Skype for Windows 10 now lets you share audio and see images in-app.

Today Microsoft has published an update to Skype for Windows 10 adding an improvement to desktop sharing. Desktop sharing has been a thing in Skype for a while and this update makes this feature more powerful in that users will be able to also share their PCs’ audio. Users will thus be able to say, watch a movie or listen to music together no matter their location on Earth. I’m looking forward to try this feature soon. 

This update will also allow users to see images within Skype itself. Skype won’t call a photo handling app so users can view photos in another window. It’s all in one place. Logical.

The update is available for download in the Microsoft Store. However, you may not see it right away, so be patient.

Viber brings animated stickers to Windows Phone.

Viber has updated its app for Windows Phone today allowing the few Windows Phone users out there to use and send animated stickers, bringing some fun to a platform that has lost its identity thanks to its creator. I'm still a fan of Windows Phone, but it's sad to see the platform losing ground everyday. Viber also lets users save photos and videos to Viber folder as well as sharing them to any app.

Grab the update in Windows Store for free. 

WhatsApp for Windows Phone updated with links rich preview.

It's been a while since I saw an update for WhatsApp for Windows. There seems to be a lot more updates for the beta version of the app, but very few for the official app. Now it may be a misconception on my part, especially that I'm not part of the beta program. Today WhatsApp published an update that brings a somewhat useful feature when sharing or receiving links within the app.

Users who share or receive a link will now include a rich preview. This feature can be removed when sending a link.

Check out the update in the Windows Store. 

WeChat for Windows Phone updated with content sharing from Cortana.

The Windows Store on my Lumia 1520 is showing an update is available for the popular messaging app WeChat. Like other apps of its kind, WeChat is a cross-platform app for texting, making video calls, voice messages. Tencent, the China-based company and owner of WeChat, claims the app currently has 400 million users, many of which are in China where WeChat is extremely popular.

According to the change log, the updated app improved on the user experience on Windows 10, but does not give details about those improvements. The second item in the change log is the ability for sharing content from Cortana. I have yet to figure out how that works though.

WeChat is a nice messaging platform with a great walkie talkie which supports real time conversation with up to 40 friends. If you haven't tried it yet, download WeChat for Windows 10 Mobile in the store for free.

WeChat updated with short video sharing.

WeChat is a very popular cross-platform messaging app, especially in Asia. Like any messaging app of its kind, WeChat handles text, voice and video calls quite nicely to serve 400 million users worldwide. One of my favorite feature is the walkie talkie mode with up to 40 friends.

Video sharing is trending these days with almost any messaging app offering the service, not to mention social networks platforms having video sharing built in. It is no surprise to see WeChat join the party with the addition of sharing of short videos with friends during chat sessions or via Moments. Video sharing is part of the update published today in the Windows Phone store. The update also includes the ability to tag contacts so you can find them quickly.

If you don't have WeChat in your messaging app collection yet, give it a try, else get the update in the store.

How to send and receive WhatsApp messages right from your computer browser?

The cross-platform free messaging app got updated today on Windows Phone and other mobile platforms as well. This update brings the ability to send and receive messages right from your computer, Windows or Mac. But you will need Google Chrome installed. This new feature works with the following mobile platforms: Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry, Nokia S60 and Blackberry 10. Besides Chrome on your computer, the latest version of WhatsApp itself must be installed on your device. It is available in the Windows Phone store for free.

Launch Google Chrome on your computer and enter the following address: web.whatsapp.com. Launch WhatsApp on your Windows Phone and tap "whatsapp web" in the menu. Use the built in code scanner and point it towards the code generated in Chrome browser. A screen instantly appears with your conversations and you can initiate new ones as your full WhatsApp contacts are also available within Chrome. If you're concerned about privacy, don't be. The extension only mirrors WhatsApp on your phone. So everything is actually taking place on the phone. Users will have to go through the code scanning procedure each and every time they want to use WhatsApp on their PC.

Your phone still needs to be powered on and connected for this to work. It is an extension and nothing more. The advantage it offers is the ability to send and reply to WhatsApp messages on your PC without having to stop whatever work your doing to pick your phone to interact with WhatsApp. My only issue is that the connection is lost when the phone goes in stand by mode. How do you like WhatsApp Web?

Telegram Messenger gets experimental stickers.

I do NOT use Telegram Messenger. With that said, the yet another multi-platform messaging app got an update to experiment stickers on Windows Phone 8 and 8.1. Typing an emoji will reveal a selection of matching stickers users can choose from. The update logs mentions the availability soon of the dozens more. 

If you're there looking for yet another secure messaging app, check out Telegram Messenger. I'm going to finally sign up and start using it. I had the app loaded on Windows Phones since it's release. Telegram Messenger is a free download in the Windows Phone store. Interestingly, it still has the beta tag.

IM+ updated with sound notification and lock display orientation.

The last time I posted about IM+ dates back to January 24 of the current year. The multi-platform messaging app has an update that was published today to the Windows store with the following changes and improvements

• Custom sound notification.
• Option to lock display orientation.
• Bug fixes and performance improvements.

I noticed that both the January and today's update contains the same option to lock display orientation.

 

IM+ currently supports Facebook, Yahoo!, AIM/Chat, ICQ, Sina, Mig33, Jabber, Yandex and more. Check it out in the Windows phone store:

1. AIM+ - free version
2. AIM+ - paid version ($4.99)

 

WeChat update: Specify your location, be notified when mentioned in groups conversation.

The popular multi-platform messaging app for Windows Phone has been updated today. WeChat is indeed very popular in Asian countries, namely China where it's the number one messaging platform.  The app for Windows Phone got better with the following changes/additions:

• Specify your exact location while sharing location data
• Be notified when you're mentioned in a group chat
• Save video message to your device

WeChat is an excellent messaging app that is available free in the Windows Phone Store.

WhatsApp for Windows Phone now supports Hindi.

WhatsApp has been updated today to version 2.11.350 with the usual bug fixes.  Additionally, WhatsApp is now capable of handling Hindi language, which I can only assume will please Indians and every Hindi speaking individuals on this planet.

WhatsApp boast 400 million users. It is a free app to download on the Windows Phone store. The popular messaging app is not free after one year of use and cost $0.99 per year, which is pretty cheap in my opinion.