Is WhatsApp the SMS-killer?

theJonster said:
another messenger...another account i now have to have to communicate. gtalk, msn, skype, bbm <- these all do the same thing and bar bbm they are all free, why do we now need another one????

please people, use your brains and just use one of the existing ones. Android phones come gtalk standard, blackberrys can get gtalk, skype is free and you can phone people on their computers (wow can you imagine!!). We all already have accounts for these apps, why must we now get another one??!! Urgh, the stupidity of it frustrates me..
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Use whatever the majority of your friends use.. logical really
 
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theJonster said:
another messenger...another account i now have to have to communicate. gtalk, msn, skype, bbm <- these all do the same thing and bar bbm they are all free, why do we now need another one????

please people, use your brains and just use one of the existing ones. Android phones come gtalk standard, blackberrys can get gtalk, skype is free and you can phone people on their computers (wow can you imagine!!). We all already have accounts for these apps, why must we now get another one??!! Urgh, the stupidity of it frustrates me..
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WhatsApp is mainly for your phone so why would you want to use IM apps that was originally made for computers on your phone?
 
Mr Feesh said:
I don't know basically everyone in my phone book uses whatsApp with more and more people each day making use of it
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+1 I have no one in my contact list that does not have WhatsAPP...I don't send SMS's anymore only use SMS for receiving notifications from ABSA and thats about it.
 
The only issue I have is being with MTN - I'm a bit hesitant to have a permanent data connection open with them when I'm not home. Looks like I may have to convert my AnyTime contract to a TopUp one.
 
Besides the numerous other, obvious, comments made above, any app that relies on always-on data is flawed for me. I don't leave my data on because I manage my data usage. I have a smart phone and it uses data for other things too - email, twitter, etc. SMS may be old, but every single cellphone in the world can make use of it. But you obviously can't IM with SMS. Also, using IM on a touch phone is painful.

My mom tried whatsapp on her nokia and eventually uninstalled it due to excessive battery usage.
 
it is great application. i can even chat from my Blackberry to my friend's Nokia. Worth save the money!
 
WhatsApp might contribute to the death of SMS not kill it.userbase is still limited and IMHO I believe Mxit has more uptake than WhatsApp
 
WhatsApp just looks like a BBM ripoff, I much prefer BBM and mxit than it, Dont think it will be much of an "SMS-killer"
 
ADRAM3L3CH said:
WhatsApp just looks like a BBM ripoff, I much prefer BBM and mxit than it, Dont think it will be much of an "SMS-killer"
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BBM still requires a BBM pin, it doesn't hook straight into your address book AFAIK. It's no different to any other IM. WhatsApp is.
 
theJonster said:
another messenger...another account i now have to have to communicate. gtalk, msn, skype, bbm <- these all do the same thing and bar bbm they are all free, why do we now need another one????

please people, use your brains and just use one of the existing ones. Android phones come gtalk standard, blackberrys can get gtalk, skype is free and you can phone people on their computers (wow can you imagine!!). We all already have accounts for these apps, why must we now get another one??!! Urgh, the stupidity of it frustrates me..
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+1

I have been using MSN for... ever.. and use it on my phone if i am not on my PC, i can use skype on my phone i can use Facebook on my phone WHY the HELL would i want another app that does soemthing i already own??
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
The only issue I have is being with MTN - I'm a bit hesitant to have a permanent data connection open with them when I'm not home. Looks like I may have to convert my AnyTime contract to a TopUp one.
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WhatsApp on iPhone doesn't stay open all the time (The iPhone will close it anyway if it isn't being used).
It uses Push Notification to let you know of a new message (i.e it appears as an SMS to you)
 
I had Whatsapp installed on my Nokia 5800, and i must say at first it worked fine but i had to take it off because it drained my batt. When I got a Blackberry I hesitantly installed in there as well and i was pleasantly surprised. It works fine almost as good as BBM. So i think a lot depends on which phone you are using which I think is a weakness that the app has. It tries to be everything to everybody unlike BBM which is only on BB.

Having said that, Whatsapp is much better than SMS. It’s cheaper for the same amount of data sent, the notifications are better; you are not restricted to sending text only etc. it can only get better as more and more people use it. Or we could all just get BB :whistle:
 
RJMadCat said:
+1

I have been using MSN for... ever.. and use it on my phone if i am not on my PC, i can use skype on my phone i can use Facebook on my phone WHY the HELL would i want another app that does soemthing i already own??
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Because you need to have the app running to recieve messages when using FB/MSN. Your recipient needs to be running the FB/MSN app for you to be able to message them.
WhatsApp doesn't require you or your contact to be running the app to receive messages
 
Vegeta said:
Does whatsapp use less battery than the others? if it does then i'll sign up
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I have noticed that it keeps at least a GPRS connection active on my phone (Nokia E75) and that according to me is going to drain the battery quicker. I could not find a setting or option where I could switch it off and let it connect when I want to send or recieve messages.
 
ADRAM3L3CH said:
WhatsApp just looks like a BBM ripoff, I much prefer BBM and mxit than it, Dont think it will be much of an "SMS-killer"
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BBM might be the most efficient on a blackberry but the day will come when you decide to switch from a semi smartphone to the real deal, and you'll have no choice but to switch to whatsapp :D
 
isie said:
nope i get mesages even when im conecting on edge - which is most of the time when im in the office, reception is crap, but i still get my whatsapp messages
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yup same here. On iPhone and doesn't matter if I'm on EDGE, WiFi or 3G. It still works.
 
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