Wednesday, September 25, 2013

WhatsApp vs. Line

With smartphones, minutes are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Texting has become a more popular method of communication, and in countries with unlimited data plans (almost everywhere except the U.S.), paying for a texting option has given way to Apps like WhatsApp, and Line.
Both WhatsApp and Line are brilliant ways to text, using only data. So... Which is better?


Allows you to text other users using only data
Yes
Yes
Allows you to text international numbers registered by users
Yes
Yes
Free Calls or video Chat (like skype) to other service members
No
Yes
Where is is predominantly used?
Europe
Asia
Price
First year free
$0.99 per year after the first
Free… Always!
(there are stickers and games you can buy in app, but they are completely optional, and there is no pushy advertising)
Allows you to send videos, and Photos
Yes
Yes
Available on iOS and Droid?
Yes
Yes
Stickers
No
Yes


WhatsApp
With the point of either app being to allow you to text any other user... both are perfect, they do exactly that, and work better than my regular system because they work using my phones internet, rather than my phones service ability (if I have service, I have internet, but sometimes I have internet but no service).
With WhatsApp, the first year is free, but every year after that is $0.99, and there is no calling service. It is the prefered method of communication here in Spain, so you will need to download it if you have a smart phone. It is a fair price for the quailty of the app, and I not had any issues yet with it.










Line


With Line, it is always free, you can call other users. This App was widely used in Japan, and is the more popular texting system in Asia. The icing on the cake is the sticker feature, which I love. Most of Ben and my texts are exclusively stickers, they are a  cute/creepy/amusing... way to communicate with other users.
Bottom line, in Spain you will have to use WhatsApp, in Japan you will have to use Line. I prefer Line because it is always free, and way cuter, but when it comes to functionality, they are both perfect. 

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