eBuddy Upgrades IM Clients, Achieves 5 Million Download Milestone

eBuddy’s mobile IM client is pretty popular. In fact, the company recently passed the five million download milestone. Just a year old, eBuddy is now processing more than one billion messages each month on its mobile platform and counts more than 2 million unique monthly mobile users.

 

“The fast pace at which our application is being picked up shows how much people want a high quality, easy-to-use, intuitive IM application like eBuddy,” said the company’s CEO and founder,  Jan-Joost Rueb, in a statement.

 

eBuddy is an independent provider of Web and mobile instant messaging (IM). Acting on a report by research analysts at Informa, estimating that mobile IM globally will become an $11 billion industry by 2011, the company has launched new releases and a fresh user interface for both of its popular mobile IM clients.

 

“Mobile Internet usage on a global scale is only going to increase, and with a single user average of 30 log-ins per month, eBuddy is an excellent reason for customers to buy a flat-fee data bundle from their mobile carrier,” said Jan-Joost Kraal, vice president of the mobile division at eBuddy, in a statement.

 

Earlier this month, eBuddy released updated versions of its J2ME client and its mobile Internet browser, Lite Messenger. The J2ME release has a new improved user interface and the eBuddy ID. Lite Messenger now includes features designed specifically for iPhone 3G.

 

The J2ME client now allows users to create a single, unique ID that can be used to log in  and access all IM accounts simultaneously.

 

Launched in 2007, eBuddy is a privately held, Amsterdam-based company with additional offices in London and San Francisco. This venture is backed by Prime Technology Ventures and Lowland Capital Partners.