Windows Phone 8 gets WhatsApp competitor providers built-in

Windows Phone 8 will have built-in support for Joyn, a WhatsApp competitor managed by telecom providers. This works via RCSe from Nokia, WinSuperSite reports based on extensive experience with WP8.

Not only is Joyn under the name RCSe as a separate app in Windows Phone 8, users will also be able to approach contacts directly from the People hub. Joyn is a joint initiative of the providers and device manufacturers, supported by the umbrella organization GSM Association. Joyn is the name for consumers, the underlying technology is known as RCSe by manufacturers and providers.

So RCSe is not stuck in Windows Phone 8 and manufacturers and carriers can get it out. That also applies to Skype, reports Paul Thurrott of WinSuperSite, who says he has had information about Windows Phone 8 since December 2011. The RCSe suite is said to have been made by Nokia.

Thurrott makes mention of other issues that were not addressed in the Windows Phone 8 announcement earlier this week. For example, there would be a data counter in Windows Phone, something that was already rumored. That data counter supports Live Tiles, allowing users to see how much data they’ve used on the home screen. There will also be a new way of communicating with desktops in Windows Phone. This would allow users to control their phone from a Windows 8 machine.