Author Archives: Christine

Well, this is quite a surprise. After the announcement given at the end of February, we were convinced that no other updated versions of WhatsApp for Nokia devices would be released. In fact, the Facebook-owned app announced that by the end of 2016 no more support will be given on some specific operating systems such as Nokia Asha and Symbian 40. So this week, when we found out that an updated version of WhatsApp for Nokia Asha devices was available, we were rather surprised.

Unfortunately, but predictably, this new 2.13.40 version of WhatsApp for Nokia Ashia doesn’t add any new feature and even the emojis introduced previously are not yet available. What changes is the jar (installation) file, which has been increased with 17KB. In addition, over 1400 files have been modified, and that’s quite remarkable considering that the application itself has a little less than 2066 files.

This latest version 2.12.40 of WhatsApp for Nokia Asha also brings the addition of 19 new files. It is rather difficult to understand the usage of these new files, since most of them have names such as “blc.class”. Now that we’ve seen what changes, let’s see how to install this 2.12.340 Beta version of WhatsApp on your Nokia Asha device.

As usual, first of all you have to open the browser and go to whatsapp.com/s40. From here you can download the .jar file to your Nokia device. Once you’ve completed the download, you need to go back to the location where you’ve saved the file. Now you simply have to tap on it to launch the installation of this latest Beta version of WhatsApp on your Nokia Asha device.

That WhatsApp is the most successful instant messaging app in the world is now an indisputable fact (one billion monthly active users, according to latest statistics), but this scenario doesn’t seem to scare some new competitors. Even if the market of instant messaging apps is nearly saturated (think about Viber, Telegram, and, obviously, Facebook), there are some new companies that want to add something new and different.

That’s the case of a British company named Tengi. This Sheffield-based startup, that is only one year-old, is trying to offer something more to its users: prizes. Tengi’s users can earn by chatting virtual tickets  for a regular free prize draw. The top prize is quite high: £10,000, but there are also hundreds of smaller cash prizes.

Unlike WhatsApp, this new startup earns its revenue also from advertising within the app. But Tengi is not just a commercial product, since its founders encourage their users to make a small donation to the Heart of England Forest Trust. Could this kind of app be a real threat to WhatsApp?  Probably not in the near future, but certainly there are many companies who are not throwing the towel.

More improvements are available for those of you who use WhatsApp with Windows Phone devices. The Facebook-owned instant messaging app has just released an updated Beta version which further enhance the features introduced with the previous updates.So, what changes with this latest 2.12.342 Beta version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone? Let’s see it together.

If you love to send videos to your contacts, you’ll really appreciate this latest beta. In fact now the progress bar works properly when you send large videos, while the not working video progress bar has been definitively removed. If you decide to install this 2.12.342 Beta version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone, you’ll notice also that the new Video Trimmer has been updated. But another important change has been added.

From now on WhatsApp Beta users won’t be allowed anymore to send documents to their contacts who use a public version of WhatsApp. This is what changes with this 2.12.342 Beta version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone. How can you install it on your device? The access to the Beta app is restricted, but you can always download the public version from the Windows Store.

Are you curious to know recent statistics regarding WhatsApp? Well, after the milestone of one billion monthly active users, it seems that WhatsApp is putting an end to text messages. A recent research by yourbudgetcover.co.uk shows that only in the UK the use of text messages (or SMS) has dropped by almost a third since 2011.  At the end of September 2015 UK mobile users sent 102 billion text messages, while in 2011 they were 150 billion. Impressive, isn’t it?

And that’s just in the UK, but we are sure that in other countries the situation is pretty much the same, considering that now WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app in the world. The situation is so serious that mobile phone operators are increasingly offering incredible deals to their users. Once again, we have to face the fact that WhatsApp is changing everything in the field of communication and it is now a real giant difficult to defeat.

WhatsApp developers are releasing, more frequently than ever (nearly on a daily basis), updated versions  of this popular instant messaging app. Obviously, most of the updates, for the moment, are for the Android version of the app, since it is the most used. Therefore, today we are talking again about a new beta version of WhatsApp for Android, which introduces some interesting updates.

We think that this latest beta version 2.12.535 will be really appreciated betweeen WhatsAppers, because it introduces some formatting changes that will allow WhatsApp users to enliven their messages. If you decide to upgrade your Android device with this version 2.12.535, you’ll be able to format text inside WhatsApp messages as bold or italics. How can you do it? It’s very easy.

For example, if you need to use the bold, you just have to type your text between asterisks (*text*). Similar procedure if you want to use the italics: write your text between underscores (_text_). Your contact will be able to see the formatting if he/she uses an updated version of WhatsApp (so not with the 2.12.510 version but yes with the latest 2.12.535 version). We know, it’s already been noticed that this is the same way used by Google+ and Hangouts to format comments, but still, it’s a useful option.

Other changes have been added to the notifications, where now the sender name is displayed in bold, making it easier to recognize one chat from another. Another important update introduced involves file transfers. With this latest 2.12.535 version of WhatsApp for Android, WhatsApp will automatically convert Google Docs and Sheets from Google Drive to PDF documents, which you can then attach to your messages.

So, if you want to install Beta version 2.12.535 on your Android device, and you have not yet joined the official Play Store Beta Program, you can always download the APK Mirror from here and keep on enjoying your favourite instant messaging app.

There is a new updated version of WhatsApp for Android available, even if for the moment it is only an APK version. Version 2.12.523 doesn’t bring significant improvements, as it happened with the last couple of versions, but it could be useful to download it in any case.

After the sharing documents feature and the revamp of the Settings page, APK version 2.12.523 of WhatsApp for Android, as we said above, doesn’t bring further changes to the app. This latest version just fixes some bugs and improve the stability of the app. This latest 2.12.523 APK runs on all Android devices 2.1 or above and the size of the download file is 27.39 MB.

So, how can you install this latest APK version of Whatsapp for Android? You can download this latest updated version from here. Even if there aren’t any changes, obviously this latest update certainly makes the app stabler and faster.

Are you not only a WhatsApper, but also a fashion addicted? Well, in this case you’ll be glad to know that British Vogue (part of the Conde Nast family) has decided to try a new way to get in touch with its audience using WhatsApp. The fashion magazine is in good company since also BBC and The Huffington Post have decided to send out news alerts through the popular Facebook-owned app.

The news confirms the growing importance of WhatsApp (and of instant messaging applications in general) in the world of communication, since it’s now widely used by journalists around the world to share information and pictures in real time. British Vogue announced its presence on WhatsApp last month with an article, saying that WhatsApp is now a must-have if you “like to share information first”.

So, how can you enroll to the service and receive all the biggest stories in the fashion world? You simply have to save the dedicated number to your phonebook and send FASHION to the Vogue WhatsApp group.

According to the Guardian, the battle between Silicon Valley’s leading companies and US government over encryption has just begun. After the support given to Apple against the FBI, it seems that companies like Whatsapp, Facebook, Google and Snapchat are planning to increase their own privacy technology.

So, it seems that within weeks, WhatsApp will expand encryption to voice calls, while Facebook is planning to strenghten the securities features of its Messenger. According to the Guardian report, also Google is trying to further secure the privacy of its email users. Guardian’s article point out that engineers at major technology firms had already created encrypted messaging products in the past, but such products were never released because they were considered hard to use.

But it seems that the right moment to use these strong privacy tools is arrived, also from a business point of view. What’s interesting is that these projects started before Apple entered its battle  with the Department of Justice (later this month, Apple is due to appear in a federal court in California to fight the order). The public opinion is divided over the case, reports the Guardian. And, of course, any action toward encryption that tech firms may take, will put them against Washington.

There are already two US Senators (Richard Burr of North Carolina and Dianne Feinstein of California) who have written draft legislation that would create penalties for companies that refuse to provide readable user data to Authorities. And Barack Obama seems to be on the same wavelength with this draft and said “If government can’t get in, then everyone’s walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket, right?”. But Jan Koum, the founder of WhatsApp, has a completely different opinion and, on his Facebook account, posted this strong statement “Our freedom and our liberty are at stake.”

Encrypted messaging is already available for those who use WhatsApp with Android and iPhone devices. But it seems that in the near future the instant messaging company will offer its users also encrypted voice calls and encrypted groupe messages. At least that’s what two unknown people said to the Guardian. So far, WhatsApp security functions have always been free for users, and on the matter Koum clearly stated that security is not a bonus feature.

But now it’s difficult to predict if there will be changes in the future. Other sources added that in the coming weeks WhatsApp intends to make a formal announcement about its expanded encryption offerings.

Another new updated Beta version of Whatsapp for Windows Phone has already been released, and it further improves the functioning of this popular Facebook-owned instant messaging app.

This latest Beta version 2.12.314 of WhatsApp for Windows Phone brings some interesting updates. First of all there is a new icon added to the new Document attach button. What is really useful, is that this latest 2.12.314 beta version also brings regional localization to the prompts regarding this feature, which means that users are now told, for example, in German, that they are allowed to send documents to other WhatsAppers with the same level of software. And that’s not all.

Also the video compression process has been improved. Unfortunately, for the moment this new beta version 2.12.314 is available only to a select number of users, however, considering the stability of the app, it is possible that it will soon be available for all Windows Phone Users.

The success of WhatsApp, which is now one of the most popular apps in the world (recent statistics report that now WhatsApp has more than 1 billion monthly active users!), seems really unstoppable and now many people think that the app could be a substitute for email.

In fact, the messaging service that WhatsApp now offers include some new features that really make the app more useful than ever. Think about the ability to share documents and PDF files. Or the new photo sharing features that enable users to share images and videos from other apps. And the smart solution that WhatsApp developers have found to the storage issues. Not to mention the possibility to immediately communicate with your contacts, wherever they are.

You simply need an internet connection and you’ll be able to send messages to your colleagues, friends or family.  Like it or not, Whatsapp is changing the world of communication. And probably, in a few years, we really won’t be sending emails and text messages anymore.

As announced, WhatsApp developers are very busy, since they are releasing many major updates to the platforms that support this popular instant messaging app. And, obviously, the Android version of the app is receiving most of these updates.

Just a few days ago the new document sharing feature (PDF only, for now), was added and today we are already talking about a new improved version of WhatsApp for Android. This latest updated version 2.12.506 of WhatsApp for Android not only finally revamps and reorganizes the Settings screen, but brings also many enhancements.

So, let’s see together what changes. As we said, if you download this latest version 2.12.506 you’ll immediately notice that many changes have been brought to the Settings screen. First thing you’ll see is that the Profile settings option is not placed anymore at second position from top, but has been moved right on top.

In addition, you’ll also find new green icons and that elements have been better distributed with much more space. Version 2.12.506 also renames some items. For example Help is now About and help and Chats and calls is now named just Chats (the call setting has been moved to another section). And the changes introduced with this latest version of WhatsApp for Android are not finished.

In fact, also the Profile page is now different, with a round profile picture instead of the square one used so far. Furthermore, the edit icon is now green and phone number and status are now displayed. Since WhatsApp is now completely free, the Payment info section has been obviously removed.

You’ll find also that the new Data usage section contains all the data-related settings such as Network usage totals and Call settings for low data usage. So, now, how can you install this latest 2.12.506 beta version of WhatsApp for Android? If you are not part of the Play Store beta program, you can download the APK manually from APK Mirror