Why Whatsapp is still my favorite mobile messenger

After a week of using the BBM for Android app I still prefer Whatsapp as my favorite mobile messenger. I am definitely not the only one feeling this way, a lot of my folks have been sending in their verdicts of the newly released BBM for Android and iOS apps and how they think the app can improve if it is to stand a chance of competing with the likes of Whatsapp and Viber.

I have also compared the BBM for Android and iOS apps and other mobile messenger apps I have been using for a long while and I have reasons to believe the BBM for Android and iOS might just be another over-hyped Blackberry product. I will share my reasons here with you why I think Whatsapp is better than BBM for Android and iOS for now & why Whatsapp is still my favorite mobile messenger.

Whatsapp has more than 200 million active users compared to just 60 million for BBM because it is available on several platforms and devices. Even the cheapest smartphone can use Whatsapp compared to BBM that is limited to a certain version of OS and platform. Not all Android users can even use the BBM app on their devices. I think if BBM is to stand a chance to compete with Whatsapp it should be made available for lower versions of Android like the 2.3.x Gingerbread devices and other platforms like the Windows phones and even Java phones like Whatsapp did.

I definitely have more of my friends on Whatsapp because it is a cross platform app unlike the BBM that is limited to just iOS6, iOS7 & Android 4.0 users. BBM will do itself a lot of good if it targets low-range Android smartphones running on Gingerbread and also those running on Windows OS & other mobile OSes.

Another reason why Whatsapp is still my favorite mobile messenger is because it has quite some features currently lacking in the BBM for Android and iOS apps. Whatsapp allows the sending of voice note, clearly a feature currently lacking in BBM for Android or iOS. Whatsapp voice note means I don’t have to type always; I can simply record a voice note and send to my friend who can listen and reply me with a voice note too, so I can stay on chat with friends even when I don’t want to type. BBM on Blackberry devices has both the voice and video chat; I just don’t understand why they decided to leave it off in the Android and iOS versions.

So if BBM wants to gain more popularity, I think they should include the voice and video chat features in their next update as more and more people are reluctant to totally switch because of the missing features.

In Whatsapp you can clearly know when a user was last available online with the last seen feature of the app, that way you can keep tabs on your friends even when you are not talking to them. BBM lacks this feature; BBM does not have to assume one is always available.

I also do not like that I have to build my contact list from scratch when I already have hundreds and thousands of them on Whatsapp already. BBM should be able to find from my contact list those who have the app and let me decide if i want to chat with them or not.

To really compete with the likes of Whatsapp and Viber as my favorite mobile messenger, then it should ensure to address all the issues I have listed here and more especially making the BBM app available for Android Gingerbread users in their next update.

Now over to you…..

What is your verdict of the BBM for Android and iOS apps so far? How has the app met your expectations or is it just another over-hyped Blackberry product to you? What features do you think should be introduced to the BBM for Android and iOS apps to make it stand a chance of competing with other mobile messengers like Whatsapp and Viber?

Let me hear from you, you can use the comment section below to share your views on this post with me. Remember to subscribe to my RSS feed.