Wednesday 7 August 2013
WhatsApp introduces one-press voice texting, to be rolled out on all operating systems in 24 hours
The
company announced the availability of this new feature while announcing
that it has now hit the 300 million monthly active users mark.
The company announced the availability of this new feature while announcing that it has now hit the 300 million monthly active users mark.They garnered a whopping 50 million new active users in just 2 months.
With this new feature, you can record and send voice clips with one press of the mic icon.
According to a report in AllThingsD, WhatsApp users now send 11 billion messages and receive 20 billion messages per day - up from 27 billion total in June.
WhatsApp has began rolling out voice messaging for all of its apps, on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia.
Simple and easy
What's interesting about this feature is that it is simple with less taps on the screen to get the job done.
You just press the record button to record your message and let go of the mic icon once ur done to send the message.
If you decide not to send the message then you just swipe to the left to delete the recording.
There is no time length limit when recording a message therefore users can get as creative as they want.
Another interesting feature is that the playback of a voice text will automatically switch from handset's speakers to its earpiece when the device is held to your ear.
The mic icon also turns blue when recipients have listened to the message
Feature available in 24 hours
In the report it is also mentioned that WhatsApp with its strength of just 45 employees will push the new voice feature simultaneously on all its platforms and will make it available to all users within 24 hours.
Facebook and WeChat already have the voice texting feature but what's interesting about Whatsapp is its one press voice text feature.
Siddhartha Bhavsaar, a businessman and an active user of WhatsApp from Mumbai is quite happy with the update, " I hate typing. Voice messaging will be so much easier and fun!"
One of the last useful update rolled out by WhatsApp was to allow its users to send batches of photos in one go.
Divya Saboo, a mass media graduate from UPG College of Management in Mumbai feels that the realms of conversation has increased ten-folds. " With family, you normally conversate in your regional language. With voice text now on WhatsApp I can easily communicate with my mother who does not know English effectively."
Rahil Shaikh, a design proffessional does not really think it makes much of a difference. "To voice chat, I will call the person. Why would I voice text and then wait for a reply on WhatsApp. The app is great for free texting and group chats, but there is no need for voice text."
This feature does not need the app updated and will automatically appear on your device once it is rolled out.
Wonder if 'instant video' is the next update from WhatsApp. We can only wait and hope.
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