I travel a lot and my wife and I chat while on the road - in the hotel, in airports, etc. Sometimes I only have cellular connections so Skype and Facetime aren’t ideal.
We’ve used AIM as our main chat client and it’s OK. (Oh, we also share photos sometimes, no, not THOSE kind (but we’re married so it would be OK, LOL!) so easy photo sharing is a must.) But there must be something better.
We used to use Google Talk, and loved it, then they shut it down. I think that’s what it’s called. Shut it down out of nowhere, and we’d even started using it for some side hobbies (e.g. First Edition book collecting) - so I’d prefer to stay away from a Google product just 'cause. ;)
Discord – https://discordapp.com/ – is a chat service that’s basically a mix of IRC and Teamspeak. It’s pretty great, and you can create a server for free. Once you do, you can use it on a desktop app, in a browser or on your phone, and it’s easy to share photos and what not. I figure create a server, invite your wife, then just the two of you will use it, done.
It’s super simple! Register at discordapp.com, download the software (or open it in your browser, but I like the program for better notifications), and there’s an easy button to create a new (private) server, get the invite link to it, and send it her way. She creates an account, too. Usable from desktop app, web browser, or phone apps for major phone manufacturers.
It looks a little “bigger” than an AIM window might have used to, so there is that.
Actually, all of the message history, contacts, etc. from Google Talk moved over to Google Hangouts! Which you can access from within a Gmail window, from the Chrome “webapp,” or by connecting to it with your multi-chat client of choice (my gf and I use Pidgin on our home PCs so we don’t have to leave a Gmail browser window signed in 24/7 and get better notifications, etc., and then just use the Hangouts app on our Android phones).
However, to your latter point. . . Hangouts is changing middle of next month, and no one is quite sure if it will stay exactly the same. But hey, Discord’s angel investor funding could run out tomorrow and that whole that could go kerplut!
Many couples over here simply use whatsapp. It’s really robust in situations with bad cellular reception, let’s you add attachments, voice messages and also offers voice calls. And if you’re in the office or somewhere else on a PC with internet connection, you can use its web version which, obviously enough, is handy when you prefer typing with a real keyboard.
Oh, if y’all are already using texting to communicate and use Android rather than iOS, I’ll also toss MightyText into the mix, which passes texts along to a web or downloadable app on your PC, where you can respond to them right there, attach things, etc. I now text like a fiend. . . all from the comfort of my computer!
Being able to use Google Voice’s web page to text from a laptop or desktop is why I love it so much, so I’m glad to know there are alternatives if Google decides to shut it down. Thanks y’all!
There’s no Whatsapp app for iPad? I see one for iPhone and PC but not iPad. Just curious, going to test it on the PC but would be nice to have an iPad version also.
Hmmm. Whatsapp is always tied to a cell phone number. Even if you’re using the web version on PC - your cellphone needs to be running and be connected to the internet somewhere as a means of authentication. I’m guessing there’s no iPad version since there are iPads that come without cellular functionality.
I love it because there’s no chance of me sending an erroneous text to a group chat or something. It’s only for my wife and I, and works pretty great for daily chats while I’m at work. Some friends use SMS or iMessage exclusively, others are on WhatsApp or GroupMe - it’s all pretty ridiculous and difficult to keep track of.
