Facebook Buying Messaging App WhatsApp for $16 Billion

[ChristianVirtual]

I deleted WhatsApp years back when we got indication they grap the contacts from the the device.
Now with the better privacy settings on iOS might give it another shot. With those in place I also use FB app (was in browser before only).

Sometimes I like the sandbox concept of

 

[Gudi]

However iMessage isn't cross platform, and as far as I'm aware it doesn't allow group chats.

iOS: Understanding group messaging

iMessage:
– single platform
– having no other company to deal with
– no one selling my messages to advertisers
– no additional registration and installation process
– emails as addresses
– phone numbers as addresses
– address management through Contacts
– Contacts sync over iCloud
– integration with SMS and MMS

iMessage only works on iOS. Why couldn't you think of that on your own?

For me cross platform is a difference not an advantage.

 

[TC03]

Please explain why iMassage is inferior to WhatsApp?

Inferior group chat. No cross-platform. Confusing user id.

 

[lke]

Apple messed up so royally by not buying WhatsApp years ago. Same goes for Google.

iMessage and Hangouts are vastly inferior.

Well played, Facebook.

You are right. The other companies don't see the future like Facebook.

Even at that price buying Whatsapp was very important for any company like Apple or Google.

iMessage has a lot of problems I constantly have issues receiving messages in my iphone, and some messages only go to my mac.

 

[Dookieman]

but apple will stay forever?

Who knows, but they are one of the oldest tech companies and are doing phenomenal doing what they have always been doing. Creating products; not buying the current trend in a desperate attempt to stay relevant.

 

[Arran]

Could have bought the Yankees the Knicks and Man U plus thier stadiums for an app?

Why purchase a handful of players when you can bag millions of fans?

 

[Carl Sagan]

WhatsApp shows just how stupid Blackberry are. First they dismiss the iPhone and instead of learning from that mistake they lose the one thing they could have used to save them: messaging.

 

[nottooshabby]

What's App has the handy feature to share location. Beats typing in where you are using iMessage. Add that to iMessage and I'll drop What's app, so all my messages don't end up on my timeline....

 

[avanpelt]

Well, I guess WhatsApp will be coming to the desktop sometime this year via Facebook Messaging.

 

[numlock]

Who knows, but they are one of the oldest tech companies and are doing phenomenal doing what they have always been doing. Creating products; not buying the current trend in a desperate attempt to stay relevant.

how is instagram or whatsapp anymore of a trend and less of a product than many of apples acquisitions?

maybe its before your time but trends have played a huge part in apples success.

desperate is subjective

 

[applesith]

Hate on BBM all you like, but their latest update is pretty slick. Voice chat, share files through Dropbox, freaking Glypmse integration!

I won't argue that it has more active users, but I personally prefer BBM over WhatsApp, more so now. I opened it back up to delete my account and then remove the app and I forgot how dated it looks.

To each his own though.

What good are nice features if barely anyone uses it?

 

[fedecape]

beautiful.. Hopefully, they'll take better care of it.

WhatsApp was always the last (big)messaging app to get updates. It took them months to update to the 4 inch screen of the iPhone 5 back in 2012, as well as a couple months to upgrade to iOS 7 design.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

Serious question: Other than iMessage being iOS only, how are they inferior? I just looked over WhatsApp and thought, yep, everything in there is covered by iMessage...

Saying "other than its iOs only" is like saying "other than that, how did you like the play mrs Lincoln" Youve ignored the key issue.

 

[Monkeydude]

I want apple to purchase twitter because I see twitter winning the battle of social media and having the longest life span out of all the companies. Maybe its just me idk, I use twitter all the time and thinks its great the level of interaction that you can have out of it with athletes, celebrities, reporters. But any other large company will do, Twitter was the one that came to mind first.

Twitter is more or less US exclusive. They try to push it here in Europe, but people just don't get hooked (for good reason).

 

[apollo1444]

 

[gto55]

Retweeted by MarketWatch

Mark Zuckberg says ads are not the right way to monetize messaging. Facebook-WhatsApp live blog $FB http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/02/19/live-blog-of-facebooks-call-to-discuss-16-billion-acquisition-of-whatsapp/?mod=MW_story_latest_news

 

[seble]

NO NO NO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NONO NO.

Goodbye Whatsapp. It was fun whilst it lasted. ********** Facebook or google buying every decent ********** thing in the tech planet.

 

[cosmolv]

Facebook Messenger is big piece of sh**t, what they gonna make from WhatsApp?

i do not want to know!!!

 

[futbalguy]

How many employees do you think WhatApp has? It cant be that large a firm if they just do messaging can it?

 

[osofast240sx]

lol.... good one

Thanks couldn't resist

 

[Rogifan]

WSJD (@WSJD) tweeted at 5:32pm - 19 Feb 14:

“Monetization is not going to be a priority for us,” said WhatsApp CEO. “We’re focused on the growth.” on.wsj.com/1d1FjrA $FB (https://twitter.com/WSJD/status/436282136526471168)

And people still claim there is no tech bubble (outside of Apple, of course).

 

[diegogaja]

Nobody I know uses Twitter. Why would you want to 'have it out' with people you don't even know?

And why should Apple buy a "big" company? I think Apple should buy what's in their best interest, or the best investment.

I want apple to purchase twitter because I see twitter winning the battle of social media and having the longest life span out of all the companies. Maybe its just me idk, I use twitter all the time and thinks its great the level of interaction that you can have out of it with athletes, celebrities, reporters. But any other large company will do, Twitter was the one that came to mind first.

 

[heisenberg123]

No one I know uses WhatsApp, so I just, y'know. Text or Skype. I don't feel like asking everyone to join WhatsApp for no real reason.

there is no "joining" its just an app, these smartphones have app stores with millions of apps, now downloading one is a bad thing?

 

[diegogaja]

Technically you can see if somebody has read your message iMessage, unless they turn that feature off.
Just like I've turned off my online status on what's app. Nobody ever sees if I'm online or not. That's not really their business.

sending pics takes forever on iMessage and i cannot see if someone is/was online to have read the message. some might call it stalking i personally LOVE it

 

[D.T.]

How many employees do you think WhatApp has? It cant be that large a firm if they just do messaging can it?

A couple of sources indicate around 50.

http://******************/company/whatsapp

http://www.linkedin.com/company/whatsapp-inc.