WhatsApp is hot. Red hot. So hot it’s even hotter than Twitter, clocking more than 200 million unique users per month as of April 2013 according to WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum. That’s way more than Twitter, which hit that speedbump waaaay back in December 2012, some two Quarters ago.
WhatsApp, which charges only US$0.99 (approximately JA$100) per year for usage, is now so popular that Nokia’s taking a big bet out on the IM (Instant Messenger. They’ve baked it into their spanking new Asha 210 smartphone by having a dedicated button for them on as reported in Kelroy’s blog article New Nokia Asha 210 features a dedicated WhatsApp Button.
The new budget smartphone that’s a pretender to the Nokia feature phone throne in Developing World, the Nokia 501 as described in US$99 Nokia Asha 501 debuts in India as Nokia throws down the gauntlet to Budget smartphone challengers, comes with WhatsApp included. IM (Instant Messaging) is thriving even as SMS (Short Messaging Service) aka Texting dies a slow death.
Texting has declining some 5% in the US of A from 2.3 trillion Tests in 2011 to 2.19 trillion in 2012 according to the CTIA-the Wireless Association. For the stats minded among you, view the Full CTIA Report on SMS and IM.
Globally (including Jamaica!) it’s the same trend as confirmed by analyst Informa. In 2012, 19 billion IM were sent each day as opposed to 17.6 billion SMS messages were sent each day. Now in 2013, Informa estimates that by the end of 2013, 50 billion IM will sent each day compared to 21 billion SMS messages were sent each day.
The top IM Apps on smartphones, according to Informa in order of Traffic were:
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BlackBerry Messenger
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Viber
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Nimbuzz
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Apple’s iMessage
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KakaoTalk
As 3G and 4G LTE Network deployments spread and smartphone prices drop into the US$199 range of affordability, Features phones stranglehold on the Developing World is slowly fading.
Samsung and Apple are certain to be interested in making Budget smartphone to tap into the still untapped Developing World. So with the now obvious popularity of WhatsApp, how do you send WhatsApp Messages to smartphones and Tablets if you still stuck in the dinosaur age of a Desktop computer or a Laptop like myself?
Folks, DIY Time again, as basically there’re 2 ways you can do that:
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Cloud Application Website
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Using Installed software BlueStacks App Player
I’ll deal with the Cloud Application Website, as that’s usually the easiest. Just simply visit the super-easy-to-use website WebWhatsApp and you can get started sending WhatsApp Messages anonymously and for free. Yes, free and anonymously. Have fun but don’t overdo it!
The second method is via installing BlueStacks App Player. This is an App Emulator that creates a smartphone environment on your smartphone. Then you follow the following simple instructions to install WhatsApp on BlueStacks App Player:
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Download BlueStacks App Player.
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Install the BlueStacks App Player. Patience like Job is required as it takes awhile to download itself and install
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Once installed the emulator environment will open up automatically
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You then have to sign up for an Android play account or login with you Google Account to the Android Play Store
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Download WhatsApp from the Google Play Store
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Install WhatsApp and makes sure to accept terms and conditions to access the features of the App.
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Add your mobile number and get verified by the WhatsApp, making sure to choose the country i.e. Jamaica and enter your active mobile phone number. Best of all, it doesn’t have to be a smartphone, which is the sweet part
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WhatsApp then verifies the phone number entered by sending you a PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS or a automated phone call, depending on the setup option your choose
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Use the PIN and enter in the app to get verified.
That’s it, dear WhatsApp Fanatic. If you’re already familiar with the WhatsApp interface, you can start messaging like a pro. Your friends will be none the wiser as they’ll never know if your on a smartphone or a Desktop computer. However, if you’re emulating via BlueStacks App Player, you’ll also have to emulate the US$0.99 (approximately JA$100) per year charge, which isn’t much for what basically free Messaging.
In the meantime, save up and get the Asha 210 or the Asha 501 when it comes out. Trus’ me, they’re worth it.
Here are the links: