Earlier this month, we conducted an internal review of our product offerings and development status. As a result of this review, we determined that we would stop developing and distributing several products. This is important to help us focus on improving our core products without spreading ourselves too thinly.
This blog post outlines the products that we will be discontinuing, and alternatives for users of those products.
We plan to discontinue these products in March 2015. The websites for the products will be closed and the apps removed from the relevant App Store or Play Store.
1. Keyman Beta for Android
Keyman Beta for Android was our initial test version of Keyman for Android phones and tablets. We made it available at no charge while we worked through the complexities of language support on Android devices. Now that Keyman Free for Android and Keyman Pro for Android have been available and stable for some time, it is appropriate to discontinue the Beta product. The new editions contain many bug fixes and additional features, and so the Beta product is both out of date, and no longer relevant.
2. AmharicChat for iPhone and iPad
AmharicChat linked into the Facebook Messaging systems to provide Amharic chat for Facebook users on iPhone and iPad. However, several factors have arisen. First, and most importantly, Facebook are discontinuing their interfaces to their Messaging systems, so shortly we will no longer be able to send or receive messages on the Facebook Messenger network. Secondly, Keyman Pro for iPhone and iPad now enables the Amharic keyboard and font directly in any app, including the Facebook Messenger app, as well as WhatsApp and other messaging apps.
3. Amharic Mini Chat for Nokia and Opera Mini
This was an experimental app that made it possible to type Amharic messages to each other through a simple transliteration interface. However, it has proven difficult for users to take advantage of this, with the limited functionality provided by the older Nokia phones. The Amharic KeymanWeb Mini site has been popular and will remain available, but Amharic Mini Chat will be discontinued.
We thank you for your understanding and look forward to hearing your feedback on these decisions.