GAMECHANGER: WhatsApp changed the whole ball game when it came to texting.
Could I have a show of hands for those who have NOT heard of the WhatsApp instant messaging app before?
Not a single hand at all?
Thought so. There are many cross platform instant messaging apps available such as Line, WeChat, and Telegram, but none have been as influential as WhatsApp.
While it is true that the other messaging apps have gained ground and are offering more functionalities than WhatsApp, it was one of the first few apps in the modern smartphone era that really changed the way instant messaging works.
It seems like such a distant memory when my experiences of text messaging friends was confined to my desktop computer with MSN Messenger or with the traditional SMS messages.
Back as a teenager, a lot of time and money was spent texting friends via SMS, day and night. It really does seem like ages ago when we had to squeeze our sentences and cut out any unnecessary words and punctuation just to fit as much as possible in a single SMS. The limitation of 160 characters per SMS really did make us very creative in summarising our sentences.
WhatsApp changed the whole ball game when it came to texting. True, it took some time before most of my frequently contacted friends started converting to smartphones, and even longer for all of them to be on mobile data plans, but it has been worth it ever since. We no longer have to be over cautious about the amount of characters we type, the cost of the messages, and who sends MMS anymore?
Among the greatest things about it is the ability to chat in groups. It is so much easier to plan outings or have discussions in a group. It is so straightforward that even my dad, who has never seemed to be the type to be in touch with technology, has learned how to WhatsApp using the smartphone that me and my siblings got him. This is just one example of the many that I've heard of older folks getting accustomed to instant messaging.
Now on Web
Last week, the online world went abuzz when news broke about WhatsApp's latest feature, the ability to use WhatsApp straight from your desktop computer.
This feature is still very new and much has been made about its limitations, such as requiring your smartphone to be connected to the Internet, while also only working with the Chrome browser. Many were also distraught that it was not made available for iOS devices, but I know that most of you who read this column are actually happy about that bit of news.
As someone who always has my smartphone connected to either mobile data or WiFi, as well as being a religious Chrome user, the new web feature works for me without a hiccup. I have always been finding ways to get my WhatsApp to work on my PC, especially while I am at work when it is not good to be seen with the hands on the phone too often. Apps like Pushbullet have done a decent job pushing my notifications to my PC, but the inability to reply messages straight from the PC was a void I had wanted to be filled in a while.
To initiate the web function, users have to be on the latest version of WhatsApp. Aside from Android users, Windows Phone and BlackBerry users also get to enjoy this treat. On the Chrome browser, users have to access www.web.whatsapp.com where a QR code will be generated and on display.
From your smartphone, just go to the WhatsApp settings, select WhatsApp web, and scan the QR code. Voila, your browser will now mimic your WhatsApp chats. You can reply messages as usual, and even attach images straight from your PC to be sent.
The log-in process of scanning the QR code only needs to be done once, but you may want to logout every time you are done using it if you are sharing the PC with others or they will be seeing all your message threads.
WhatsApp Plus
In other news, WhatsApp has started cracking down on third-party WhatsApp clients, such as the WhatsApp Plus app, as well as its users. WhatsApp Plus is a popular sideloaded version of WhatsApp that has not received the greenlight from the official WhatsApp developers.
It is a pity, as the app has offered quite a number of nifty features that would have really elevated the official WhatsApp app, such as the ability to add emojis, as well as using two WhatsApp numbers on dual sim devices, something which is not currently available with the official WhatsApp app.
If you are a WhatsApp Plus user, or a user of any other unofficial WhatsApp app for that matter, it is best to uninstall the app as WhatsApp has been suspending accounts which it has detected to be running on unapproved versions of WhatsApp. If you're like me, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to live a day without WhatsApp, so better to be safe than sorry.
Donovan is a full-time auditor and big-time gadget lover who discovered the wonders of the Android world back in October 2010. He is glad he no longer has to "type like dis2fit all msgs in2a single sms".
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