MXit nails 4.8 million user milestone as version 5.2 arrives

MXit is totally steaming it. They’re blowing away everybody with their continued growth.

Get this: In the last 24 hours, MXit has added just over 1,000 new international users!

MXit, reckons CEO & Founder, Herman Heunis, one of the largest mobile IM based systems in the world. I can well believe that. The next version due out later this month (5.2) adds extra language options (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and German.

5.2 won’t hit everyone’s handsets immediately though — MXit’s Freestyler community (the most loyal of their users who pay R2.50/month) — get the first look. Everybody else gets it two weeks later. If you’re into mobile IM, it’s certainly worth upgrading to become a MXit Freestyler — you can save, send and receive your messages, greetings cards and pictures at no additional cost (beyond operator data costs).

5.2 also introduces voice messaging! They really are steaming ahead. It’s effectively push-to-talk or ‘quasis push to talk’ as Herman describes it. Nice. Plus, AE128 content encryption will shortly be standardised on the MXit system (with a view, Heran says, toward creating a foundation for financial transactions).

Here’s the MXit fact-sheet:

* MXit is a free mobile instant messaging solution
* The service provides low cost text based communication to mobile users
* 5 million users are currently registered with MXit with the company receiving between eight and 10 thousand new registrations per day
* 200 million messages are sent per day
* The application is downloaded to the user’s cell phone free of charge. The user is then able to send and receive short text messages over the Internet at a very low cost, on both cell phones and personal computers.
* Swist Group Technologies (Pty) Ltd was formed in 1995 and is a major shareholder of MXit Lifestyle.
* In April 2004, the business unit of MXit Lifestyle (formerly Clockspeed Mobile) was separated from Swist Group to form a new company.
* Naspers acquired a 30% stake in MXit in January 2007.