WhatsApp handles more messages than Apple's iMessage does

http://bgr.com/2012/10/23/apple-imessage-analysis-whatsapp/

by nikunjk • 14 years ago

18 12 14 years ago

melvinmt• 14 years ago

I guess many people still think they're sending out text messages while they're using iMessage which may the reason why they've been reluctant to use it as much as WhatsApp (they think they're getting charged for every message).

derefr• 14 years ago

My mother has a dumbphone. My girlfriend has a Blackberry. My friends have Androids. Some of my coworkers have iOS devices, but not nearly the majority. So, for me, iMessage isn't free. And I think this is true for the majority of the population that doesn't live in the Apple-centred SV hype bubble. If Apple opened the iMessage protocol to non-iOS devices[1], I'd use iMessage in a heartbeat--I prefer its UX. But until then, I'll only use it to reply when someone sends me an SMS--because, like email, SMS is universal.

[1] They wouldn't even have to write iMessage apps for those devices--just allow, say, WhatsApp, to use the iMessage protocol.

onetwothreefour• 14 years ago

Apple has zero interest in opening up iMessage to any non-Apple device. So that'll never happen.

beforebeta• 14 years ago

how exactly is WhatsApp "pushing around" Apple - that would indicate that there is a power & influence sort of relationship between the two companies. Rather, this is a case of WhatsApp outperforming Apple due to its multi-platform support, extended featureset and first mover advantage

jperezcu• 14 years ago

that's a misleading title

joonix• 14 years ago

This may be related to the fact that WhatsApp actually works.

WrkInProgress• 14 years ago

I'm curious, in what way does iMessage not work ?

macrael2• 14 years ago

WhatsApp is insecure, right? Did they ever respond to that? If any major company implemented a chat protocol that sent messages in plaintext today, I imagine they would be crucified. What can we do to get WhatsApp to adopt security?

mxxx• 14 years ago

if i remember correctly they _do_ encrypt your messages but authentication is based on something like your phone number as your username and your IMEI as your password or something absolutely ridiculous.

i read about it on slashdot, and told my sister, who uses it all the time. her response was "oh, should i care?". sigh

saurik2• 14 years ago

Many people happily use Twitter to talk to each other, entirely in public; many people will not care unless you can show them something they actually consider to be sensitive information that would be leaked by the lack of security.

I mean, to put this in perspective: my physical mailbox is secured by a pretty crummy key; it is sufficiently crummy that, early on when I didn't know which mailbox was mine, I found another mailbox near mine shares the same key.

However, if I really wanted to get mail out of the mailboxes, it would not only be trivial to pick any of these old and simple locks, but I bet I could get in to the back with a pair of pliers and put it back together without anyone noticing.

Yet, I don't particularly care: I don't have any of my bank/credit statements go to my apartment, and that's good enough for me, with regards to the security of my mail. If someone really wants to steal it from me, they could... but seriously: "should I care?".

WhatsApp handles more messages than Apple's iMessage does

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