Line Walks The Line Between Mobile Messaging Tool And Social Networking App

The popular mobile messaging app Line has just become even more social through its latest major update. Line is to Japan as WhatsApp is to the U.S., Viber is to Cyprus, KakaoTalk is to South Korea ... Well, you get the picture. Developed by NAVER Japan Corporation, Line, like the other aforementioned apps, supports instant messaging and free voice calling. Now at version 3.0, Line has gained a number of new features that serve to reinforce the app’s leanings toward social networking. Now more than ever, Line appears to be walking the line between a conventional mobile messaging app and a social networking app in the unmistakable style of Facebook or Path. This tangent but nonetheless new direction that Line has taken is evidenced most strongly by the app’s new Timeline and Home sections. As might be expected, Timeline shows your Line friends’ updates in a real-time feed, while Home lets you share your own. Updates may vary from simple status messages and geotags to more elaborate photos and videos. In line with this, the “What’s Up?” function in the app has been changed to “Status Messages.” Designed for iPhone and iPod touch, Line is available in the App Store for free. The app’s latest update also adds a history button to the sticker input keyboard and improves the design of the Chats list.