5 ms·

To be realistic, Whatsapp is massive and popular, but totally incomparable to Microsoft or Google as a company. Whatsapp is a chat app, Microsoft is the operati

To be realistic, Whatsapp is massive and popular, but totally incomparable to Microsoft or Google as a company. Whatsapp is a chat app, Microsoft is the operating system and office software of 1.25 billion computers around the world.

TremendousJudge 9y ago
you're underselling it. yes, it's a 'chat app', but one that runs on a billion phones in every country on the planet
- celticninja 9y ago
  But it is still just an app, a messaging app at that. AFAIK no one I know has ever got the voice call function to work to a minimum standard. So whilst it is a useful and pervasive chat application that's all it really is.
  - kikoreis 9y ago
    Voice calls on WhatsApp are simply fantastic. I'm not sure how you are measuring, but this is based on my experience in Brazil over Wifi and 3Gish 4G
    - DrJid 9y ago
      Yup, WhatsApp voice calls beat Skype, hangouts, FaceTime audio, Slack audio. I don't know why, but I've tried them all. Somehow WhatsApp seems so much better.
      - yeukhon 9y ago
        Second this. WhatsApp uses the least data and can work well in network connection transition. Most importantly, it is binded to your phone number and can call people regardless of country (unlike Skype) . If I remember correctly since 2016, WhatsApp is completly free from any fee charge? How is facebook planning to use that? Finally integrate with facebook?
  - dzamo_norton 9y ago
    You're not seeing it. It is, to some or other partial-but-very-noticeable extent, a Skype killer, an SMS killer, a GSM/CDMA voice call killer, an email killer, a Hangouts killer, a Facebook killer (yes i know they bought it), [insert many others here]. Communications are very important, this app is a beast. The voice calls work perfectly for me.
dzamo_norton 9y ago
I don't think that the technical scope of the software or the company behind it were what was being measured against the notion of a "fairytale startup" by the parent, or the grandparent. They spoke of "greenfield tech", "mind-boggling earn out", "10 000 millionaires" but the product didn't have to be an entire operating system. A game could be a fairytale startup then. Flappy Bird would have done it for me
- liberte82 9y ago
  I guess, but if we're talking about the number of millionaires to come out of a startup, then I think the scope and size of the company is very relevant.

TremendousJudge 9y ago

you're underselling it. yes, it's a 'chat app', but one that runs on a billion phones in every country on the planet

celticninja 9y ago
But it is still just an app, a messaging app at that. AFAIK no one I know has ever got the voice call function to work to a minimum standard. So whilst it is a useful and pervasive chat application that's all it really is.
- kikoreis 9y ago
  Voice calls on WhatsApp are simply fantastic. I'm not sure how you are measuring, but this is based on my experience in Brazil over Wifi and 3Gish 4G
  - DrJid 9y ago
    Yup, WhatsApp voice calls beat Skype, hangouts, FaceTime audio, Slack audio. I don't know why, but I've tried them all. Somehow WhatsApp seems so much better.
    - yeukhon 9y ago
      Second this. WhatsApp uses the least data and can work well in network connection transition. Most importantly, it is binded to your phone number and can call people regardless of country (unlike Skype) . If I remember correctly since 2016, WhatsApp is completly free from any fee charge? How is facebook planning to use that? Finally integrate with facebook?
- dzamo_norton 9y ago
  You're not seeing it. It is, to some or other partial-but-very-noticeable extent, a Skype killer, an SMS killer, a GSM/CDMA voice call killer, an email killer, a Hangouts killer, a Facebook killer (yes i know they bought it), [insert many others here]. Communications are very important, this app is a beast. The voice calls work perfectly for me.

dzamo_norton 9y ago

I don't think that the technical scope of the software or the company behind it were what was being measured against the notion of a "fairytale startup" by the parent, or the grandparent. They spoke of "greenfield tech", "mind-boggling earn out", "10 000 millionaires" but the product didn't have to be an entire operating system. A game could be a fairytale startup then. Flappy Bird would have done it for me

liberte82 9y ago
I guess, but if we're talking about the number of millionaires to come out of a startup, then I think the scope and size of the company is very relevant.