Research company Informa says that app-based messaging -- such as Apple's own Messages app or the popular What'sApp for mobile devices -- has surpassed traditional SMS-based text messaging for the first time. While SMS usage will continue to thrive, particular as long as "feature phones" remain viable in less-affluent markets, non-SMS messaging should reach 50 billion per day by 2014 -- more than double the projected level of 21 million SMS messages by the same year.
