, and with good reason—it now has 300 million active users globally. Facebook and Google (News - Alert) also were concerns, although Apple was not seen as that much of a threat. Even less the VoIP pioneer Skype; only 7 percent of operators surveyed said it was a threat. This is perhaps because Skype (News - Alert) has been on mobile devices for years or that the company is now owned by the same people who are trying to win with Windows Phone.
The problem is that there is no credible alternative.
That’s why U.S. carriers, while perhaps lukewarm on the joyn technology, are nonetheless in the process of rolling out the service.
Sprint is planning to launch a unified communications service using the RCS 5.1 standard, which supports simultaneous video, voice, text and image messaging. No word yet on when it will be released, however.
AT&T (News - Alert) also is driving toward RCS services, but is still vague on the topic. In a statement, the company would only say that it has been a "key player in defining GSMA RCS 5.1" and that the technology does a bunch of cool stuff.
Verizon is similarly vague, saying it will say more once it has rolled out its VoLTE technology in 2014.
The carrier doing the most with joyn right now is T-Mobile (News - Alert), which inherited the technology when it acquired prepaid provider, MetroPCS.
RCS-based joyn was introduced in the United States earlier this year by MetroPCS, although the company is not committing to it in the future, and it’s currently only available on legacy CDMA/LTE smartphones – not the new phones the carrier is selling that are compatible with T-Mobile's HSPA+ and LTE network.
Just like Windows Phone, who knows how long joyn has left?
Edited by Blaise McNamee