At the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum announced that the popular instant messaging client would soon be adding voice services to its feature list. Now it looks like the voice calling functionality is coming pretty soon. Those who volunteer with Hindi language translation of WhatsApp received new translation requests this week.

The new strings - Hang up , Incoming call , Outgoing call – clearly indicate the upcoming voice calling functionality. The translation might be the last mile in finishing up the user experience.

At MWC, Koum had specified that voice services would first come to Android and iOS this spring, with Windows Phone and BlackBerry to follow suit. So, it might be a while before Windows Phone users can experience the new feature. WhatsApp leads the instant messaging space, but would compete in voice-calling with Skype, a signature service for Windows Phone devices, and services like Viber.

Thanks Saurabh for the tip!