Social networking to replace email: report

In a June 30 report, market researcher Gartner predicted there will be around 1 billion wireless email users in 2014 as an increasing number of consumers use internet-based communication methods to keep in contact with their friends and colleagues.

"Social paradigms are converging with e-mail, instant messaging, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and presence, creating new collaboration styles."

Users are drifting towards cloud-based communication services that combine real-time direct messaging, email-like private messaging, social networks, and collaboration. The "wireless e-mail software market" is set to become very competitive as players such as Microsoft, IBM, Google Twitter and Facebook vie to become the go-to communication service on consumers' devices.