The founders of Skype have launched a new messaging app, set to take on the likes of iMessage, WhatsApp and Viber.
Wire, which is launching on Android, iOS and OS X, allows people to cross-platform communicate with an emphasis on personal and group messaging, voice calling, sharing pictures, SoundCloud music and YouTube video sharing.
Jonathan Christensen, Wire's co-founder and CEO, said:"We asked ourselves how modern communications could look and work. How could we take full advantage of the latest devices and advances in cloud computing to deliver something that is really simple, very useful and truly beautiful?"
Voice calling is 'high fidelity', meaning any calls made over Wi-Fi will reportedly sound clearer than other rival voice platforms out there.
Communications will be synched across devices, includingWebRTC-compatible browsers, that can also be used to access the service.
Skype co-founder Janus Friis added:"Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then - we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets.
"It is time to create the best possible communication tools, as beautiful as they are useful. Wire is just that."
Others involved in the development and rollout of the platform include developers and techies fromApple, Skype, Nokia, and Microsoft.
Skype was sold to Microsoft in May 2011 for a cool $8.5bn and since then, it has rolled out new features on the platform including Skype Translator and integrated the software giant'sCortana personal assistant on Windows Phone devices.
Microsoft's focus on mobile technologies is developing fast. It announced the acquisition of Nokia at the beginning of the year and in Octoberstripped the 'Nokia' branding from new devices.
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