Israeli App Samba.me Wins Best Social App At SXSW

Israeli startups are continuing to nab major prizes at the world’s biggest tech conferences.

Following Wibbitz and CamMe’s wins as Best Mobile Publishing Product and Most Innovative App at Mobile World Barcelona; Israeli app Samba has now snatched the SXSX Accelerator Prize for Best Social App.

And it’s no surprise. Following Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp for a mammoth $19 billion, the world is on the lookout for the next great mobile messaging app.

And Samba, a sleek and fun new mobile video messaging app, might be just that. The app, launched just a few weeks ago for iOS devices, allows you to record videos for friends, then record their reaction to your video and so forth.

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Samba co-founders Barak Hachamov, Shay Erlichmen, Ronel Mor and Oren Meiri say this combines the “convenience of asynchronous communication, with the power of face-to-face communication.”

Samba says it is proof that elegant design and easy usability can come out of Israel. When you’re watching a video on the app, you can see your friend’s reaction to the video you sent them. Their video appears in a smaller, round window at the top of your own video, which you can drag around on your screen.