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It's not true that there's no reason for the chat apps if texting is free. For me and all of my friends text messaging is practically free (there's no unit cost

by arjie 11y ago

It's not true that there's no reason for the chat apps if texting is free. For me and all of my friends text messaging is practically free (there's no unit cost, and every plan we would want has no unit cost), but we use WhatsApp and WeChat just as much. The last two are super convenient when you want to send pictures, video, and location and they have indicators to tell you if people are online or not and if they've seen your message or not. They have reliable group messaging unlike iMessage which only works with half your friends and is therefore useless, and Hangouts which switches views so slowly the conversation has gone right by you. Oh, and the cost thing just makes things worse because these chat apps work internationally seamlessly with all features. I can be in an airport in Thailand and just need to find a WiFi point and I could just as well be sitting in SFO waiting for my plane.

thaumasiotes 11y ago
> we use WhatsApp and WeChat just as much. > The last two are super convenient when you want to send pictures, video, and location and they have indicators to tell you if people are online or not and if they've seen your message or not. I use wechat heavily. I haven't noticed presence indicators or message status at all. Presence indicators actually contradict the basic premise of a phone messaging app, which is that the other person is always online. Your phone moves with you. Where might I find these purported features of wechat?
- arjie 11y ago
  Whoops sorry. I switch between the two (WhatsApp and WeChat) for different groups. That's a WhatsApp feature and it's great (says "last seen at" or "Online").
phillc73 11y ago
> For me and all of my friends text messaging is practically free (there's no unit cost, and every plan we would want has no unit cost) I'm guessing you and your friends all reside in the same country. SMS/text messaging can get very expensive, quite quickly, if you're regularly communicating with people in different countries. Eighteen months ago convinced just four of my most "messaged" contacts in different countries to switch to a messaging app (Telegram in this case) and I estimate savings in the region of £50-£75 per month.

by arjie 11y ago

thaumasiotes 11y ago

> we use WhatsApp and WeChat just as much. > The last two are super convenient when you want to send pictures, video, and location and they have indicators to tell you if people are online or not and if they've seen your message or not. I use wechat heavily. I haven't noticed presence indicators or message status at all. Presence indicators actually contradict the basic premise of a phone messaging app, which is that the other person is always online. Your phone moves with you. Where might I find these purported features of wechat?

arjie 11y ago
Whoops sorry. I switch between the two (WhatsApp and WeChat) for different groups. That's a WhatsApp feature and it's great (says "last seen at" or "Online").

phillc73 11y ago

> For me and all of my friends text messaging is practically free (there's no unit cost, and every plan we would want has no unit cost) I'm guessing you and your friends all reside in the same country. SMS/text messaging can get very expensive, quite quickly, if you're regularly communicating with people in different countries. Eighteen months ago convinced just four of my most "messaged" contacts in different countries to switch to a messaging app (Telegram in this case) and I estimate savings in the region of £50-£75 per month.