Alternatives to the BlackBerry Messenger

Are you one amongst those jealous kinds who just wonder why their friends and colleagues have a BlackBerry? True that there are many BlackBerry handsets that are awesome. However, we still know that most of the youngsters don’t give a damn about corporate functionalities about the phone. It’s only BBM that has prompted the younger generation to go all out and buy the phone.

Does that mean that all is lost for those using Android, Symbian or even iOS (yeah, even iOS)? Thankfully, the answer to that is not a positive one, rather we have some options for free instant messaging as well. Here is a list of some apps that will help you get even with your BlackBerry counterparts.

WhatsApp Messenger
If you’ve already wandered on a mission to take revenge on BBM and you own an iPhone, Android smartphone or a Symbian phone as well, chances are that you already know about WhatsApp! A chat messenger app that doesn’t have a very attractive interface, but it still does the job pretty well. There are options to include groups and you can also share files like pictures or documents over it. WhatsApp is free to download for Android and BlackBerry devices, but for the iPhone it’s priced at $0.99 and for Symbian devices, the service is free for one year but after that it’s $1.99 per year.

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So Whats App with you buddy!

PingChat!
A nice alternative to BBM, PingChat! can be downloaded for free and allows users to share chat messages, multimedia like videos, music and map locations as well. The interface is a little better than WhatsApp, but it still has almost everything set right looking at its “free” price tag. However, no support for Symbian is a bit of a bummer. While it’s not a very popular messenger, this one can definitely be a good option if you’re not willing to shed a dollar for an iPhone messenger!

Ping me your location

Kik Messenger
Kik messenger might not be as famous as WhatsApp but is still pretty popular amongst users who are into mobile instant messaging. This one scores high in terms of interface as well. The latest version allows you to add your own profile picture from a photo that you have clicked. Kik messenger also lets you share pictures but nothing more than that. If you’re looking for a fast and an easy to use messenger which is predominantly text-based, Kik Messenger fits the bill.

Just for Kiks?

Cnectd Messenger
This is another good alternative to WhatsApp. There’s support for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian is not left out either. The app has a slight issue in terms of support for multimedia. Users cannot exchange music or videos but they can do so for images or even send their current location to a friend. The interface looks a little like BBM, in the sense that it has a more corporate look and feel to it. Nevertheless, it’s free and it’s available for all platforms which makes it a nice messenger app.

Totally cnectd

LiveProfile
If you’re not really satisfied with the user interface of any of the aforementioned apps, you’ll probably like LiveProfile. While the app doesn’t support Symbian-based mobile phones, it can still be counted thanks to its fresh and lively interface. LiveProfile also has Social networking integration so you can also set your Facebook status message or set your Display Picture through this app.

The best interface out there…

These are just a few of the many messenger apps that are out there. Not all of them are free and not all of them will support many platforms. For now, WhatsApp seems to be the most commonly used messenger app, but as time progresses, we’ll get to see a lot more of such applications. Hopefully we should see some more support for the Symbian platform as well.