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Right now, we are in the smartphone era, one of the most transformative changes of our generation, similar to the rise of the first personal computer. The smartphone is a device that is not only a tool, but also a constant and complete connection to the world.

One company that provides social networks and communication technologies, Kik, has tapped into this smartphone era.  According to a recent International Business Times (IBT) article, Kik Messenger is a text-messaging live chat service for smartphones that is replacing SMS texting as the primary form of text-based communication for many, signing up over 19 million users to date.

In 2009, Kik was developed by a group of University of Waterloo students who wanted to build a company that shifted computing from the PC to the phone. Today, Kik Messenger has become the simplest, fastest live chat experience you can get on a smartphone.

But, Kik isn’t just about instant messaging, according to IBT, as Kik fans exchange videos and more with apps that have been built using Kik API. Additionally, the company is backed by major name-brand VC’s, the same firms that first helped Twitter (News - Alert), Foursquare, and Zynga.

Kik Interactive, the creators of Kik Messenger, wanted the app to address three important issues they saw with phones' internal messaging services.

"We believe that simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication. We've spent thousands of hours making sure Kik is the easiest, most beautiful way to send messages, pictures, videos, sketches and more,” states Kik’s website.

The app allows for communication that doesn't require an instruction manual, while providing useful features other than basic smartphone instant-messaging software offers.

"Kik is hands-down the fastest, most reliable smartphone messenger available," the company said. "And with sent, delivered, read, and typing notifications, your conversations will come to life."

Those notifications are one of the primary things people like about Kik Messenger, which is available on smartphones including the Apple iPhone (News - Alert), Blackberry, Android and Windows devices.

In addition, Kik hopes to make messaging a more personalized experience. The company said, “Your Kik username is your Kik Identity, so you can keep complete control of your privacy.”

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