After hearing the title, you maybe surprised. Seeing that WhatsApp was available for Windows Phone right from the start. But to get clarity in what I mean, the application was recently taken down from the WP store and was not available. The citing reasons were “it is not available in your country or might be the fault of the network provider or you have to update the phone software”. This is the usual reason that comes when –
- An app is not present in the app store (or)
- If the app really is incompatible
The speculations and reason for removal
The reason for the removal of the app from the Store may be because of security reasons (the HeartBleed issue we heard about recently) or just for some security bug update. Another reason would’ve been that it was changed in order to accommodate the new OS- WP 8.1. The real reason behind the removal is not known and it only could be speculated for.
Who were all affected?
- People who got a new Windows Phone seeing the ads for its coolness, and responsiveness.
- Those who reset their phone thinking it would solve problem that pop up (if any, that is).
- People who wanted to install WhatsApp afresh
But its time to rejoice and if you are using Windows Phone 8.1 (like me), you can now go to the Store and download the app. It has got some under the hood improvements and some noticeable UI changes as well. You can now set the background for the chat and there is also privacy settings on suggestions from users.
Alternative Services
While WhatsApp was “out of service” I found that LINE and Viber to be particularly useful for keeping in touch with fellow beings. Now that LINE had put up an offer in which you could download stickers worth Rs. 4000 for free, you get some lovely stickers to play around.
Viber functioned more like WhatsApp and a bit like LINE in that it had a limited amount of stickers.
But even with all these services, I feel WhatsApp is one of the best service out there for the quality and the security of the message. I didn’t feel very much comfortable with LINE. And Viber was rather like Facebook.
Well then, what are you waiting for. Head to the WP store and start downloading WhatsApp. Feel lazy about searching in Google? Well, Don’t worry. Here is the link below.
