BBM vs WhatsApp - A cool comparison of features

BBM vs WhatsApp

So it’s become evidently clear that text messaging is the preferred way of communicating. Even though people like myself who are old fashioned and still believe in actual voice calling, we have to admit that sometimes text messaging presents an easier and sometimes more direct approach. Besides the most common method of text messaging (sms), other methods have somewhat become more popular of late like Instant Messaging (IM). I remember a time years ago when IM applications like IRC were very popular and others like Skype, MSN, Yahoo and ICQ dominated the market. The downside to this was that to chat with a contact both you and the contact needed to be online via a desktop computer or laptop and also needed to be connected to the internet. As we know many things have changed since then, IM has become possible via mobile phones and there are hundreds of applications that allow for conectivity. Not to say that applications like Skype, MSN, ICQ and the rest have become obsolete but mobile phone users seem to lean more to other mobile phone specific IM applications like Blackberry’s Messenger (BBM), WhatsApp, Mxit and many others.

BBM has been a favourite in the market of mobile IM applications for sometime now. BBM is an IM application specific to Blackberry users and allows for many features like unlimited character length, group chats, push notifications, sharing of pictures and videos and many more. WhatsApp on the other hand is a cross platform IM application, meaning it works with iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia, Android and other smartphone handsets. Its features are very similar to BBM and is fast becoming a popular application. Some of WhatsApp’s features in addition to sending text messages are sending Multimedia (audio, photo, video) as well as Map locations. WhatsApp will also automatically scan your contact list on your phone to find friends already using the service to add to your contact list.

Below i’ve added a Pro’s and Con’s list of the two applications.

Blackberry Messenger (BBM)

The Blackberry Messaging Service or most commonly known as BBM is very popular in mobile IM product comparisons. Also, it is exclusive to Blackberry phone users only. The exclusivity mainly relies on the fact that one can only create a BBM account through a unique alphanumeric PIN that is assigned to each individual Blackberry device. You could add BBM contacts by typing their PIN code, e-mail address, phone number or name. Another cool way to add contacts is by taking a snapshot of another Blackberry unit’s unique barcode. This feature is a big plus as discussed in mobile IM product comparisons

BBM users enjoy a lot of great features shown in mobile IM product comparisons such as fully customizable profile pictures, threaded chat interface, setting your status for your contacts to see and tons of emoticons and graphics. It is also possible to send pictures or voice notes through BBM. The best feature stated in various mobile IM product comparisons is that it comes practically free when the Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) is availed of. This service is practically the winner on most mobile IM product comparisons.

Pros:
Threaded text messaging
Group chat
Custom avatars
Set status
Emoticons/Smileys
Take a picture of your friend’s bar code to instantly add them to BBM
New interface design
Ability to backup contacts list remotely or locally 

Cons:
Voice Notes sometimes fail to send, if not, very slow transfer rate
Pictures sometimes fail to send, if not, very slow transfer rate
Pictures must be saved to your Device Memory or Media card first before viewing
Status updates is limited to two lines

WhatsApp

WhatsApp messenger is a mobile phone instant messaging application that works quite like BBM in terms of allowing its users to send and receives text messages without having to pay for the network operator’s SMS charges. As stated in mobile IM product comparisons, it is a good thing that it can be available in different platforms such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia and Android. As such, WhatsApp users are capable of reaching more people as shown on majority of mobile IM product comparisons.

WhatsApp can be used by using either the mobile network’s internet service or by WiFi. This makes this service virtually free of charge. Aside from text messages, you could also send photos, videos and audio messages as well. Another cool feature of this application, as given in various mobile IM product comparisons, is that you could also broadcast your location to your contacts by virtue of GPS technology. Moreover, you could say goodbye to adding your contacts manually because it is done automatically by searching your phonebook for contacts who is using the WhatsApp service. These features score well on mobile IM product comparisons

Pros:
Cross platform (works on all smartphones including Blackberry)
Automatically scans your phone’s contacts to find friends using the service
Can send all multimedia (videos, photos, audio) and map locations
Includes delivered and sent items in thread

Group chat

Clean interface
Set status

Cons:
Free only for the first year, thereafter $1,99

At the risk of sounding biased, I will have to admit that a cross platform application definitely trumps the limitation of being able to only text to contacts using the same make of handset. I myself use Whatsapp and have contacts using various smartphones. Having said that, BBM has been around for some time longer than WhatsApp thus being more popular and who knows, the developers might just add a cross platform feature. Anyways, this topic kinda stuck in my head all weekend, hence this post, so I hope you enjoyed it!

Conclusion:

To conclude this mobile IM comparison, it can be said that IM can be a great help to business or leisure. It could also bring people closer no matter how great their distance is from one another. As trendy as it is, it could never be a better alternative to what personal conversation provides in social interaction no matter what it is said on various mobile IM product comparisons. When using BBM orWhatsApp, you should always observe self-control in order to avoid addiction which could ultimately result to degradation of personal communication skills. Further, it is always a good idea to look at more mobile IM comparisons to see what will provide you with the best IM service, as shown in thismobile IM comparison.