Author Archives: Christine

WhatsApp: rumours of two new features

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whats app like buttonThere are rumours about two possible new features which should be itroduced soon in the popular instant messaging application. WhatsApp, which was created in 2009 by two former employees of Yahoo, immediately reached a huge success worldwide. The popularity of the app led to the million dollar acquisition by Facebook.

Now WhatsApp is the most used instant messaging application in the world and offers a lot of useful and interesting functions to its users, who certainly appreciate the frequent updates and enhancements. So, what’s happening exactly in the last few hours?

There are rumours of other two substantial updates, but for the moment nothing is official. It seems that some changes (some code sequences) were found in the beta version of the app, revealing the nature of these two new features. One of them should be the “Like” button.

In fact it seems that WhatsApp too will allow its users to give their “likes” to photos shared between multiple users. This function is already existing on Facebook (maybe one of the most popular between its users), and it seems that WhatsApp has implemented it too, but on a smaller scale.

If rumours are correct, the other new feature should be the possibility to mark messages as unread, and come back later to reply. This function could be very handy if you are really busy or not in the mood to reply immediately to your messages. Or, in some cases, if you need to take your time to ponder carefully over your answer.

As we have already said, these are just rumours for the moment, and the company has not yet given official statements. On the other hand, these two features are quite similar to those already provided by Facebook, so, for once, rumours seem to have some valid grounds.

WhatsApp: how to create a Broadcast List

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broadcast listWhatsApp Messenger, among its many functions, offers a particularly useful one that allows you to send the same message to multiple contacts at once. The peculiarity of this function is that each recipient doesn’t know who the other recipients are. We already have a similar opportunity in our email, through which every recipient reply diretly only to the sender of the message.

This feature of WhatsApp is called Broadcast, and it consists in a list of contacts to whom you can send one or more messages. It is very handy as, once you have formed your list, you do not have to recreate it every time you want to send a message to the same contacts. The fundamental requirement for members of the list to receive your messages is that they have registered your telephone number on their agenda. Now, let’s see how to create a Broadcast List.

Obviously the first step is to open WhatsApp. At the top of the Chats screen you will see the Broadcast Lists button: tap it. Now, press New List at the bottom of the Broadcast Lists Screen and type the names of your contact (if you prefer, you can press the + button to choose the names from your contact list). At this point you can tap Create. Now and you have your Broadcast List. As we said before, remember that when you send a message to the Broadcast List, all recipients in the list will receive it. The message will be received as o normal one and you will see their reply in your Chats screen, and only you will receive it.

Once you have a Broadcast List you have the possibility to modify it, with an extremely simple procedure. To edit one of your Broadcast Lists, first of all you need to open your Broadcast Lists and click on the (i) button on the List you want to update. Now, from the Info screen, you have two choices: the first one is to change the name of the Broadcast List; the other one allows you to remove or to add recipients from the list, by simply tapping on Edit.

It is important that you remember that Broadcast Lists are completely different from Group Chats. Infact Broadcast Lists are a one-to-many message, where with Group Chats your recipients will participate in a group conversation.

WhatsApp: released the update for Windows Phone (2.12.70.0)

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windows phone voice callingWhatsApp, which has reached the incredibly amount of over 800 million active users each month, is developing a lot, especially since it was bought by Facebook. As you know, it is now the most used instant messaging application in the world and its success is daily growing. As a consequence its updates are always followed with great interest by the public.

Among WhatsApp features, probably Voice Calling is one of the favourite between its users. In fact it is already used by billions of people across the world, who use this function to call for free friends, family or colleagues. Initially Windows Phone users couldn’t use it, as it was enabled only for Android, Blackberry 10 and iPhone. But now things are developing again, and WhatsApp has introduced Voice Calling feature also on Windows Phone.

Surely you have noticed that, so far, WhatsApp has not provided to Windows Phone the same level of attention given to Android, which was always the first one to test and receive all experimental features, but now something has changed. Now updates on Windows Phone are more frequent, demonstrating that the attention to its users is increased. Windows Phone users have been waiting quite a long time before being able to make calls with WhatsApp, and with version 2.12.60.0 it seemed it could finally be possible.

But unfortunately the reality was quite different, since a large number of users have encountered many problems with this feature. In some cases the app no longer worked.  Luckily WhatsApp studied the problem and has now released a new update. So, will this latest update solve the problem?

The new version 2.12.70.0, which you can find on Windows Phone Store, doesn’t have new features but fixes many bugs and also the performances of the application seem much improved. If you download it, you’ll find some enhancements with the notification and in sending multimedia files, besides some new translations.

WhatsApp introduces multi-ethnic emoji in its last beta

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emojiWhile on the Play Store is now available the version 2.12.158 of WhatsApp, a new beta is already arrived,  the version 2.12.161. This  new beta contains some updates which surely will be appreciated by Android users. The enhancements involve mainly the emoji: in fact some of these are now also available in a multi-ethnic variation. As usual, it is really extremely easy to add them to your messages, and some of them are very funny too.

But let’s see how to use them. As we said, it’s very simple. Just go to the usual list of emoticons (the one containing the smileys). Scrolling down, you will find some arrows next to some smileys. By pressing them you will see a menu opening, from where  you can choose six different kinds of complexion. This politically correct option has already been introduced by many other services, so WhatsApp, which is the most used instant messaging application in the world, could not avoid this step.

Some of the emoji introduced are truly unique and funny, and we are sure that many nerds will appreciate the one of Spock’s Vulcan salute. At the moment we still do not know when this new feature will be available on the Play Store. In the meantime, if you are keen on using it, you can download the latest beta of WhatsApp directly from the official website.

Maybe you remember that these new emoji had already been introduced in version 8 of Unicode, which is also present in Android. Unfortunately, with the operating system of Google these could only be displayed (or, in some cases, not even) but could not be used. If we had wanted to use them, we would have to use WhatsApp Web service, which runs only from PC. Luckily now this problem is solved, and  these new emoji are available directly on the emoji keyboard, just like the classic ones.

How to download WhatsApp for Android for free

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WhatsApp Messenger, as you know, is an instant messaging application created to send text messages for free. After you have installed the application, you’ll notice that in WhatsApp you have available the same address book contained in your smartphone.
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The app will automatically display the contacts who already use it and to which you can send SMS. If you are a new user, the service is on free trial for the first year. whatsapp for android for freeAfter this free trial period, you can purchase the service for just $0.99 USD a year (less than one Euro per year). To use WhatsApp you simply need an Internet connection, and that’s why it’s cheaper then text messages and you don’t have additional costs. And that’s not all. In fact with WhatsApp you can share videos, music. pictures, very easily and in no time. Furthermore you can create group chats with your friends, colleagues and family.

As we were saying the first year is completely free, and now, if you are and Android user, you can have it for free forever. Let’s see how to do it. The first step is to install one of those two app: BlackMart Alpha or Aptoide. BlackMart Alpha in an alternative to Google Play Store for tablets and smartphones with Android operating system. From Blackmart it is possible to download several apps, and you won’t need a Google account.

Aptoid is another marketplace for mobile applications running with Android operating system. Aptoid is not a centralized store, as each user organises its own store. So, after you have installed Blackmart or Aptoid,  you just need to open the app you have choosen. Once it’s opened you have to go to search and write “WhatsApp”.

Be careful to find the original application, as in the internet there are many “fake” versions. Once identified it, you can download, install and open it. That’s all! From now on you have WhatsApp installed on your device, and you can use it for free.

Play Store reintegrates AirDroid after removing it for having used the word “WhatsApp”

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airdroidYou probably have not even had the time to realize it, but in the last hours AirDroid lived a particular (we could say unique) experience: it was removed from the Play Store, but after a very short time it was readmitted.

It seems that the problem was created by the use of the term “WhatsApp”, which AirDroid included in the description of one of its services. The feature in question is the one that allows you to reply from PC to messages received through apps like WhatsApp.

Facebook, which, as you know, is the owner of WhatsApp, did not like the episode and so turned to Google, which decided to immediately remove the application from the Play Store. The problem was that the developers of AirDroid had not been warned, and therefore did not have the time to change the description given in their app.

Google has some strict rules which prohibit to mention the name of other applications in the title of one own app. So it is quite strange what happened to AirDroid and not really correct because the word “WhatsApp” was used only in the description part, without even referring to affiliations between the two services. And in fact Google has immediately reintegrated AirDroid on its Play Store, as the claims made by Facebook were unfounded.

But what is AirDroid? AirDroid is a cross-platform application which allows you to access and manage your Android devices (phones or tablets) from Windows, MAC or Web, wirelessly, for free, remotely and securely. AirDroid users can manage their files, SMS, videos and apps like WhatsApp and WeChat easily from their computer.

This “incident” surely makes us reflect on the power achieved by Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of FaceBook, who managed to have such an influence on a giant such as Google. And the numbers seem to bear him out, considering the huge success of Facebook and WhatsApp, which are now used all over the world.

WhatsApp: how to use Voice Calling Feature

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voice callThe arrival of WhatsApp Calling was highly anticipated, and the many users of this successful instant messaging app could not wait to be able to use it also for their calls. With WhatsApp calling you can contact whoever you need, your family, your colleagues or your friends using WhatsApp for free, even if you are in a different country.

On the official website of WhatsApp it is available for download the new version that allows you to make voice calls, now allowed only on Android, BlackBerry 10 and iPhone devices. The new feature appears to be well integrated with the application and also free of bugs, so let’s see the procedure to use it.

The first thing you need to know is that WhatsApp Calling uses your phone’s Internet connection, not your mobile plan’s voice minutes, so it is cheaper and you can use it even if you have finished your phone’s credit, or if you know you have to make a very long call. But let’s see how you can place a call using WhatsApp.

It is extremely easy, much more than you were expecting. You simply have to open the chat and select the person you want to call. Now you just need to tap on the phone button which is situated on the top. It is even easier if someone calls you. In fact, when there is an incoming call, you will see it on your WhatsApp screen.

To answer an incoming call you just need to tap and slide the green button. That’s if you want to answer. If otherwise you prefer to decline the call, simply slide the red button. If you wish to decline the call with a quick message, you can tap on the message icon on the call screen.

But it is important that you remember that with WhatsApp Calling you cannot access emergency service numbers or 911, so if you need to do emergency calls you have to find alternative ways.