THE novelty of Short Message Service (SMS) has been long diminished what with ground-breaking apps that single-handedly change up entire telemarketing strategies. The Whatsapp app was founded in 2009 by two ex-Yahoo employees by the names of Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
Interestingly, the two had applied to work at Facebook and failed, before they developed and sold Whatsapp back to the social media giant in February 2014 for a staggering US$19 billion. Sweet irony!
The app is free and allows free messaging of images, voice recordings and video among other things but the bottom line is, you can chat for free using your internet data. It’s fun and incredibly easy to use.
For those of you seeking an upgrade to indulge in Whatsapp’s life-simplifying features, yet still not willing to splurge on a K1,000+ device, EMTV had a quick poke around Vision City’s phone spots to point out 4 awesome phones under K400 that will cater Whatsapp to you, and keep you nice and well updated.
Ditch your disposable phone for these and pimp yourself before you wreck yourself!
1. Alcatel Pixi
Coming in at the cheapest is the Alcatel Pixi with both dual SIM and Bluetooth features and a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels which makes up for the 2 mega pixel camera. But hey, who’s complaining. The phone offers apps for Youtube, Whatsapp and Facebook needs plus many more, FM radio, MP3/WAV/AAC player, and a capacity that can handle up to 32 GB. Despite its lack of fussier camera resolution, the phone caters to the lighter, more basic needs but it performs diligently and efficiently enough for its category – the true Alcatel style.
Resolution: 480 x 320 pixels
Release date: August 2013
Release date: August 2013
2. Huawei Y210
Another nice and reliable Huawei that is functional yet catchy and cute. It is slender and light in the palm and pocket with a great battery life and dual SIM features. Its’ memory card has a capacity of up to 32 GB with Bluetooth compatibility and a charger that takes a short amount of time – even shorter when you charge it using a USB port. The screen resolution for the Y210 is colourful and vibrant, coming in at 320×480 pixels which certainly shadows the more expensive Nokia Asha 501. Another more expensive phone to compare the Y210 with is the K249 Alcatel DL600 which is notably faulty as reviewed by several mobile forums.
Resolution: 320 x 480 pixels
Release date: March 2013
Release date: March 2013
3. Huawei Y300
Huawei seem to have adopted Nike’s approach of “Just Do It”. They have quietly slipped out another very neat phone without all the kerfuffle that usually surrounds the release of an Apple or Samsung phone. The strategy must be effective, budget-wise, as the phone is quite a remarkable device for its price range. This is definitely a good find with easy use and a decent camera for your Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram posts. So, almost like a premium phone but affordable and still slick with style and quality.
Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels
Release date: March 2013
Release date: March 2013
4. Nokia Asha 501
Now this phone was definitely eye-catching. The covers are punchy, bright and changeable and the battery life is what Nokia phones have always been renowned for. Anyone in the possession of one of the big guns, either an iPhone or a Samsung, will tell you that they cannot go for a day without being charged at least once – and sometimes more than once on a particularly boring day. The Nokia Asha 501 boasts a battery endurance for up to 48 hours which is nice and decent! It also boasts light data consumption – meaning it will not consume your internet credit too heavily yet still provide you a full browsing experience. On offer at Digicel for K349.
Resolution: 240 x 320 pixels
Release date: June 2013
Release date: June 2013
Whatsapp has provided us with a platform for the free messaging and endless chatting and sharing of pictures, videos, emoticons and ease. Alcatel, Huawei and Nokia are finding more ways to garner your attention through simple and efficient features for affordable and reasonable prices, enabling you to keep up with the rest of the globe, yet not splurge on anything unnecessary to your budget.
TIP: Oh and folks, always remember to close your background apps for battery saving.
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