The App Store is full of cross platform messaging apps such as WhatsApp, which is the best one out there. It allows for chat between iPhone, Android, and Blackberry users. Whenever I get asked to check out messaging apps, I always go back to the comparisons to WhatsApp.
The latest app called LiveProfile has entered the scene. It is the #1 free app in the App Store and is a cross platform messaging app like WhatsApp. I’ve had readers ask me to check it out a few times, and finally I’ve decided to share my thoughts on this new app.
Registration is a Pain and Buggy
For starters, there’s nothing worse than going through yet another registration to just USE an app. LiveProfile requires registration, and you find friends either through your address book or facebook. You also get a unique ‘PIN’ that identifies your account. I oppose this, as it reminds me of BBM users always broadcasting their “PINs” so they can add friends to BBM. There’s nothing worse than typing in a PIN to add a friend to a messaging app. Yuck.
WhatsApp on the other hand, require NO registration out of the gate. You enter your phone number, and it will automatically populate your friends already using the app. If your friend exists in your contacts, they are just ‘there’ in WhatsApp.
The interface of LiveProfile is less than desirable. Chat bubbles are too large, and the app does not feel polished at all. There’s just too much going on. As with WhatsApp, you do see when people are typing a message, and receive notification your message has been sent or read. I tested this with Ex, and he agrees that it’s #notwinning.
You can also send photos in LiveProfile, just like WhatsApp. But that’s pretty much where the comparison ends. WhatsApp allows for the sending of voice notes, videos, location, and has group chat.
I honestly don’t know how LiveProfile made it into the #1 spot under the free category. There are 386 one star ratings in iTunes out of 915 reviews. This app may be free, but it comes at the expense of a horrible UI and a plethora of bugs.
I would’ve reviewed LiveProfile earlier but my registration would not go through, and the app crashed constantly. I usually like to showcase apps that I download myself, but LiveProfile is one that I deleted immediately after. It was just too frustrating to setup and use. Thanks to everyone who asked me to check this out, as I just saved a tonne of people from wasting their time with LiveProfile.
I’m sticking to WhatsApp, which at 99 cents, is a steal. LiveProfile is free for a reason, because it stinks. It feels rushed out of the gate, and I don’t see the value compared other cross platform alternatives.
