Whatsap

I still remember the day when a close friend of
mine kept pushing me to install this app on my phone. All the while,
trying to convince me that this app was really worth a shot. I was a bit
reluctant and the simple reason was that I would have to pay money to
purchase the app. An unpalatable thought at the time, it would be a
first for me (so far I have installed as many as 91 apps on my phone and
the ratio of paid vs free apps is 2:89). My friend kept chiding me that
the cost in comparison to the benefit was negligible, but I just
couldn’t swallow the thought of paying for an app.

While you may
say that I am tight-fisted, I would prefer the name frugal. But trust
me I am not the only one. If you are not convinced, check out the Maruti
Suzuki ad — where the salesman is trying to sell a luxury yacht to a
‘rich man’, the scene begins with the salesman praising one feature
after another . . . impressive one would say . . . instead the ‘rich
man’ asks ‘kitna deti hai’ (meaning how much mileage does it give) and
then comes the tag line — “for a country obsessed with mileage, we
produce the most fuel-efficient cars”. Just like the ‘rich man’ in the
ad, there are countless number of cell phone users (many of whom own
pretty fancy smart phones), who find SMSing an expensive mode of
communication. And they should, after all you can speak to one another
for as low as 1p per second, then why pay such a high price for a lowly
SMS, more so when you know that the phone companies are making a fast
buck on the SMS. Well now you have an alternative — WhatsApp.

WhatsApp
provides an alternative texting service that closely resembles standard
SMS text messaging. Simply put, WhatsApp messenger is a smart-phoneto-
smartphone messenger. I guess this is where I take the role of the
salesman trying to sell you the yacht (dont worry, your time will come
and you can ask kitna deti hai). Here are a few reasons why you should
install and use this app:

• This app works on iPhone (IOS),
  Blackberry (Blackberry OS), Nokia (Symbian) as well as Samsung
  (Android). Arguably, that’s much better than the Blackberry Messenger
  (‘BBM’) which is limited to Blackberry devices.

• Unlike standard
  text messaging, though, you can set a status message which other
  WhatsApp users can see, both in the Favourites page and in the main
  contact list.

• And not only can you send photos, but you can also
  attach audio and video notes, and even your geographic location to
  WhatsApp messages. Plus, it provides an easy way to save your message
  history as a text file (see pic).

• You could send a million
  messages, but pay a pittance. The messages can be sent to friends and
  family across the world (just like BBM) for the same cost.

• The
  BBM requires you to know your friends’ PIN, well you can say goodbye to
  that now. Once you and your friends have installed WhatsApp, you don’t
  need anything else. This is actually one of the best parts — WhatsApp
  almost automatically identifies who all in your phonebook have installed
  WhatsApp and lets you chat with them instantly. In fact they will
  automatically appear in your Favourites.

• WhatsApp gives you the
  option to remain on always/to remain connected with your buddies. If you
  choose to go offline, don’t worry the messages will be stored on the
  server and will be pushed to your phone as soon as you log on.

• Messages
  are usually received very quickly and notifications appear via push,
  which you can configure in the phone’s settings if you want.

• Like BBM it allows you to form groups (up to 10 people) where you can share messages with a group of friends.

• Overall,
  WhatsApp Messenger is a huge benefit to the iPhone community and to
  smartphone users in general, because it lets you keep the text messages
  flowing to your friends for free . . . . . . arguably, for the same
  price that they cost cell phone providers to deliver. Come to think of
  it, you have nothing to lose but your expensive texting plans.

Well!!!!! Now’s the part where you ask kitna deti hai?

To
begin with, it will cost you US $1 (for the iPhone that is, for the BB,
Nokia and Samsung you can use it for free for one full year).

Unlike
standard SMS messaging, WhatsApp uses your phone’s data plan to send
and receive messages. So if you use the app a lot, then your data usage
will increase. (You can monitor these stats from within the app).
Similarly, if you travel outside of your phone carrier’s supported area,
it’s possible that you’ll incur data roaming charges if you leave that
option enabled. Staying attached to a Wi-Fi connection should alleviate
most of those concerns (but as a side effect, constant pinging to the
Wi-Fi network will drain your battery power very fast).

For
those of you who are extra security-conscious, you might be concerned
that your phone number is known to the app’s developer and that all
messages go through its servers. The privacy page on the WhatsApp
Website states that the company will Do No Evil with your data and the
developer lets you know that messages are stored on its system only
until they have been retrieved, at which point they are deleted.
WhatsApp also confirmed that WhatsApp text messages, like most e-mail
messages, are sent across the Internet unencrypted (contact data is
encrypted, however). That’s not necessarily a problem; just something
certain types of users may need to be aware of.

The only other
limitation is the requirement that your friends also have WhatsApp
Messenger app installed on their phones. However, if you’re the early
adopter within your circle and none of your friends have downloaded the
app yet, then you’re not going to have anyone to talk with. Luckily, the
app makes it easy to invite your friends to download the app, either by
sending them an e-mail or a standard text message.

If you liked
what you’ve read above and want to try this app, you can visit
(itunes/blackberry world/ OVI/android mart) and download this software.
The whole process is fairly simple. The app walks you through the quick
set-up process the first time you open it. You register your phone
number with the WhatsApp service. It verifies your identity by sending a
code (ironically, via a standard text message) that you then enter into
the set-up screen. After that, the app asks for permission to look
through your address book for contact numbers that are already
registered with WhatsApp and then places them into your your list of
Favourites. Then you’re finished and ready to start texting with your
friends. Once you and your friends have gone through this short
procedure, texting via WhatsApp Messenger is similar to standard SMS
messaging . . . . only much cheaper.

I would love to hear about your experience after using this software. You can send your emails to sam.client@gmail.com

Disclaimer:
This
write-up is not intended to promote or malign any particular product,
feature or any company. Further the write-up should not be considered as
an endorsement of any one product over the other. The sole purpose of
this write-up is to share knowledge and user experience.