WhatsApp Messenger is free again for iPhone. It was last free for iPhone in December, so get it now whilst you can.
Note that this will officially only work on an iPhone and not an iPad or iPod touch without jailbreaking or modifying the software.
WhatsApp Messenger FREE for iPhone (Usually $0.99)
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Imo it has one of the best layouts and having a big user base is a plus. Though it can't make any calls and no desktop application are pretty big downsides.
Ooh they've switch over to the subscription model for iOS as well.
I don't know about your circle, but much more of my friends use Whatsapp than Viber (only other chat app I have). I also found the Viber interface a little clunkier, but it mostly comes down to which one has more of your contacts on it. I only use Viber for calls when I'm overseas.
I used Viber for a while on Android but it had a memory leak that would after a long time make the phone unresponsive. Though to be fair it may have been my phone. Since my friends are all on WA, that's what I use. Would be nice if it had call facility like Viber or Kakao, but don't miss that that much. TBH $1/year is an amount I'd be willing to pay.
I think Whatsapp is over hyped. By functionality I don't see any advantage over Viber. Also you can't tell if a contact is online or not. I would prefer Viber and Skype over this.
WA tells me if my contact is online. One disadvantage with Viber, which I don't know if they have fixed since, is that it doesn't play nice with proxying firewalls, which you sometimes encounter at free hotspots. WA goes through such firewalls fine provided browsing is possible.
Curious to know how to tell the contacts' status? I am using Android and found only clicking a specific contact WA display "last seen at xxx". In the main contact list I see no sign to indicate their status.
yep, you'll only see their status when you click on their profile
It's pretty good, the only service that could top it is the new Google Hangouts I reckon.
Had this for the Android for over 2 years now (linked to my main number) and each time, they have extended my license without asking me to pay for it. Would be stupid for them to ask you to pay given the amount of competition out there and that every product wants to brag about having the largest userbase.
Yeah, on the Android I've never paid. It defines an expiration date, then seems to extend it each time it come up. I figure if it ever forced me to pay I'd just use a different service.
is it me or has whatsapp been lagging recently?
Laggy, some messages I have sent or received arrive hours later. I'm using Android btw.
Better to say what phone your using instead of just saying android. It's working fine for me on the Nexus 4.
I get 5-10 minute delay with Nexus 4 at the moment. Seems to occur on and off and isnt related to data connection.
it wont happen when you are on a wifi network.
its a bug.
It happened to my wife's Galaxy Ace after gone through the trouble shooting on Whatsapp site it is OK today but have to test it again later on.
It only happened on 3G, wifi no problem it may be provider related Vodafail.
http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/android/20887936
Here it mentioned about Hangouts, seems OK after I reinstalled Hangouts and sign in for her (even she don't use it)
Using HTC Incredible S
I am using Note 2. I receive messages instantly if I am Whatsapp at that time. Else it takes about 8 minutes in average to receive messages after sender sent it.
using iphone, i used to get notifications right away, the message being sent the first time (nothing wrong with the internet)
there is nothing further to pay after download for iPhone users. The subscription of 99c per year ongoing applies to. non-iPhone only, but even that sounds like it is not a hard and fast rule.
Ha - now they'll need to work out how to re-monetize their popular app without losing their customers! (tip: sell your aggregated big data)
I'm on android and have a lifetime membership, might be because I had it on iphone first.
same here
lifetime membership is tied to phone number so that is probably why.
When I click on it on ipad it said not on Australia store.
Pretty sure it doesn't work on tablets, only phones.
Understand that but it should tell me not available for iPad instead of not available for Australia Store.
Ap app such as WhatsApp with the infrastructure to support mega messages around the world every day and without the annoying advertisements to subsidy it certainly deserves a buck a year. Unless the CIA is financing it :) I just don't see how they can continue indefinitely.
I know that it's only a dollar a year, but there are other apps that do it as well with additional features. I do still think it's one of the best but I personally prefer Hangouts.
Next up: Snowden leaks NSA links to Whatsapp
Have been using it for over two years on a couple of phones, never asked to pay anything.
i thought whatsapp was ALWAYS free.i have it on both of my iphone and sgs3 (and sgs2 before). just never realised it might cost 99c.
on iOS: its usually 99cents with no ingoing costs, and it goes free every now and then for few days.
on Android: its free for the first year then you need to pay 99 cents per year.Mine keep automatic renew for another year for me. I have been using it for many years and never have to pay for it.
BTW I am on Android Galaxy Nexus.
Maybe it was that before but in now says First year FREE! ($0.99 USD/year after)
Though I haven't and many other people have reported that they haven't been required to pay the yearly fee.
Can't understand this isn't free…i use wechat anyway..
I'm surprised "Line" hasn't become popular here, yet. Almost everyone I know in Japan uses it (or is aware of it), and it's on both Android and iOS.
There's quite a few similar apps. There's not much reason to switch once you're already familiar with a service. I've heard of it a few times, but never bothered to install(same with wechat, tango, kakaotalk).
I'm surprised LINE hasn't become popular either. It's the most feature rich messaging app out there. Many of the other apps borrow their features from LINE. The interface is nice, there's a timeline feature, and you can use stickers (good ones, not the ugly ones in the other apps) which actually add a lot to conversations.
I suppose it's just a case of familiarity. People are going to use the app that all their friends and family use.
line is popular amongst Asian users like QQ. Point being there are hundreds of chat apps but getting the user base to install it is a pain.
in my own opinion and personal experience. LINE has more functions than whatsapp. It would be fair to just compare take out the messaging function.
1 Quick loading time in whatsapp and bring u straight into the contact list but It take at least 5 seconds to see the big logo before u can do things .
2 I personally like the double green tick in whatsapp which indicate the message sent and received .
3 LINE has too many duplicate small icon of the person on the left hand side which makes me feel too much and unnecessary .
4 compare the stability , whatsapp is better than the other
5 as a text messaging or SMS tool, quick, simple design are keys to me .
6 LINE phone quality is not very outstanding good , I would use Viber phone functionAbove opinions are purely my experience and not represents any other users. thank you
No uses left.
Damn just bought this a few weeks ago
Same here but only 2 days ago..lol
You probably have a life time subscription.
Click Settings>Account>Payment Info to check.
There is another app Tango..messages are received instantaneously..easy interface to use..
And video!
It's way better and popular than Facebook on ios.
I think so on android as well compared to the facebook messenger app. 3.5m whatsapp ratings compared to 897k facebook messenger.
Thanks OP
Ouch…. 99c/year is very expensive (as I sip on my $5 latte bullsh1t thingy)…
Is it better than Skype?
No deal. This is normal pricing now.
First, we are updating our business model for new iPhone users going forward. As you know, we used to charge iPhone users a $.99 one time payment, while Android and other platforms had free service for the first year and paid $0.99 a year after that. From now on, we’ve simplified our business model so that all users on all platforms will enjoy their first year of WhatsApp service for free, and only pay $.99 per year after that. We feel that this model will allow us to become the communications service of the 21st century, and provide you the best way to stay in touch with your friends and family with no ads getting in the way. The good news for all current iPhone users is that WhatsApp will be free of charge for the rest of your life.
Wechat is quite good and I have been using it more and more lately.
Not a deal, app moved to subscription service: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/whatsapp-on-iphone-to-charg…
Damn, what a good marketing strategy
They practically have millions of users = potentially millions of subscription dollars
I don't see how moving from $0.99 for lifetime sub to $0.99 a year is a good deal.
Line is a way better app, has all the features of whatapp in a better interface with free calling. Only problem is less people use it.
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/line/id443904275?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.naver.line.…
They already charge 99c more than all the other free competitors and now they want 99c a year?
Yeah 99c ain't much money, but it's 99c I'd rather keep.
Might be a dumb question but do they automatically start to bill you after the first year?
Not happy about the yearly subscription, wonder if it will be in-app purchase I.e. so using discounted iTunes cards? Whatever the case in my household 2 of us use it so we have to pay double!
Negging. It's now a subscription service. Free to download, 99c yearly to use.
http://www.ijailbreak.com/applications/whatsapp-for-iphone-f…
They're changing to a subscription method as everyone else has said.
Why do people use these services?
What's wrong with:
SMS: Massive caps if not free SMS on most plans.
gTalk: Based on the standards compliment jabber protocol, can be used with a huge range of programs/OSs.All these apps seem so pointless to me.
Depends if you want to share voice messages, videos, stickers, your location - to individuals or groups. Plus it's always hilarious to have a Facebook Messenger chat with somebody about somebody else, then 'accidently' invite them to the conversation so they can read the previous messages! Can't do any of that in Short Messaging Service.
Heard of email? Pretty new piece of tech
But seriously I just don't get it. People bitching about subscription costs being added…well they've got themselves to blame. If they had supported open standard compliant services like gTalk and Email they wouldn't be in this problem.
Over in Japan SMS has never been used by people, for years they've used push email on their phones. Clearly they're a bit smarter than us.
I use email for things which aren't time dependant (eg. work) and mobile messaging for everything urgent (eg. photos of cats).
But why? With push email the message/photo will probably come through quicker than through one of these services.
Because work expects me to respond to emails by email, and friends expect me to respond to cat photos by mobile messaging. Relatives expect me to respond via SMS and IRL.
SMS can't create any group conversations also images through mms is unreliable and limited by size.
Gtalk no longer exists and was not on all platforms. Also had a pretty crappy interface.
Not everyone sets up push email and some people barely ever checks their emails. I don't even have the email addresses of alot of my friends. These app integrate with your contact list on your phone so you don't need to add anyone. If you have their number then you can text them through these apps. My mum,aunty all have one of these apps installed and they don't even know whats an email address.
LINE is made by a japanese company and is really popular in japan replacing emails.
Gtalk no longer exists and was not on all platforms. Also had a pretty crappy interface.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and…
It's been replaced by Hangouts. Majority of the low ratings is due to not being able to tell if someone is online and no sms integration.
Omg. So much ignorance. Gtalk still exists, I'm logged in right now. It may have just changed names. As for interface and not on all platforms…even more ignorance. gTalk uses Jabber protocol which means there are countless apps on countless platforms that it can connect to.
Which is my point. When a service uses an open standards complient protocol, your not locked like you are with shitty services like WhatsApp, Vibber etc.
Doesn't seem like much exists on android
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=gtalk&c=apps
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jycsoft.do…
This is the most popular alternative. Some reviews" Sucks Looks nice but,Can't work, starts wifi automatic on.no auto login, everytime u have to click login, no setting option to control app.please correct it. "
"galaxy y this is very bad. we can't add contacts. no other options available"
You're asking my mum to use something like this as an alternative? It doesn't even link to your contact list on your phone. You'll have to add your contacts again onto gtalk.
And also I'm not locked in, I could switch from one messaging app to another with a touch of the screen.
I get msgs faster on whatsapp faster than the old gtalk app and sometimes even faster than sms btw. Tested multple times send msg from both apps and check which is received faster on another phone. Whatsapp will win most of the time.
I use Wechat only and their instant voice message is so great.
Hoestly Wechat is the best, forget about facebook, whats, viber, all sorts of shitties
free only for first year.
what's the advantage of whatsapp compare to viber, weechat and many other similar application out there.
is it really worth the .99c/year?