Mxit is one of the biggest mobile instant messengers ( IM ) worldwide, this application is widely used in South Africa and is very popular amongst the younger generation. Basically what Mxit is a small javaapplication that runs on mobile phones that allows multiple users to chat instantly over the internet using GPRS packet data. This means that messages are sent for the fraction of the cost of an sms since a couple of characters of text amount to only a few kilobytes, due to this led to Mxit rising in popularity and Mxit solely relied on word of mouth marketing.

Compatibility

Mxit is compatible with a large number of phones, the basic things Mxit needs to function are:

  1. JAVA environment
  2. Wap or Gprs internet connect
  3. A phone that can download third party JAVA applications

In a addition to this you must be able to subscribe to a data package from your cellphone service provider.

Compatibility with other networks

Initially when Mxit was launched it was compatible with Gtalk, AIM, JABBER and Windows Live. Some of these may not be active at the time of writing this article. Mxit was the first real South African attempt at integrating all the social chat networks.

Support

The Mxit team is constantly updating the versions of Mxit, fixing bugs and accounting for new cellphone releases, for support Mxit also has a forum which has moderators and Mxit gurus who can help with certain problems that their user base faces.

Other Functions

Mxit has other functionality besides chat, the creation of the Mxit currency (Moola) which can be purchased via cellphone allows all sorts of goods and services to be offered on Mxit. Some of these goods are services are:

  • Skins
  • Dating
  • Chat Zones
  • Ring Tones
  • News
  • Music Downloads
  • Information
  • Chat with celebrities
Opportunities for Moblie Marketing

The Mxit Chat client always starts up with a splash screen which is sold for advertising, speculation is that this is done on an impression based model, Mxit also has a feature where messages can be sent to everyone after logging on and this is a good marketing tool. Mxit is a very good platform for mobile marketing due to the fact of its directness and also its large user base, there are also clear demographics with a distinct age, gender, and location profile and this can help the potential advertiser know  their target market.

Mxit has done a lot of ground breaking work and has clearly a leader in the mobile IM market in South Africa, it will be interesting to see how competitors will tally up to them.

Looking for mxit, direct your phone browser to “www.mxit.com/wap”

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