TalkBox on Windows Phone finally comes to the Marketplace

We've chatted up TalkBox for Windows Phone now for a few weeks. The popular messaging app is already on iOS and Android and now thanks to an excellent beta program, the tried and tested version for Windows Phone is here.

What's TalkBox? It's more than a messaging app because it sends short voice clips in addition to straight text messaging to your contacts, making it a virtually hands free experience. Here are a few other key features that may interest you:

• Push to talk - The signature PTT feature arrives Windows Phone. No more typing hassle; no more uploading and downloading voice notes. TalkBox saves your time.
• Group Chat - TalkBox is now bringing the collaborative experience to Windows Phone users. Experience the power group chat to engage up to 9 people in a single conversation.
• Geo-location and photo sharing - Want to share your current location with your friends when you are heading to a party or to share a snapshot after party? Now you can do it easily through TalkBox!
• Text Integration - What if I can’t talk at the moment? You can easily switch to text mode by 1 click and connect with your friend quietly.
• Mark as favorite - In Windows Phone, you can mark any important TalkBox message as favorite by 1 click so you will be able to view the important messages faster.
• Customized Live Tile - The customized TalkBox Live Tile allows users to preview any unread messages and contact information without launching the app. It is real live and instant.
• Change layout color - You might have seen different Windows Phone handsets displaying different colored tiles. For instance, TalkBox comes with 12 theme colors that you can use to match with your phone background.

We're big fans of the app due to the care in its design--it's very Metro and well thought out for Windows Phone instead of just another port. Will it be as good as Kik or WhatsApp? As far as features go, we'd say this is in many ways better but really, the big determinant is whether or not your friends use TalkBox. Seeing as it's a popular app on iOS and Android, you stand a good chance of getting friend-parity.

At the very least though, you should give it a whirl. Heck, if you like it enough no reason you can't get others to switch around you.

Pick up TalkBox on Windows Phone for free in the Marketplace right here. Hit us up in comments and let us know what you think. [We have at least one report that German users may have issues with this app]