Is WhatsApp the SMS-killer?

WhatsApp is brilliant, has almost halved my cellphone bill, and provides all the functionality of BBM without having suffer with archaic blackberry hardware and a shockingly ugly OS.
 
rbarryza said:
Why is WhatsApp getting so much coverage? It's no different from any other IM app on your phone, including Mixit, Fring, Google Talk, etc. It's not new, what's the big deal? Or am I missing something?
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I was thinking the same thing.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
WhatsApp not only gives you a notification when the message has been delivered, but also a notification when it has been read.
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From the FAQ on their website :
http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/#g2

What are those green checkmarks next to my messages?
We are glad you asked. These green checkmarks are actually very important since they function as message delivery acknowledgement indicators. Here is what they mean:


(1 Green Tick) - message successfully delivered to the server.


(2 Green Ticks) - message succesfully delivered to the device of the chat partner. (note: this does not indicate that message was read, just that it was delivered)
 
McCrazieGoalz said:
Here is a tip.

If you install Nimbuzz, you may be able to whisper sweet nothings too to your girl friend by calling her via the internet using the app.

I have not called anyone yet through Nimbuzz by the function is always staring at me. I think you have to load some units or credit on it which I have no doubt would still be hundreds of times cheaper than calling via conventional cellular or telephonic means.
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I don't understand your comment - I have had Nimbuzz for about a year now....however, like I said, I do my free calls with Viber and Whistle, using my hotel's wifi internet. So they are basically free phone calls. I find the two apps I mentioned much better than Nimbuzz
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
WhatsApp not only gives you a notification when the message has been delivered, but also a notification when it has been read.

Also, I'm not sure if this has changed, but I recall operators charging for delivery notifications.
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Make that BBM, not on whatsapp.The second tick you get is a delivery note.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
WhatsApp not only gives you a notification when the message has been delivered, but also a notification when it has been read.

Also, I'm not sure if this has changed, but I recall operators charging for delivery notifications.
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I'm on Vodacom, no charge for DLRs but I would still pay for it. My issue is that when I SMS I know its going to a single designated device (very slim chance to a dual SIM), but with an app like WhatsApp, I've got no idea. An IM read receipt is not a confirmation in a business environment when there is a dispute where a DLR I can at least say we did or did not get an ack from your phone.

Keep in mind that with a smart app you can have it running on many devices simultaneously and any user could acknowledge it.

WhatsApp has it uses, but its not the SMS killer.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
I'm on Vodacom, no charge for DLRs but I would still pay for it. My issue is that when I SMS I know its going to a single designated device (very slim chance to a dual SIM), but with an app like WhatsApp, I've got no idea. An IM read receipt is not a confirmation in a business environment when there is a dispute where a DLR I can at least say we did or did not get an ack from your phone.

Keep in mind that with a smart app you can have it running on many devices simultaneously and any user could acknowledge it.

WhatsApp has it uses, but its not the SMS killer.
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You can only run whatsApp one one phone at a time surely? Cause its linked to your sim?
 
Dev()n said:
Yeah. There are many apps out there that offer messaging for a fraction of the price of an sms. I just don't understand why sms's are still so expensive? It probably costs the Service Providers peanuts...
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actually its free to them, it runs on the idle connection your phone uses (so you can receive calls)

it's REALLY not a lot of data
 
Who cares if you pay to receive it, the price to send and receive a thousand messages is about equivalent to one SMS.
 
I would love to try it but at the moment they dont support my Wave with Bada OS, have e-mailed them but got a automated response saying theres no plan to support it...:cry:
 
uh... Mxit? Google Talk? MSN? Skype? all of these programs do pretty much what BBM and Whats app do. so how is it that this is a new service?
 
Bern said:
Actually WhatsApp uses a lot of data. I tested it and sent maybe two messages, but it used about 12MB throughout the day which I assume was connecting to the server, seeing who of your contacts are online and so forth. Besides that it drains the battery as normally I don't leave my smartphone online, but with WhatsApp I have to.

So my advice is if you don't have a data contract, get one before you install WhatsApp!
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This is my log on wathsapp. Have not cleared it...so this is from the middle of last month to now...so basically a month I think.

Message Bytes Sent: 1.6 meg
Message Bytes Rec: 736.5KB

Message sent: 629
Message received: 748

I did not included Media data usage in that as it would skew the stats I think. The above is text only. So lets say @ R2.00 a meg....that would have cost me about R5.00 or something stupid.
 
DeathStrike said:
uh... Mxit? Google Talk? MSN? Skype? all of these programs do pretty much what BBM and Whats app do. so how is it that this is a new service?
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One of the reasons why WhatsApp is taking off as it does is because it scans your phonebook and add the contats for has WhatsApp on their phone automatically for you. You dont need a to sign up for a username and password and ask people what their usernames or pin is to add them blah blah blah blah blah! It is just such a freaking pain in tha arse!
 
ocleroux said:
One of the reasons why WhatsApp is taking off as it does is because it scans your phonebook and add the contats for has WhatsApp on their phone automatically for you. You dont need a to sign up for a username and password and ask people what their usernames or pin is to add them blah blah blah blah blah! It is just such a freaking pain in tha arse!
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Yup ease of use is what whatsapp is all about.

Sent from my droid blender, making apple and berry smoothies all day.
 
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