Yesterday saw ‘Whatsapp‘ getting two back to back updates for Windows Phone devices (both WP8 & WP7) & finally settling at version 2.10.491.0.
It was the much needed update that Windows Phone users were waiting for long back. However the update did not met everyone’s demand or requirements.
History – The biggest problem so far with Whatsapp had been that it was using the music player API to stay alive in the background & this was also leading to unreliable notifications for many. Also it was slow & had many features missing.
Lets look at what came along in this new update
- Finally Whatsapp has now deployed a proper background agent in line with requirements of WP8 (in case of WP7 devices it still uses the Music API if I am not wrong) resulting in improved reliability & stability.
- Fixes notification issues which many users faced
- Issue of Long messages not appearing completely is now fixed
- Smiley issue is fixed with an all new Emoji section featuring numerous emoticons
- App now features Fast Resume – which means it would open the App where you last left it and not always from the beginning
- You can now call people from inside the App by clicking on their names
- The location sharing features has now improved as in if your friend sends you his location .. at your end it would open up in Bing Maps & you can make use of Nokia Drive to get there.
- The Images shared now appear bigger & better and can be seen right in the conversation itself
- Overall performance of App has improved meaning its fast & resumes quickly
What’s still missing
- You cannot share the existing Music & Video files on your phone (that’s an OS limitation as of now) however you can record one directly from your App & share (There are no limitations on image sharing).
Download the App or the Update from Windows Phone Store below