Microsoft is developing a new version of its MSN Messenger that will allow users to fully customize their IM experience. This MSN Messenger upgrade won't come till sometime in mid-2005. Microsoft will also be working on integrating new services which might involve fees, subscriptions, or other forms of payments. Personally if I had to pay to get a feature that I felt should have already been there I'd be pissed off. If it's a one time fee I would probably go along with that, but not a subscription based fee.
Microsoft plans to deliver a new version of its popular MSN Messenger client by mid-2005 that will let users create a more customized instant messaging experience, the company says. Aside from the user experience, MSN Messenger also has to bring in more money, Microsoft representatives say. The company has not really tapped the online advertising opportunities in the client, said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's MSN Information Services & Merchant Platform division. He addressed the topic at a meeting last week with financial analysts at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
To that goal, some of those new services might involve fees, subscriptions, and other user costs, Mehdi said. For example, the company charges a monthly fee for access to a game IM users can play with their MSN contacts. Microsoft introduced gaming recently in the U.S. and will roll it out internationally in the coming months, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.
News source: PCWorld.com
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