Category: Information

WhatsApp Messenger (Beta) Available for Android Tablet Users without SIM Card

It has been a long wait for the worlds most popular private messaging app to be free of the bounds of requiring a device with SIM Card with an active mobile number linked to the account. Before this Facebook (Meta) launched a web based version which can be linked to the mobile devices using the linked device feature, where you were able to scan QR code to link the web version of the application and use it for messaging. This was my go to for a few years for the web and then the desktop version of the application.

This feature was not seemless for the android tablets. We were able to use the web based WhatsApp (https://web.whatsapp.com) on android tablets, but it was not always working. You may or may not able to load the application at some times.

Last couple of months, whatsapp has started rolling out the Beta version of the WhatsApp application for Android users in a limited capacity. If you are lucky enough, you will be able to join there beta program to download the beta version on your android tablet.

beta program is almost always full

I am a beta user of WhatsApp from almost 8 or 9 years now. and thats where I was able to get the beta version of the application on my Samsung Tab S8 Plus. Meta is rolling out the beta version of the application also to limited users, that means even you have the beta program joined, you still may not be able to get the latest beta version supporting the SIM less operations on your Android Tablet. In case you are still looking for the tablet version of the application then you can use the sites like APKMirror to search and download the latest beta version of the application.

Either way, once you have the application installed, you will get a very similar experiance as that of WhatsApp for Web or WhatsApp to macOS or Windows Desktop. If your Android table is not having the SIM Card capabiltiies, then you will be presented with a QR code to link the application with your existing account on your mobile phone. Just open the settings of WhatsApp on your mobile and select linked devices to add new linked device. WhatsApp on your tablet will be acgtivated and linked to your existing account. Remember that this functionality still is dependent on the communication between the actual account holding device and the linked device. You are required to keep the main account holding device online for this to function. If your device is out of juice or network, then you will not able to use this on your tablet either.

I wish there was a option to have this service work without the connection with the primary device. The main reason which I believe is the end to end encryption for the communication between 2 people. A chat is encrypted by a unique encryption key between 2 parties and that is some how not sharable between multiple devices by the current design of the application framework. but if Meta makes there mind to do it, it should be posible in near future.

I am enjoying the application today, if you are able to get the version, please share your experience with us in the comments. Happy messaging!!

News: iOS 8 Brings in Flickr Integration

iOS 8 Brings in Flickr Integration on Board

Yesterday, 17 September 2014 Apple launched its next big update of iOS and reached to version 8. With this update they have introduced many new features and one among them is Flickr and Vimeo integration. iOS was already having twitter and Facebook on the board till yesterday. as you can see in the image below, now you can link your Flickr and Vimeo accounts with your iOS device.

iOS Settings Screen

Once you have provided your credentials in the iOS Settings for the Flickr, you will be able to see the Flickr share option in the Photos app. for demonstration I have opened a picture in my Photos app and clicked on share icon at the bottom left Corner. This popped up the sharing control center, showing all the sharing option available, Flickr being one of them.

Sharing Center in Photos App
Sharing Center in Photos App Showing Flickr

Now you can scroll through the images in the above pan and select upto 10 pictures, before the Flickr sharing is disabled (It seems that Apple has introduced a limit on number of images can be shared on Flickr at once). After selecting app the photos you pick Flickr to share your photos and the Flickr sharing option dialog opens up, something like this

Share on Flickr from Photos App
Share on Flickr from Photos App

Here on this dialog you can provide your sharing comments select the Album / Photo Set and select the Audience and commit the post.

Pros:

  • You Don’t need to rely on third party Apps in case you generally share a pic or two.
  • The Application which require Flickr access can receive it centrally from the iOS. You need not to manage the Application access individually.
  • It uploads the full size images to Flickr from within the Photos app.

Cons:

  • There is limit of 10 photos which can be shared at a time with Flickr using the Photos app and that is too small for Professionals.
  • There is no configuration where you can restrict the upload size. It always uploads the full sized image.
  • You can not create a new Photo Set or Album. The Photos can only be uploaded to an existing one or none.

Missing Feature:

There should be an option to see the Flickr photos / albums in the Photos app, which will be the nicest feature to be appreciated by most of the people.

Conclusion:

As it is a big step for Apple to bring more social media integration on board, they need to work hard to make the features likable by most if not by everyone. I kind of like the new Flickr integration to begin with. I hope Apple will be working hard to make the users of its iOS devices happier. Let us know what you all think about these features … leave a comment below.

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What is Coming Next

What is Coming Next – 14 February 2014

Hi Everyone,

Keep watching and subscribe our YouTube Channel MindzGroupTech as a lot of new stuff is in production. A lot to learn and gain. Here is the top few items in production queue:

  1. jQuery Plugin Development. (Done – See Post Here)
  2. Intuit QuickBooks API v3 with PHP.(Dropped out for time being, Sorry)
  3. Development Environment Setup – SharePoint Foundation 2010 (Done – See Post Here)
  4. Setup PHP Development Environment in Ubuntu. (Done – See Post Here)

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