Tussle of Messengers - BBM & WhatsApp
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At Date , WhatsApp claim
430m active users and now processess 50 billion messsages a day.
And BBM finally making the messenger available on Apple’s iOS and
Android devices, many might be wondering How it will affect WhatApp
Empire . After all, more than 10 million downloads within 24 hours of BBM
being launched for non-BlackBerry handsets cannot be ignored.
Initial Set-up:
WhatsApp creates
an account on the basis of your phone number, while BBM uses pins.
Initial Set up is easy , as you don’t have to remember passwords while
shifting to a new device. It just sends a verification SMS to your number and
the app verifies it.
For contacts in your address book, this works out
very well — WhatsApp automatically tells them you are on WhatsApp . This means
you have to give your phone number to add a new friend . But there will
be headache for those who are using a secondary phone or temporary SIM.
BBM’s set-up doesn’t require you to input your phone number.
Unlike WhatsApp, you have to start making up your BBM contact list from
scratch. But while switching devices, you can back up your contact list to the
cloud and then remotely restore it on a new device.
Contact management:
It’s important to remember that adding a WhatsApp contact doesn’t just
mean you need someone’s phone number; you also need them in your device’s
address book. Therefore more privacy concern users stay away from
this service.
However, WhatsApp and BBM has a full contact-blocking mechanism in place.
Of course, since the contact you decide to block has your phone number. But
WhatsApp does have a way to mark contacts as favourites for easy access — a
feature missing from BBM. For adding contacts , BBM’s cryptic pins could
be a hassle, but there is more option avaliable like barcode scanning and
straight email invites that are quite easy.
Neither service has a marking options to differentiate
contacts into, say, work and personal groups, though both offer group
chats.
Chat Message:
The base is text messaging. Both provide typing and
delivery report, but little difference. In WhatsApp, a tick mark next to your
message means it has been delivered to the server while a second one means the
sender has received it — that doesn’t necessarily mean the receiver has read
it. BBM, on the other hand, ticks off when your message is sent to the server,
a ‘D’ mark when it is delivered to the receiver and an ‘R’ when the receiver has
seen it.
Though WhatsApp lets you
know at the top when the user was last active, but only BBM has read receipts.
BBM also has a few extras
built in . Conversations can be copied and pasted elsewhere, emailed.
Depending on the kind of conversations you have, these could be features you
might prefer to skip.
Sharing:
WhatsApp only shares pictures and video files, while BBM allows
users to share any file type. Both platforms can send contacts and location.
BBM also allows groups of people to share images, but no other file type. And
group pictures on BBM have robust caption, comment, and up voting mechanisms.
Group chat:
Both BBM and WhatsApp support group chats, but BBM has an
edge . Both allow sharing of images to a group, In BBM groups doesn’t permit
video, location, or contact sharing. On the other hand, WhatsApp
maintains file-sharing with one-on-one chat. But BBM makes up with shared
to-do lists and events, plus a much more sharp user interface for
accessing all that content. Groups on BBM can also host multiple separate
conversations which is good.
Emoticons:
BBM comes with 90 core emoticons. WhatsApp
with 189. BBM also enjoys a few other points of personalization that you won’t
find on WhatsApp. For one, there’s the classic PING action — to give your
friends a little nudge when they’re being slow to reply. WhatsApp, however,
lets you swap in custom wallpapers for your chat windows which is a nice touch.
Status:
Both BBM and WhatsApp have profile management that
support custom status messages and profile pictures. BBM profiles can also be
linked to apps, providing practical functions like updating your status with
your latest check-in. WhatsApp has an impressive selection of preset status
messages, but that’s about it.
Bottom line:
Both messengers have their own set of
features and flaws . Assuming the iOS and Android versions keep feature
parity, it might be safe to say BBM could edge past WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has had the time
to polish its user interface, can learn from WeChat
P.S. - Readers do not worry
will also review n00b Wechat , Viber etc
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