<p>HONG KONG: Users of instant messaging apps in Asia Pacific place the highest value on functionality and reliability but would not be opposed to the addition of advertising, research has found.</p><p>Lightspeed Research polled 3,113 consumers across the region who both owned a smartphone and used social-messaging apps. Ten countries were covered, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.</p><p>It found the main reasons for switching an app included it no longer being free, it crashing too often and friends stopping using it.</p><p>Writing in Campaign Asia-Pacific, Jeff Tsui, a senior director of Lightspeed Research in Hong Kong, said games and "add-on fancy features" were seen as much less important.</p><p><a href="http://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Ads_possible_in_messaging_apps_.news?ID=31450">Keep reading...</a></p>