WhatsApp, iMessage, Viber, BBM, Line, WeChat,, SnapChat, Hike, Kik: there seems to be an overflowing number of messaging apps in the market these days. This article itself is about one! But what’s special about this? This is no ordinary messenger – this one is from Skype! Known worldwide for its VOIP & video calls, Skype is now entering the world of IMs. But can Qik separate itself from the herd?
Qik is not an instant messenger-it’s an instant video messenger! The messenger allows you to interact with your friends ‘Face to Face’ by recording and exchanging short video messages. The app also supports group messaging. Now video messaging is nothing new. The feature is already present in all popular messengers. The novelty, however, lies in the fact that unlike others, Qik supports only videos – no photographs, no texts, no audio. Though this may seem limiting, once you get the hang of it, keyboards begin to feel ancient!
Positives
Where Qik really scores is its simplicity. The app is very (VERY) easy to use. Just swipe a finger down and start recording! It also doesn’t require any registration or signup, just a simple number verification and you are good to go. An excellent feature, not yet available across other IMs, is the ability to switch between front & rear cameras while recording a message. Another cool feature (and my personal favourite) is Qik Fliks – a better way to share emotions. Qik enables you to pre-record upto 12 short clips, which you can insert anytime during a conversation. From a smile or a frown to a wink, hello, bye, it aims to make emoticons more personal!
Qik also respects your privacy. If you want to erase any of your chats, simply delete it from your device and it will automatically get deleted from the receiver’s device too!
Also, old messages (two weeks or older) get deleted automatically, to keep your conversations (and the phone) clutter free. The app itself doesn’t allow saving of any messages on the device.
Negatives
Talking about the limitations, there are a few. Though the app provides a great ‘video chatting’ experience, sometimes you want to type instead of talk. The lack of text messaging (or file sharing) would require you to still keep WhatsApp around. Also, Qik feels like a better version of Snapchat, but then, even Snapchat offers text and pictures!
Another drawback is that the length of each clip must not exceed 42 seconds.
Though it’s more than optimal for daily use, you can’t broadcast long video messages. The storage space might be an issue as well (as videos are bound to be heavier than images and texts).
Verdict
To be honest, Qik is not for everyone. But that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s not a WhatsApp, Viber or BBM alternative. Instead, it approaches the whole concept of instant messaging from a different perspective which seeks to merge video calling with instant messaging. It’s not a ‘must have’ app but is definitely worth a try.
Happy Video Messaging!
Qik is available on Android, iOS & Windows for FREE.
Here’s an introductory video:
