LONDON: Smartphones have brought revolution in our lives and the use of internet has made communication much simpler than before. The prevalence of Wi-Fi and ease of access of mobile data and suitable plans has made everything as far as SMS is concerned history. People have turned to messaging apps for sending messages that include texts, photos, and video as well as voice recordings. There are hundreds of messaging apps available for free download from all corners of the internet, however, this post only brings to your notice the most commonly used instant messaging apps that you can install on your phone and forget about traditional SMS.
WhatsApp Messenger
With a user base of over 800 million people from across the globe, this app is with no doubt the most used app. It can be used on almost any mobile platform, be it Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Nokia Symbian. The app provides a very simple UI that is also free of any ads.
The app only asks for your phone number during registration and the rest is a piece of cake. Using WhatsApp, you will be able to send videos, voice recordings, texts, photos, locations, as well as contacts. Furthermore, this app can also be used to make free voice calls to other users. WhatsApp is only free for year one, but from year two onwards you must pay $0.99 annually.
LINE
LINE Messenger is a Japanese-based application that requires a phone number to sign you up. It can be installed on a variety of mobile operating systems that include iOS and Android. Just like WhatsApp, this app can be used to send and receive instant messages such as videos, texts, photos and audio notes. However, this app has more than just messaging to offer. Users can still make free voice and video calls to other users. There are also games to play with other users when chatting.
LINE Messenger comes with a Facebook-like timeline where you can post any media and other users can like, comment or even share. This app is free of any charge; all you need is an internet connection, and that’s it.
Snapchat
Snapchat gained its popularity because the messages it sends will be deleted after 10 seconds regardless of whether the recipient has received them or not. You can record videos of up to 10 seconds and share them with friends. These videos can also self-destroy themselves once their set time expires. Snapchat can be installed on all major mobile platforms; however, there is no PC version as this app is considered to work best when on the go.
