Talk about a lot of sore thumbs: WhatsApp recently announced that its users sent more than 10 billion messages in one day. The company said there were a total of 4 billion inbound messages and 6 billion messages sent through the service on Aug. 23. That’s an incredible figure, although we’re scratching out heads wondering why the two figures aren’t even – we suppose group messaging could make up for that rift.
If you’re unfamiliar with the service, WhatsApp requires a data plan and costs $0.99 but does not charge on a per-message basis. On the surface it might sound like good news for carriers who want to rope consumers into data plans, but applications such as WhatsApp pull a lot of cash away from users who would otherwise be paying for text messaging plans. The service was originally compared to BlackBerry Messenger and was quickly adopted due to its cross-platform support. There are a few competitors, such as the Skype-owned GroupMe service and Beluga (now part of Facebook), but WhatsApp appears to remain the most used option.
I still prefer GroupMe for group texting because I like a few options it offers that WhatsApp doesn’t, such as the ability to share my location, but still use WhatsApp frequently to stay in touch with friends around the globe. I frequently message my former roommate from Singapore, for example, without having to worry about paying insane international texting fees.
In any case, congrats WhatsApp.
[via TheNextWeb]
