Los Angeles — Barely a month ago, the long-rumored Facebook’s Messenger desktop application for Windows that was under final testing stage with a limited group, has been leaked yesterday, which is packed with the best of Facebook frills — chat, ticker and notifications — into an always-accessible, dock-able miniature window.
Mere hours after Facebook Messenger for Windows leaked, Facebook has responded to the leak of its Messenger for Windows application by simply releasing an official download. It is an excellent way to devalue the leak while keeping users excited.
Image Credit: (Znet.com)
The social media giant may not be ready to officially introduce the Messenger for Windows to the world, but without much fuss at all without opening your browser. The application, which runs on Windows 7, provides access to three main Facebook features: Facebook Chat, the new Ticker feed, and notifications.
Messenger for Windows essentially delivers the right-hand control of your Facebook home page to your desktop. Of course it does have a some significances, namely the death of rivals messaging systems. The likes of AIM and Yahoo Messenger have been struggling to compete with integrated offerings from social platforms, and lately, Facebooks Messenger app has been a major threat to market veterans.
Facebook has indicated at a few upcoming features as well: chatting with multiple friends, video calling, limiting chat availability, and editing settings. It is unclear if the company will be making announcements for every new version or if they will be just quietly released like this first version.
“We are continuing to make Facebook Messenger easily accessible across platforms,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “Messenger is available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and we are testing Messenger for Windows, a new desktop application.”
You must be logged into Facebook for this application to work. After you click on the blue “Log In” button, you will be redirected to the facebook.com/desktop/login webpage where Facebook explains that Messenger for Windows requires you stay logged in so that it can deliver chat and notification messages to your desktop.
Facebook hopes that users want to utilize the social network’s real-time features without having to keep a browser window open. The social media networking giant is clearly anticipating that users will leave Messenger for Windows on throughout the day, probably since most Facebook addicts already do so with a browser tab. In addition to being an independant application, Facebook Messenger for Windows can be snapped to the side of the screen; that is probably why it only works for Windows 7.
The application was developed entirely by Facebook and does not constitute a new partnership with Microsoft, which is a big investor in Facebook. It still vague if Facebook will offer support for anything before Windows 7, or if it will simply move on towards Windows 8. Clients for Mac and Linux will likely only be released if the Windows 7 version proves popular.
Here is what the app looks like:
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Click to enlarge…
The trial application was initially released to a small group of Facebook users in late November. TechIT and The Verge originally disclosed the available download, which can be accessed here.
Some Facebook Messenger for Windows leaks (screenshots)– Courtesy of Znet.com.