What is iMessage

[Wendy]

Can someone explain what this is and how is it different to texting

[Keith]

Can someone explain what this is and how is it different to texting

iMessage is an apple only messaging service.

Basically it's a cross between whatsapp and texting.

The key to it is the Apple message application. When you pick a contact to message, iMessage looks to see if the contact is on an apple device which can be iphone, ipad, ipod or even an apple desktop, and registered with iMessage. If so, the message will be sent to *every* device that user has via data rather than texting. If not, or if the user is out of data range, then the message is automatically sent as a normal text.

Both texts and imessages appear in the contact message list. iMessages appear blue, texts appear in green.

Sounds simple, but the wonderful thing about it is how seamlessly it works. If you message me, I may get it on my phone. That's fine but with whatsapp, if I dont have my phone with me, it may be ages before I notice you've messaged me. With iMessage, it'll appear on my ipad/desktop etc and I can reply from any device.

Likewise I could be in a conversation with you on my phone, sit down and carry on from my desktop with a full keyboard, you'd never know.

It's also better than a text in that it says whether the message has been delivered and/or read (but other things like whatsapp can do that).

It's very very slick and once you start using it, it starts to get a bit tiresome when you find someone isnt on it and if you try to use a device WITHOUT it, very quickly you start to miss it

[Britchick]

And it doesn't eat into your text allowance if you have one

[Dizneyblonde]

And it's free to use over wifi if you happen to be in WDW

[Wendy]

Oh right, so if I was to use it to send a message to one of the girls in the UK would it cost them to reply to me or would they need to have a data allowance

[Keith]

As long as they had data access so that could be wifi at home or data allowance out and about it'd be free both ways

[Vikki]

So I should have it on my iPad then......hurrying off to investigate!

[Slowhand]

You could always send a letter Wendy!