When Facebook spent $16 billion to acquire the mobile messaging app WhatsApp in February of 2014, many of Facebook’s users were confused. After all, why download a texting app if texting is already included with your cellular plan?
Surprisingly enough, web-based messaging apps like WhatsApp, GroupMe, and Facebook Messenger are utilized by a vast majority of texters worldwide, while texters in the U.S. continue to use the texting service provided by their wireless provider. It doesn’t stop at texting either. Many of these sorts of apps also have voice call features, and VoIP apps like Skype and Google Voice are beginning to replace traditional wireless voice calls.
As one of the most popular web-based texting applications, WhatsApp has over 450 million monthly users, and claims to be adding a million new users each day. With these apps becoming more widely popular in the U.S. and worldwide, some are wondering if these web-based texting and voice call apps will soon replace services provided by the major carriers in the U.S. To understand why this may be a possibility, let’s look at the benefits of these apps.
Affordability
Perhaps the biggest benefit of these apps is that they are extremely affordable. While talk and text plans from major carriers average around $20-40 per month, most web-based texting and VoIP apps are free on the app store, and simply require that you be connected to a mobile data or WiFi network to use them.
However, if you wish to have constant access to these apps, they’re not entirely free. You will not always have easy access to a WiFi network, so you will have to purchase a mobile data plan in order to ensure that you get the same functionality that you would from a traditional talk and text plan. Regardless, most people still save money using these apps, since they would still be paying for mobile data anyway.
International texts and phone calls
This is where web-based messaging and VoIP apps really shine. It can be very expensive to call or text internationally on a landline or traditional mobile plan. The per-minute rate to make international calls over a service like Google Voice, Skype, or the UppWireless app to an international landline or mobile phone can cost around as $.01 to $.10/minute, which may not seem like a lot, but it really does add up.
Meanwhile, texting or making a call to someone else using the same app is FREE regardless of whether the call is international or not. These apps are great for people with relatives that live overseas–just as long as they download these apps too, you can text and call them for free.
Reliability and usability
Having gotten used to talk and text services provided by traditional mobile carriers, people are often skeptical about the quality of these apps. However, these apps are just as reliable and functional as services provided by major carriers. For instance, the WhatsApp messenger app has a rating of 4.5/5 in the Apple and Android app stores, and Skype has a rating of 4/5. People who transition from traditional talk and text services to web-based apps that provided the same services find the transition to be very smooth, and have few complaints about the apps.
Skype for Business has recently launched and it offers capacity and productivity advantages geared for businesses that are big—or that want to look big. This includes enhanced security, large conference call capabilities, and integration into a number of Microsoft Apps.
Not sure whether or not you’re ready to make the switch? Download a couple of these consumer-based apps (most of them are free to download) and try them out for a few weeks. You’ll probably find them to be very reliable and functional.
Will web-based talk and text apps soon replace traditional talk and text services? Only time will tell. However, should you choose to have your employees adopt VoIP apps for their mobile device needs, they’ll need mobile data. DataXoom is an MVNO mobile data provider, with plans developed exclusively for businesses. Interested in what DataXoom can offer your business? Email us at sales@dataxoom.com.
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