BetaLabs: Nokia Chat for Windows Phone (7/8)

Beta Labs has just released Nokia Chat for Windows Phone (both 7 & 8) powered by Yahoo!. Nokia Chat has been available on S40, Asha and Symbian for some time, and now Nokia’s Lumia devices join the fold.

Currently restricted to users in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland,New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. It allows you to not only share messages, but also location info. If you’re using WP8 you get lock screen notifications and voice commands (although I can’t get it to work).

Here’s some info pulled from the beta labs page.

First beta release available (April 25, 2013)

The first beta release of Nokia Chat for Windows Phone is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Nigeria.  We’ll be expanding availability to more countries in the near future.

Our first beta release includes the following features:

Person to Person Messaging: Reach millions of Nokia Chat and Yahoo! Messenger users across different mobile and computer platforms.

Push Notifications and Live Tile Updates: Receive new message notifications, preview new messages, and see how many notifications you’ve received – even when Nokia Chat isn’t running.

Share a Place: Send information about a restaurant, store, or other point of interest.  If the recipient is also using a Lumia, they’ll see details, directions, and reviews inside the HERE Maps app.

Broadcast Your Location: Optionally include your city or neighborhood in your status message, so your friends and family know when you’re near or faraway.

Find Contacts: Scan your phone’s address book to find friends and family who already use Nokia Chat and Yahoo! Messenger.

Using a Nokia Lumia with Windows Phone 8?

Take advantage of these additional features:

Speak Your Message: Compose a message by pressing speak, and what you say will be translated into text.

Voice Commands: Start Nokia Chat by long-pressing the Windows key and saying “Chat with” and the name of an existing contact: for example, “Chat with John”.

Lock Screen Notifications: See how many Nokia Chat notifications you have on your lock screen.   Start the built-in Settings app and select “lock screen” to begin

Category: Applications, Beta Labs, Lumia, Windows Phone