 "WhatsApp for iOS now free for a limited period")
WhatsApp has become one of the most popular ways to connect with people over cellphones these days. While the app is free on Android and comes with a yearly subscription plan, the iOS version needs a one-time payment for the app. According to a tweet on the WhatsApp Twitter account, the iOS version of the app is now free for a limited period in celebration of the holiday season.
“Happy Holidays! WhatsApp for iPhone is free for a limited time. Tell your friends!” tweeted the WhatsApp account. Though the company has given no indication of exactly how long the “limited time” is going to last, it could be safe to assume that it will last throughout the holiday season and will go back to its normal money-costing ways after December 25.
Free for a limited time
The messaging app had recently made a comeback to Windows Phone 8 devices after some time of absence. While it is available now, it seems to lack many features that were already present in its Windows Phone 7 counterpart. The app can be downloaded for free from the WhatsApp download page.
One of the more glaring omissions from the Windows Phone 8 version of the app is the emoticons pack that Whatsapp has become famous for. The app also seems to lack fast resume from the live tile, among other features that are usually present in Windows Phone 8 apps.
Earlier this month, the developers of WhatsApp had said that the app would be six times faster than the previous version. Apart from this, they stated that there will also be new emoji included in the upcoming version, but it looks like this is yet to be delivered.
Earlier today, it was revealed that some users of WhatsApp woke up to a new spam message doing the rounds. Quite a number of users woke up this morning to a message that read, “UR1994 KB1212 RJ1708 Send this message to 10 people. As soon as all of them have read your message, you will get an SMS from Whatsapp, with an activation code. Once you enter the activation code, you will no longer have to pay to use Whatsapp, which is going to charge for messages from new year 2013."
If this reminds you of a recent instance, wherein similar messages did rounds of the popular chat service, then you’re not alone. Only last month, users came forth with complaints of being bombarded with hoax messages – some telling them the service would soon be a paid one, and that if users wished to continue using it for free, they should forward this message to 18 contacts on their list. There were others that came in with a string of emoticons, asking the recipient to forward it to 11 of his contacts to activate a new version of WhatsApp.
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