Brits love sending instant messages from smartphones. We send tens of billions of the things each year and in 2012 instant messaging even overtook texts as the top form of mobile communication.
But the problem with instant messaging on mobiles is that there is not a single unified platform, but lots of different apps and services you can use to get in touch with friends and family.
Three of the biggest players in the IM market at the moment are WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger and ChatOn.
Soon you will probably be able to use all three of these from your smartphone thanks to some intriguing changes that are afoot, but which of the best messaging apps is actually worth downloading? Here is a look at the key benefits and features to help you come to a decision.
As the first of our best messaging apps, WhatsApp is the only one of the three IM services up for discussion that is not the creation of a smartphone manufacture. It is also available on the widest number of mobile operating systems, encompassing iOS, Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia’s old Symbian software.
WhatsApp lets you communicate with contacts across all of these devices via instant message and also lets you indulge in group chats where multiple mates can communicate simultaneously. You can also send pictures, video clips and audio recordings over WhatsApp, with location-based integration letting you share your current position with the people around you.
WhatsApp is often compared to Skype because it has brought together people using different devices and allowed them to communicate.
ChatOn
ChatOn is one of the many chat apps for Android, but in this case it has been created by Samsung and is often found preinstalled on popular smartphones from this company, including the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 2.
Although it may be part of Samsung’s stable of apps, it is not an exclusive service and you can get it for smartphones running Windows Phone, iOS, Android and BlackBerry, with only Symbian being excluded.
You Might Like: Head to Head of Windows Phone 8 vs Android Jelly Bean.
Compatible devices can not only send instant messages and multimedia content, but can also indulge in voice and video calls. This is not universally available and is dependent on the hardware of your phone, but is nevertheless a useful feature for when you want to do more than just chat in message form. For being free and cross-device compatible, ChatOn is a worthy entry in our Best Messaging Apps shortlist.
BlackBerry Messenger
BBM has been a big hit for BlackBerry over the years and is one of the reasons that so many youngsters started using phones that were designed primarily for businesspeople and politicians.
BBM offers supremely secure instant messaging to contacts who have BlackBerry devices and accounts, which for the time being means that you can only get in touch with others who have the same brand of smartphone.
However, this year it was announced that BlackBerry Messenger for Android smartphones and iOS is on the way, which means millions more users will be able to join the conversation.
BBM for iPhone and Android should support most of the same features that appear on BlackBerry handsets, which should include things like the recently added video calling capability, although this has yet to be officially confirmed. We’re hoping the launch of BBM for iPhone and Android smartphones could help BlackBerry take on WhatsApp in the race for best messaging apps for your mobile.
If you don’t want to wait for BBM messaging on iOS or Android, why not pick up a BlackBerry Q5 bargain from e2save?
Whose King of the Best Messaging Apps?
If you are going to be playing IM roulette and you only feel like opting for one of these services then your decision will probably be based on the platform which has the greatest concentration of your friends and family already available to engage with as soon as you fire up the app.
All of them are fairly equally capable when it comes to basic capabilities, although the video and VoIP calling that comes with ChatOn and BBM might make them slightly more appealing than WhatsApp.
On the other hand, WhatsApp does have a very broad user base and might be the best bet for someone who wants a true cross-platform service.
Ultimately it might be worth downloading as many reputable IM apps as you feel is necessary, because your phone can support more than one service and you can always go to wherever your contacts flock as and when the tide of support for a particular platform becomes apparent.
One thing these IM apps all share is the ability to let you communicate with people without having to worry about paying for text messages or eating into a monthly allocation of voice minutes. The only thing you need to worry about is your data allowance, but you can always hook up your phone to a Wi-Fi hotspot and chat endlessly without paying a penny.
Source: e2save community
cheapmobilesuk blog 