Chikka Chrome Extension is a Chikka Text Messenger plugin which sits on your Google Chrome browser’s bar. “You can open it to chat with online Chikka buddies and also text other friends straight to their mobile phones without having to leave the page you’re on. Afterwards, you can just minimize it and wait for notifications to pop-up when you get replies,” Chikka CIO Dennis Mendiola explained, “and as usual you earn extra credits for every reply you receive.”

Chikka Lite on Chrome actually started as a pet project of the engineers at Chikka.com as more and more browser-based applications were populating the Chrome Store. The company then quietly released the initial version of the Chikka Chrome Extension early this year. Inevitably, the number of searches and installs increased as more Chikka users and curious web browsers discovered it.

Just this September, Newsbytes.ph released an article for the National Hereos’ Day (August 31) commemorating the most-searched national heroes including Andres Bonifacio, Juan Luna and Jose Rizal vis-à-vis the most-searched Chrome Extensions and Chikka Chrome extension made it to the list as “it feeds the nation’s love for texting”.

Aside from the Chikka for iPhone and Android, there is also Chikka Lite for Facebook. “We want to be where our users are and we’re on this quest of making the classic free texting app available on different platforms and browsers for use on all computers and mobile devices.” Dennis Mendiola added.

About Chikka

Founded in 2001, Chikka’s flagship is the Chikka Text Messenger, an online application that supports the delivery of instant messages as SMS to mobile phones. According to the company, Chikka Text Messenger, now with over 68 million registered users, is probably one of the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tools by Filipinos worldwide. For more information about Chikka visit their new website at www.chikka.com.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related course
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• Excellent analytical skills and highly logical
• Proven leadership capabilities

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• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related course
• At least 3 years experience in backend software development for VOIP platforms
• Excellent analytical skills and highly logical
• Proven leadership capabilities

Send your application.

Marié Digby, who rose to online stardom because of her simple yet remarkable music covers from Rihanna, Maroon 5, Usher and Lady Gaga, among others, is now a recording artist who has amassed hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world since she first started posting videos on YouTube in 2007.

“People from all over the world now spend more time on their computer,” says Marié Digby. “That’s where they find their music, that’s where they listen to music, and that’s where they interact with the musicians. The Internet really levels the playing field and it gives everybody with a voice or someone that has something to say a chance to be heard.”

This new media experience is called Chikka Live, and it has enabled artists such as teen pop artists Krissy and Ericka, Filipino-American singer/songwriter A.J. Rafael, Australia-based R&B artist Christian Joseph, Pinoy Big Brother sensations James Reid and Bret Jackson, World Championships of Performing Arts winner Aria Clemente and many more to communicate with their fans through the Chikka Text Messenger during each Chikka Live online performance also available on the company’s official Web site, www.chikka.com.

“The support for Chikka Live has been immense,” says Chito Bustamante, Chikka chief executive officer. “This project has been about gathering the Filipinos from around the globe to celebrate and enjoy the music of talented and emerging online Filipino artists.”

“Furthermore, Chikka became a virtual backstage pass for online fans who sent free text messages to their idols, on the set, and off the set even after the live stream,” said Bustamante.

Aside from Marié, the Chikka Live Independence Day special also featured country pop duo Krissy and Ericka, the talented Lamar Brothers, and the trio acoustic group 3 A.M.

The episode was opened by Krissy and Ericka’s remarkable cover of local pop songs and was followed by Lamar brothers’ rendition of some foreign hits. Meanwhile, Marié Digby performed her hit single “Say it Again,” followed by a duet with Krissy. The two sang Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” the song that made Marié “viral” online. 3 A.M. on the other hand played original songs and covered some foreign acts.

Meanwhile, DJ and Michael Lamar of Lamar Brothers, who are also venturing on acoustic performances in TV shows, said that they feel more relaxed in performing in Chikka Live’s online concert concept, where people who watched the show can input their reactions on the performances instantaneously.

“It’s great because we actually get immediate feedback from fans, it’s a way to make you better as a performer and as an artist,” said DJ Lamar.

On the other hand, best friends Kyle Amor, Mica Caldito and James Torres of the acoustic group 3 A.M., who already released their self-titled album from Star Records, said that performing on Chikka Live feels more personal for them since interactions with their fans allow them to know both sides better.

“It’s a great way to reach out to fans because a lot of people are on the Internet. This way, they get to see how we usually are when we’re together, and not just when we’re performing,” Mica said.

Aside from being able to interact and chat with their favorite online artists, fans also had a chance to win a guitar signed by Marié Digby. Although hundreds of fans vied for the highly coveted guitar, it was a lucky Digby fan named Ron de las Armas who won the autographed guitar.

Aside from Chikka Live, Chikka is also working on making Chikka accessible across all platforms. Their instant messaging app is now available on the iPhone and on Android phones, and they’re in the process of developing an app for BlackBerry users.

Since 2001, the proudly Pinoy instant messaging app has been one of the most preferred instant messaging applications by the Filipino community both locally and globally because of its ability to combine the convenience of sending a free text message online with the personal warmth of receiving a text message on one’s mobile phone. It has brought millions of families and friends closer and will continue to do so with its upcoming projects and services.

Kicking off on May 14, 2011, “Chikka Live: Small Talk. Great Music” will run for eight weeks with country pop duo Krissy and Ericka opening the series. Lined up on succeeding weekends are talented and sensational artists including AJ Rafael, Marie Digby; American Idol finalist Andrew Garcia and Ramiele Malubay; Filipino Aussie Christian Joseph and other special guests like US You Tube sensation Michelle Martinez; World Singing Competition Champion, Aria Clemente, all of whom have built online fan bases in the hundreds of thousands.

The online streaming concert series also offers a venue for fans to send free text messages to their favorite artists.

“Chikka identifies very much with these new breed of artists who have created their own brand of music and offered them to an online audience. They have contributed very much to the unprecedented vibrancy that we are now witnessing in the Filipino online scene,” said Chito Bustamante, Chikka chief executive officer.

“The artists, based as they are in the Philippines, the US and also Australia represent today’s Global Filipinos. And Global Filipinos comprise more than half of Chikka’s own online community. Today, we celebrate the Global and online Filipino community. They are more than ever a driving force not only for our economy but influential in every aspect of our society and culture.”

Aside from providing a virtual stage for the Internet’s top Filipino artists, Chikka is also working on making Chikka accessible across all platforms. Their instant messaging app is now available on the iPhone and on Android phones, and they are currently developing an app for Blackberry users as well.

Chikka’s instant messaging app has served millions of Filipinos all over the world, combining the convenience of sending a free text message online with the personal warmth and immediacy of receiving a free text message on one’s mobile phone. It has since then become one of the most-loved instant messaging applications by the Filipino community both locally and globally.

About Chikka

Founded in 2001, Chikka’s flagship is the Chikka Messenger, an online application that supports the delivery of instant messages as SMS to mobile phones. According to the company, Chikka Messenger, now with over 68 million registered users, is probably the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tool by Filipinos worldwide. For more information about Chikka’s products or Chikka Live visit www.chikka.com.

“We live in the era of smartphones; really handheld computers integrated with a mobile phone allowing users to install advanced applications. Android itself is the platform found in the greatest number of smartphones held by Filipinos and today, Chikka makes its free text messaging app available to this new generation,” said Chito Bustamante, Chikka chief executive officer.

The Chikka for Android app allows users to send free messages to any Philippine mobile. Meanwhile, replying to a Chikka message via text is available at bucket prices PHP5 for ten messages and PHP20 all-day unlimited, making it some of the most cost-efficient means of communications between Filipinos locally or globally.

Last year, Chikka made its Chikka Text Messenger available on the AppStore for use on iPhones. The company is also set to release its Blackberry and Symbian apps to serve an even wider smartphone market.

Bustamante said: “Chikka has always been about uniting folks wherever they may be and regardless of their primary means; whether that’s text or instant messaging, whether they’re on a fixed computer or a mobile device, a regular phone or today’s smartphone, on-line or off-line, and whether one has load or not.”

“Our applications are made to be “as simple as text,” yet therein lies their sophistication, enabled as they are on any device and any platform, free of traditional cost constraints and providing great value to our users.”

About Chikka

Founded in 2001, Chikka’s flagship is the Chikka Messenger, an online application that supports the delivery of instant messages as SMS to mobile phones. According to the company, Chikka Messenger, now with over 68 million registered users, is probably the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tool by Filipinos worldwide.  Click here to download the Chikka Messenger app for Android. For iPhone users, the latest version of the Chikka Text Messenger app is also available in the Appstore .

1. Create your own Amazing Race or take a tour of the city. Put your game face on and get competitive with your barkada. Organize your own version of the exciting reality show and visit Manila’s famous landmarks such as Rizal Park, where the statue of Jose Rizal–the country’s national hero–is located, and Intramuros, the oldest city in Manila. Not a fan of running around? Try walking tours by Carlos Celdran around Intramuros or PICC.
   Visit http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/ for details on his walking tours.
2. Explore new things to make and do. Routines may be hard to break, but make this summer extra special by trying out something different – dine at a new resto, go for a gym’s free trial of group classes for yoga or pilates, or if you crave for action, try Laser Tag, Paintball or Go Kart with your buddies and experience the longest and most exciting 15-30 minutes of your life; if you’re an anime aficionado or you just want to get out of your comfort zone, visit MeiDolls Café in Cainta, Rizal. It’s the Philippines’ first cosplay café, featuring delicious food served by attendants dressed like Japanese anime characters.
3. Organize a Closet Swap event. Instead of the usual garage sale, organize a Closet Swap where you can trade pre-owned clothes, bags, shoes and other items with your friends. This way, you can get rid of unwanted items. All items with no takers can then be donated to your favorite charitable organization.
4. Stay home with a DVD marathon. Whether you’re watching Koreanovelas, Glee, American Idol or chick-flicks released on DVD, grab the microwaveable popcorn and your best friends.
5. Spend a day (or two) giving back to the community. Sign up for Gawad Kalinga (GK), a nation-building movement; Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, an organization that aims to provide holistic development for persons with disabilities; or the Virlanie Foundation, a non-profit organization that caters to street children and their families.

Get help for what to do this summer via Chikka Groups. It’s an online and mobile text service that will let you send text messages to your group members (no matter how many they are) for only P1 for every message sent to your group.

Visit http://groups.chikka.com to create your group.

Engineers and staff at Chikka.com brace for Valentine’s Day when traffic between the company’s servers and telco SMS centers can be so brisk they have to keep extra vigil.

“It’s always the biggest day of the year for Chikka; bigger than Christmas or New Year,” said Chito Bustamante, chief executive officer at Chikka, creators of the Chikka Text Messenger, the popular mobile instant messaging application used for sending free SMS online to mobile phones.

“Valentine’s day is a time for truly personal, intimate and urgent messages that have to get to the other end no matter what. Neither would one post nor tweet those messages. Messages between couples are just too special if they can’t be uttered softly, they should be texted,” added Bustamante.

Today when much of casual messaging has moved to the Internet and in particular social networks, mobile text messaging is indeed asserting its place as the medium for truly urgent and personal messaging. Text messages are received instantly by people wherever they may be and even when they don’t have access to the Internet.

Philippine telecommunications companies recently reported how more people tweeted or used Facebook rather than text messaging for their holiday greetings.

Chikka says this Valentine’s will be different as it combines the convenience of a message sent from the web, but received with the urgency and speed, and with the more personal nature of a text message to one’s phone.

“Filipinos are simply some of the most romantic people in the world. In the same way the MMDA, flowers shops and the hotel and restaurant industry have their hands full on February 14, so does Chikka as we handle all day and all night messages from Global Filipinos; many of them couples kept apart on this very special day.”

Overseas-based Filipinos make up over 50% of Chikka’s online community.

About Chikka

Founded in 2001, Chikka’s flagship is the Chikka Messenger, an online application that supports the delivery of instant messages as SMS to mobile phones. According to the company, Chikka Messenger, now with over 68 million registered users, is probably the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tool by Filipinos worldwide.

Major prize winner – John Alexis De Jesus
Minor prize winner – Pierre Relloso

The recently concluded Text to Win raffle promo allowed Chikka buddies to earn raffle entries every time they sent Chikka messages from the latest Chikka version online or from their mobile phones. The lucky Chikka buddies brought home a brand new iPad® 16GB WIFI and a 6th generation iPod nano® 8GB.

With the new Chikka Text Messenger for the Web and the downloadable v5 client, mobile contacts can reply to Chikka messages for as low as 50 cents when they subscribe to Bucket or UNLI reply plans; and for only a Peso during off-peak hours (12am-6am for Globe and Smart subscribers; 11pm-9am for Sun subscribers).

Enjoy Chikka Texting with lower mobile reply rates now.

About Chikka

Providing various wireless applications to over 30 mobile operators in seventeen countries including the US, UK, Italy, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines, Chikka has also diversified; developing applications for mobile content, commerce, and corporate solutions. According to the company, Chikka Messenger now with over 68 million registered users since 2001, is probably the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tool by Filipinos worldwide.

“Having lived and worked abroad before, I understand what it’s like to miss family during the holidays,” Chikka founder Dennis Mendiola says. “We’d call or text them every chance we get; it got to a point that phone bills strained our budgets considerably.”

“It is no wonder Chikka handles at least 50% more message volume during Christmas and New Year, topped only by message exchanges during Valentines. Last year, there were about 6 million visits to the Chikka website during Christmas eve through the day itself,” said Mendiola.

Combining the cool convenience of online instant messaging with personal warmth and urgency of receiving a text message, Chikka Text Messenger is a favorite among Filipinos everywhere.

“The release of our latest version is very timely indeed. With the new version 5, we have brought down the price of replying to a text message to P1.00 during off-peak hours. We are also now providing a P5.00 bucket price for 10 text messages as well as all day “UNLI” schemes via select carriers.”

iPhone App

Chikka also released the Chikka app for the iPhone which is one of the most popular smart phones among Global Filipinos. iPhone users everywhere can now carry the Chikka app with them, making it seem like having a Philippine mobile number on their foreign-issued lines.

“At Chikka, we constantly try to find ways to make it easy for Filipinos all over the world to stay in touch with their loved ones back home. We strive to make everything as simple, and as easy as text not only for Global Pinoys but everyone with ties in the Philippines,” Mendiola says.

Have a Chikka Holiday

For global Filipinos who miss their loved ones, Christmas can still be a joyous celebration even though they are thousands of miles apart from each other. Whether you are technologically savvy or not, Chikka is still the best way to send free SMS and stay in touch with family and friends. To use the new Chikka Messenger, visit the Chikka website or download the official Chikka app for iPhone.

About Chikka

Providing various wireless applications to over 30 mobile operators in seventeen countries including the US, UK, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong and the Philippines, Chikka has also diversified; developing applications for mobile content, commerce, and corporate solutions. According to the company, Chikka Messenger, now with over 68 million registered users since 2001, is probably the most widely-used and viewed Internet and mobile-based communications tool by Filipinos worldwide.