WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular cross-platform instant messaging service for smartphones. It works on all major mobile platforms – iOS, Android, Blackberry OS and Symbian - over Wi-Fi / cellular data and allows you send and receive text messages, photos, videos for free. With so many smartphones in the hands of teenagers and young adults, it’s no surprise that many of them prefer using WhatsApp over services like Blackberry Messenger and iMessage.
Of all the features that arrived when iOS 5 reached the end-user back in October of last year, iMessage has been arguably the most significant, and by now allowing messages to be sent and received in a faster, more secure manner across a variety of platforms, it has to go down as one of the best in the business. Granted, it has its occasional downtime, but it's not bad as is, and with the service also arriving to the Mac with OS X Mountain Lion, it will almost certainly become the sole mode of quick communication to many Apple enthusiasts.
As primarily an iOS user (with quite a bit of time for Android, mind), I have had very little experience with Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. In fact, apart from toying around with a Lumia 800 (which, by the way, I did rather enjoy), I have to confess to being a bit of a noob when it comes to the platform, but nevertheless, I am as excited as any with the prospect of Windows Phone 8.
Following yesterday's official debut of Office 2013 (and the Customer Preview, which is now available for download as we reported yesterday), Microsoft has today followed up with a post that shares more information about Office 2013's role in the cloud as well as its future on the Windows Phone platform.
YouTube is the most frequented video streaming site on the web, and as such, most smartphone owners require a decent app for viewing the very latest and most entertaining content.
The always popular Encyclopedia Britannica is now available to keep in the palm of your hand, with the news that a Windows Phone version of the app is available for download and fully updated for the year 2012. Primarily living online so as to avoid filling your phone's internal storage, the app also features an offline viewing mode for those occasions when Wi-Fi or a 3G data connection just isn't as forthcoming as we would like.
The Windows Phone "sneak peek" keynote conference gave the technology world a real glimpse of what it can expect from Microsoft's future mobile endeavors, and as well as the promised Camera Extensions app, which landed yesterday, the Redmond company also noted the Nokia Play to DLNA app would surface.
Microsoft has had a pretty good week with all said and done. The Microsoft Surface, although managing to yield its fair share of critics, was relatively well-received by those in the tech world, and the grand unveiling of Windows Phone 8 suggests the Redmond-residing company is heading in the right direction.
If BlackBerry Messenger, iMessage and the like just don't cut it for you, or more likely you need a cross-platform solution, then it is true that you are not short on alternatives. WhatsApp has long been one of the forerunners in the space, and with Google Talk and others already in an increasingly cluttered marketplace, who needs another?
As well as taking a great photo or video, today's smartphone devices can also - thanks to a sleuth of accommodating apps - take 360 degree (or panoramic) shots, enabling entire rooms or landscapes to be covered.
