In the face of some tough competition from WhatsApp, WeChat, and BBM, Mxit is looking to stay relevant in the social networking scene with the launch of Mxit 7. This latest version of the application is now available for feature phones, and will soon make its way onto Apple’s App Store for iOS powered mobile devices.

BlackBerry and Android users can also expect to get the app in the coming weeks, whilst smartphone users whose devices run on Windows Phone OS should see the app within the Windows Phone Store early in the new year. The social networking company stated that Mxit 7 will run on more than 8000 different mobile devices, including tablets.

New functionality for feature phone users on Nokia Asha devices include the ability to receive messages even when your device is offline, whilst a chat tab feature allows users to more easily switch between multiple ongoing conversations.

Additional improvements for Mxit 7 on J2ME enabled feature phones include enhanced user profiles that look better thanks to larger cover images as well as extended profile information. Users will now be informed of the availability of updates, whilst Mxit 7 also goes easier on users’ data bundles and limited RAM.

Mixt 7 on iOS

Mxit 7 for iOS has been redesigned from the ground up to include features such as Doodlechat and Backdrop. The former enables users to draw picture doodles on the screen or on photos and then go share these in chats, while the latter allows them to use pictures from their Photo Stream as the background of any chat window.

As on Whatsapp and BBM, Mxit 7 users are now able to quickly record and send audio voice clips and messages in chat. Mxit 7 for iPhone and iPad will be available in the App Store as of 15 November.

In other social networking related news, Facebook recently revealed which government agencies wanted the most access to users info over the course of this year.