Web-based text messaging services like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Viber are toppling text messaging, the most common type of electronic messaging system. Based on the latest statistics, around 78 billion text messages were sent in 2008, while the number reached 117 billion with a 128 percent increase in 2013. However, the increasing popularity of smartphones has reduced the number of text messages sent last year.In the first quarter of 2014, the number of text messages was around 34.5 billion, yet it declined to 31 billion in the second quarter followed by 30 billion and 27 billion in the third and fourth quarter, respectively. Last year, 25 billion text messages sent in the first quarter fell to 24 billion in the second quarter. In the third quarter, this number increased to 26.5 billion.