In the beginning, there were simple mobile phones. The primary aim of mobile phones was to enable people to call and talk to each other. The phones had very limited additional functionalities. People just used to talk to each other and that was it. In just a few years, how things have changed! Mobile phones have so much functionalities these days that were totally unimaginable 10 years back. Now, with smartphones, the game has changed further.

As smartphones became popular, came the advent of mobile apps which have taken the world by storm. There are mobile apps in various categories now ranging from text messaging apps, navigation, weather forecast apps, social media apps etc. You think of anything and you are likely to find an app for it already present.

Text messaging apps have recently become very popular because it allows people to send unlimited number of messages to each other completely free. Your friend may be in another country; they may be using any service provider and may have different kinds of mobile phones. You can still text them any time of the day or night with just a couple of clicks on your smartphone.

Many of these apps are either completely free or they are inexpensive. Some of the popular text messaging apps are Nimbuzz, WhatsApp, Skype Mobile etc. Nimbuz works on all platforms. You can use it whether you have an iPhone, Blackberry or any other smartphone which is able to run windows applications.

WhatsApp has recently become very popular and has taken over Nimbuzz in popularity. It is a smartphone messenger that allows you to communicate with your friends and contacts via your WiFi or 3G connection. WhatsApp works on Android, Symbian, iPhone and Blackberry phones. Now there is a new entry in the market. It is called Telegram, which is cloud based application and it syncs in easily across multiple devices. Telegram allows you to share and send many types of files like PDF, PPT, Doc Zip files etc.

With so many text messaging apps, nobody is using SMS’es to communicate with each other. Text messaging is the new way to stay in touch with each other. Smart business marketers can utilize this trend to their advantage. They now have one more medium to reach potential customers and increase their business. 9 out of 10 people own a mobile phone these days. A major percentage of these mobile phone owners possess smart phone. Business owners can now advertise to these smart phone owners using a reliable text-based service which will give them much higher ROI (Return on Investment) than other forms of advertising. It will cost much less money when compared to email marketing, SMS marketing or telemarketing campaigns.

WhatsApp is the most favored and extensively used messaging application. It has undoubtedly transformed the way mobile gadgets have been employed for advertising. Here are some tricks that you can apply to your WhatsApp advertising campaign.

Change your contact number:

If you are planning to change the contact information linked to your WhatsApp account, WhatsApp provides an amazing feature to change the existing contact number with the new one.

All you need to do is, go through ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Account’. You will find an option “Change number”, tap on it and enter your existing and new contact number. This contact number update process migrates your account information, groups and settings to the new number.

Disable WhatsApp’s Last seen feature:

WhatsApp’s last seen feature is a good way to know the last seen availability on WhatsApp of your contacts. To hide your last seen, you need to go to the ‘Settings’ and opt for ‘Account’. Tap to ‘Privacy’ tab and select ‘Last seen’ and then choose whom you want to show your last availability on WhatsApp.

There are three options available, you have to mark one among ‘Everybody, My contacts and Nobody’ according to your requirements.

Lock Your WhatsApp account:

Locking your WhatsApp is an amazing feature to make you feel secure about your messages and information. To lock your WhatsApp account, you need to install “Chat Lock application” from the Google Play Store.

In Chat Lock application, there are many messengers, including WhatsApp. You can lock WhatsApp and other messengers using different auto lock timing and passwords to protect your messages and data.

Retrieve Your deleted WhatsApp conversations:

Sometimes when we delete the unwanted chats and information from WhatsApp, we also delete important messages and data and may to recover them back. WhatsApp provides a backup feature that allows you to take advantage and recover and restore your previous conversions.

All you have to do is uninstall and reinstall your WhatsApp account. At the time of installation, WhatsApp will ask you to restore your history and conversations, tap OK to get your old messages back.

There are so many other tricks some as knowing WhatsApp statistics to get all the information about your account, setting up pop up notifications, using WhatsApp without a number, hiding WhatsApp images and videos from the phone gallery, extending WhatsApp trial pack, blocking unwanted users, hiding your status and profile picture etc., but here is a last one you may like.

How to use WhatsApp on your PC and synchronize it with your phone

WhatsApp doesn’t work only on mobile devices; it also works on your PC. If you have a WhatsApp account, you can synchronize its content to use it on your PC. This feature is only available with Google’s Chrome browser. When you synchronize between your mobile device and PC, the information of WhatsApp is also synchronized as well.

Notifications will appear on your PC’s WhatsApp until you logout of the account. This synchronization can be done with or without Bluestacks. The process is really easy:

Synchronization without Bluestacks:

To run WhatsApp on your PC without using Bluestacks, you need to follow the these steps –

Step 1: If you don’t have a Chrome browser, download and install it onto your PC.

Step 2: And enter the URL ” https://web.whatsapp.com/ ” in the Chrome address bar.

Step 3: A QR code appears on the instructions page, follow the instruction according to your operating system and mobile phone. Go to the WhatsApp Web to get the WhatsApp Web QR scanner.

Step 4: Scan the QR code and you are done with the synchronization process.

After completing the process, you can use your messages on the PC as well as on your mobile. To terminate the synchronization just close the session.

Synchronization with Bluestacks:

Take advantage of Bluestacks to synchronize your WhatsApp account by using the same contact number for your PC and mobile device. Using Bluestacks, you can connect with various kinds of messengers at once such as Facebook, Hangout, WhatsApp and many more. Here are the steps to assist you:

Step 1: First download and install Bluestacks software onto your PC and then run WhatsApp to utilize it.

Step 2: Download and install the Bluestacks Cloud Connect application on your smartphone or mobile device from Google’s play store.

Step 3: After installing, open the app on your mobile devices and it will ask your to enter a pin.

Step 4: Open Bluestacks on your PC and go to the “setting and opt” to connect with cloud connect. A registration key will be sent to your phone.

Step 5: Enter the registration key in your mobile application and then select the option for synchronization on mobile Bluestacks app.

Now you are ready to use WhatsApp on your PC as well as your mobile taking advantage of Bluestacks.

Instant messaging, often shortened to simply “IM” or “IMing,” is the exchange of text messages through a software application in real-time. Instant messaging differs from ordinary e-mail in the immediacy of the message exchange and also makes a continued exchange simpler than sending e-mail back and forth. Most exchanges are text-only, though popular services, such as AOL, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Apple’s iChat now allow voice messaging, file sharing and even video chat when both users have cameras. Some IM applications can use push technology to provide real-time text, which transmits messages character by character, as they are composed. More advanced instant messaging can add file transfer, clickable hyperlinks, Voice over IP, or video chat.

The WhatsApp messaging application is the widely used instant messaging application used for sending one on one and group messages to your contacts- it has made life simpler for people especially those who are always on the move. It is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. In addition to basic messaging the users can create groups, send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages.

WhatsApp application development process is designed so as to operate on all mobile platforms like android, iOS and windows.These application are very helpful for our organizations, its creates employe data, employe information and helping more and more organizations these days have started using an application like whats app to streamline and automate communication flow process within the organization.

A larger chunk of the companies have made significant efforts in helping their people adopt an application like this and use it as a part of their daily routine. A lot of inter and intra department automation can be brought by the application by allowing sharing of files, images etc. and make the decision making process faster than ever before with greater management control and informed decisions. There is a growing demand to address the ever growing and highly dynamic customer needs and requirements therefore in such a case having an application like this can help in achieving the desired business objectives and outcomes by streamlining the communication process.

The success of these chat applications depends a lot on the UI/UX design of the application since it needs a higher level of user engagement dimension so that it is accepted as part of a culture and also since most of the people who might use chat applications are youth.

How to use WhatsApp as an emerging marketing tool

WhatsApp has been getting more attention since Facebook bought this messaging service application. The service has revamped the way phones have been utilized for advertisement. Taking advantage of WhatsApp, communications are becoming more targeted and distinctive between businesses and customers.

Using customized messages, WhatsApp is a great way of advertising for brands to maximize the benefits of their marketing efforts.

WhatsApp for interaction:

WhatsApp can be adopted as a tool to directly communicate with the persons whom you already know. You can take advantage of WhatsApp to send images, video and text messages of new products to your current clients.

The interaction needs to be one to one, as the audience doesn’t like to be part of a WhatsApp group. One-to-one communication makes them feel special and builds the trust of the customer in your brand.

Create mutual communities of like-minded people:

Take the initiative and create WhatsApp groups of distinct audiences. You can create groups on the basis of their geographical location, interest and demographics. You can also limit the room of your WhatsApp groups such as how many people will be in one group. After doing the complete process, start sending messages to the group.

WhatsApp to organize people:

WhatsApp is most favored by users to communicate with people they know. Take benefit of this fact and use WhatsApp to gather people for a specific cause or an event. Invite people to join the event by sending an invitation on WhatsApp and request them to share it among their WhatsApp group to increase your audience. The more people share the event, the more your audience will grow.

Display a product as profile picture:

To advertise your product via WhatsApp, you can send a news alert but you can make it much better by uploading the product image as profile picture and updating the status so it provides some information about the product. Placing a website URL in the status can also works great to promote your brand.

Revamp the WhatsApp content.

Before sharing an image or a video file via WhatsApp, you need to ensure that the size of file is small so that more users are able to download the file. Because people are more likely to watch a short video on WhatsApp instead of watching a lengthy video.

WhatsApp’s impact on social media marketing

WhatsApp is really an important part of your online social advertising. It is an instant messaging application to communicate with your audience. Social marketers always look for a compelling method to get the attention of their existing customers as well as find new customers.

This App allows real-time two-way communication with the audience who matters the most to you and your business. The main objective of WhatsApp marketing is to engage your prospective audience. WhatsApp is a multi-purpose, user friendly application which helps you to attain your business goals.

Here are some business objectives where WhatsApp can yield great results –

Broadcasting:

WhatsApp permits its users to create groups to communicate and text anything to a group of people at once without having to send it individually to every user. It is a direct and instant way to send the messages and reach your potential customers.

Messages are sent to the user’s mobile, which is really important for marketers and businesses. The message is viewed within few minutes, as people like to check their phones when any kind of notification appears on the screen. Broadcasting can modernize the communication with your customers.

You can update new product launches and services by sending them text and news alerts instantly to make audience aware about your business.

Boost Customer Engagement:

The Audiences don’t like to see a list of promotional emails in their mobile inbox. But WhatsApp is not only about advertising your products and services. You can do much more with WhatsApp such as sending text, images, videos, audio, emoticons, vouchers and GPS location to your audience.

WhatsApp also provides audio and video calling features for better communication. It is mainly based on one-to-one communication which is the prominent method to make your customers happy, boost awareness and ROI.

Low cost brand management:

Small ventures and local businesses have low budgets for advertising their brand and products on the internet. WhatsApp works great for these kind of businesses. WhatsApp uses mobile internet data to send and receive messages. This application is free for one year, after that you need to pay an annual subscription fee of $0.99 USD, where other online marketing technologies cost you much more money.

Businesses can utilize WhatsApp to communicate internally or with customers and thus make communication more effective or keep in touch with your existing audience. You can resolve their queries via WhatsApp and ask for feedback, reviews and testimonials.

Including WhatsApp in your online advertising campaigns will assist you to increase your brand’s positioning and improve brand management.

Over the last couple of years, WhatsApp has emerged as the front-runner in a pack of messaging apps that are bent on dethroning Skype. After their acquisition by Facebook, they have introduced a slew of features in a bid to become a more complete mobile messaging solution. While some people may argue that the latest updates are features that have been present in competitors for a while now, WhatsApp users (now numbering in the hundreds of millions) have generally welcomed them with open arms.

The WhatsApp iOS app has recently launched new features such as the ability to archive conversations, add captions to attached images and some new wallpapers for the app as well. While most of these features have long been available on the Android platform, some of them are exclusive to iOS such as the ability to share the slow-motion videos that can be created using the iPhone 5S. Users can even trim the video down to a manageable length from inside the app itself.

One feature that has generated some criticism is the inclusion of read receipts for messages. So far, users have only been able to tell if a message has been delivered to the recipient's device with a double tick mark in gray. Now blue tick marks will appear to indicate that the message has been read. While some users protested about the intrusion of privacy, others welcomed it as most other platforms offer this feature as well.

In spite of these updates, WhatsApp still has a long way to go to catch up with Skype in two crucial areas: voice / video calling and a desktop app. For millions of non-tech savvy users, Skype is the "go to" application if they want to talk with others on the Internet. Although WhatsApp had announced that it would launch VoIP calling, it has not happened even as competitors such as Google and Apple have incorporated it into their respective platforms.

Another reason for the popularity of Skype is the availability of the app for all conceivable platforms including PC. So far, WhatsApp has stubbornly remained confined to the mobile world which is quickly becoming a handicap, even though it was partly the reason for the app's meteoric rise to popularity. For those users whose job requires them to spend most of the day in front of their computers, a desktop app is sorely required. If these two weaknesses are rectified, WhatsApp may truly have a shot at replacing Skype.

With unmatched quality and high stability the application WhatsApp for LG is rapidly gaining its popularity among the holders of this type of mobile phones. This version is not just a messenger, but it is a whole multi-function device designed for all forms of communication:

1. It automatically receives messages from other users.

2. It sends free messages to other clients of the service.

3. The SMS messages are free to all mobile operators.

4. Write the messages directly in the program.

5. There is a free exchange of file data.

6. The possibility to transfer marks on the map and video to your interlocutor.

7. There is an opportunity to share your contact list with another person.

8. You can change your status automatically depending on the date.

Of course, the above listed functions are only a part of what you can do with this application. Absolutely free of charge you can expand its capabilities greatly by installing some additional plug-ins.

WhatsApp creates an account on the basis of your phone number. Your phone book is scanned and added to the list of contacts for those whose numbers are registered in the same service. The advantages of this solution are obvious: no registrations, no nicks, no authorizations and additions to the friends. If someone from the phone book is registered in the application, he/she is automatically added to your contact list.

Tap on the contact and you will open a chat with him/her. It is indicated the time when the contact was last online next to his/her profile; in the upper right corner there is a button with attachments and emoticons. You can insert a picture in the chat, video, voice recording, contact card, and your location. Particularly interesting is the last function, as it is a ready answer to the question “Where are you?”

When you send a message, a tick mark indicating that the delivery is made appears near the profile. When the recipient reads it, the second tick appears beside the message. It is a trifle, but it greatly simplifies the chat and helps you get rid of the question “Has he got my message?”

The program’s interface is pleasing to the eye, as it is made in nice bright colors. If you want, you can change the background image of the chat window. You can start a chat with several contacts.

Unpretentious setting for chat and notifications are available. In general, there is nothing special in all this.

Conclusion

The simplicity of using this program mainly depends on the number of friends and acquaintances who are using it as you do. If you have only two of these people, so for you it is not a very useful program. However, many people regularly use WhatsApp for LG, as they have numerous acquaintances with this application and they want to save their money on SMS and they successfully do this. So, these people are absolutely satisfied with its functionality.

It is worth noting that you do not need to run this application specifically to be “online”. When a message arrives, it is automatically delivered to you. If the phone is online, the program itself does not drain the battery completely.

So everything depends on you: if you have many friends with smartphones, it makes sense to install this program and use it instead of SMS, but if these people are rather few, the program becomes less useful.

There are lots of people on your Facebook, who keep sending you requests for various games and other stuff. Then there is MewChat that has recently caught the fancy of many a users, but what exactly is this all about? Let us find out what this app is and the utility of it for its users.

About MewChat

MewChat is one of the fast catching IM apps that seems to be somewhat similar to WhatsApp or any other chat messenger. However, the only thing to notice about this app is that it is a social networking app. Another interesting thing about this app is that this app helps one find their match online that is location based. It does sound similar to Tinder.

It begins when you install MewChat on your iPhone or iPad, Android Smartphones or Android device then it starts inviting people in your contacts sending pop-up messages. It is an invitation message sent to other users for inviting friends and joining in. Even when you are finished signing up for the chat, it asks you to select a number of people for sending invites. The messages get delivered within 24 hours.

Even after being a chat that is pro-active in sending message invites to other users within a span of 24 hours, this app enjoys popularity. This app is the most downloadable app in Australia, UK and other countries where youths enjoy getting connected to people world over instantly through messages or chat messenger.

What is this app about?

Users are connected via this app, this means that users who are already in your contacts will be added to MewChat so it is very similar to WhatsApp. This app differs at point where chat rooms are created according to location of people to help them connect with one another. Random chat rooms are created to initiate a connection between people in the same geographic location and thus help them find people with similar interests. The default setting of the app enables in getting in touch with people in the same country. If you want to broaden your reach, you can browse the world map to initiate conversation anywhere in the world. It is easy to initiate a chat as you just need to press on the orange cat, and you are done.

This messaging app is unique as it allows individuals from every country to join in chat rooms. The contacts in your phone are already a part of your network, but you can even add those who you find in random chat groups. To make it easier for users to connect, you can use your Facebook account to sign into your MewChat. Your matches get decided upon the information provided by you in your profile that determines who is compatible with you. Voice and photo messaging are supported by this chat app. The age limit that is required to be a part of this app is that of 13 years.

This article is partially dedicated to WhatsApp, which is a cross-platform instant messaging service founded in 2009 by two Americans.

I am the one out of the whopping 400 million active users who use this service each month. It unites and makes friends. It plans and executes. It makes us go on an instant vacation.

Our ‘Special 26’ group was the most active on January 24 when nine of us decided to spend a night at Mahabaleshwar. A friend volunteered to book a guest house.

All fingers were in action mode. This messenger worked like our inbuilt DNA system. It made no bones to ping and inform all. It worked nearly 18 hours that day. Finally, the programme firmed up and the countdown began. . .

As the date drew close, others wished to join the fray.

The event now grew to a bigger picture.

We had to work on a larger canvas. Virtual meetings, actual meetings, and meetings over informal dinners ensued.

For those living in Mumbai and Pune, this hill-station is like a second home. Any day, any season, anytime without reason – you hop on swarming this township. It’s situated in the Western Ghats range of Maharashtra, India, nearly 120 km from Pune.

After been there for more than twenty times, I didn’t know that Mahabi is another name for Mahableshwar and that it served as the summer capital of Bombay province during British Raj.

I recently came to know that in old records it was called Malcolm Peth. Not that it matters but I just thought I would share as a passing reference.

At 8 am we hung a padlock at our main door and headed for a great fun.

Our home for the next 24 hours was a beautiful venue. It was located next to the forest overlooking the hills.

There was no habitation in the vicinity, so we could afford to be at our loudest best without disturbing anyone! With enough time for paparazzi, candid photography, and shopping our lungs had the most engulfing cool breeze.

The visit to this place doesn’t get complete without the taste of strawberries. Sweet Charlie and Cama Rosa are the common varieties. The former is sweeter but perishable.

Whether one visits an ancient Shiva temple or not, or any other point, one cannot leave this town without enjoying delicacies at Mapro Garden, which is famous for Pizzas, sandwiches, and ‘Strawberry with cream. ‘

One also finds umpteen numbers of local syrups, as also cutlets from homegrown corn.

Consider to go between April and October.

It rains heavily from June to September. Most of the shops remain closed and tourism is thin.

There may or may not be snowfall from October to February but Sun is bright from March to May.

Lay your bags accordingly and enjoy a cool and pleasant haven 4500 feet above the sea level. We go often. See you there!

Introduction

Most often people message or call their friends even when they are on the move. Sometimes, the addiction goes to the extent of totally forgetting about the things happening around them, putting their lives in peril. In this context, I remember people on the call while they are walking on the road, making the motor drivers’ life difficult. They will not move away even if you make high-sounding horns. They become so interested in the application that they forget everything else. It might even make them forget other things as well. Hence, it is time for them to avoid using such applications. In this article, I would be listing the tips that they need to follow so that they can decrease the use of WhatsApp application for their own good.

1. Remove WhatsApp Icon: To avoid the temptation to use it now and then, it is better to remove the icon of this application from the home screen. The short-cuts make the people use the application. The disappearance of the icon will make them think other things and see less of this application.

2. Avoid Notification: Another way to make this happen is to switch off the notification. This will avoid the people to look at the phone for any notification on new message arrival. This will let them devote their mind on some other useful things.

3. Reply Late: They also should learn to take some time to reply the messages that have come in their in-boxes. If the messages are not that urgent, they can take their own time to answer them. This would give them ample time to do other works that they should do. This will also help them to get rid of this addiction.

4. Stop Forwarding Messages: People should stop forwarding the messages that keep coming to them. These could be jokes, videos, images or any other damn thing. Otherwise, they will end up in meaningless chats with the buddies for a longer time period. They need to send only those messages or videos that need immediate attention by their peers.

5. Don’t Change Display Picture: People should not be changing the display picture quite often. Other people don’t check whether they have changed the display picture every day due to paucity of time. Hence, they should restrain themselves from changing it on daily basis. This would give them some time to do other meaningful things in life.

Introduction

The users of Android version of mobiles have good news. The application WhatsApp has been given the voice calling feature so that people can use the internet telephony effectively. The company has already rolled out this update to some users few months back on trial basis. These privileged users had in turn passed this update on to others by making WhatsApp call during the time-limited invite windows. After the first trial, the company had rolled out for the public to avail this service. Since then, several users had used this feature to make call at a much lower cost. However, they did not receive any invites on this regard. This is the reason why many people were not aware of this update for some time. It further added that it is working on the iOS6 version of this update. The iPhone users started availing this feature later.

Initial Evaluation

The company had sent the updates to a few people to test its new functionality. For its use on trial basis, the company had even pushed its updated version in Google Play as well. Later, the users had to look out constantly for getting updates in their region in selected sites. There was another source for getting the updates. It was by visiting the company site for downloading the apk file. People downloaded the new version and used it to give their feedback. Based on the feedback, WhatsApp brought some changes in the new feature to get the final approval. Finally, WhatsApp came out with the stable version that offered the voice calling facility.

How to Get this Feature?

The users can download the latest version WhatsApp from the company website to activate its voice calling feature. Though this feature is seen on WhatsApp version 2.12.5 in some Smartphones, people would have to download and install the latest 2.12.9 version to get this functionality fully. The people will find the instructions for installing the new version and activation of the new facility in the company website.

WhatsApp Voice Calling

After activating this functionality, the user will get a new three-tab layout that features Contacts, Chats and Calls functionalities. They need to visit the Calls tab to tap the phone icon to make a call. On tapping the phone icon, they would get a contact list from which they can pick up a contact to make the first internet call. Since this feature is not supported in other versions of WhatsApp, they will not see in the list of contacts of other people who have this new application installed. The company has brought the voice call functionality in other popular mobile platform iOS6 a few months later. The users owning mobiles with other platforms would have to wait for slightly longer time period.