What's wrong with Skype? UI is mostly OK, but audio and video calls work fine, especially on desktop/laptop.

After being acquired by Microsoft, their product strategy for Skype was unclear. It was still offered as a standalone application, and at one point it got Facebook login integration and eventually Microsoft account integration. In 2013, they shut down WLM [1] and told everyone to use Skype.

Meanwhile on Windows Phone, it was discontinued on WP7 [2], while WP8 had native 'iMessage'-equivalent apps backended by Skype, but also a downloadable Skype app. If you installed both, you got double notifications. Was it supposed to be the platform-native messenger? On the phone, the answer was 'yes', but on the desktop it was 'no', or 'not yet'.

Desktop Windows 8 eventually also got a Metro app, but then it was killed [3]. Now they're about to release another one [4].

[1] http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/15/3991370/windows-live-messe...

[2] http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-discontinues-skype-w...

[3] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/micros...

[4] http://blogs.skype.com/2016/03/24/skype-universal-windows-pl...

I was wondering what's wrong with WhatsApp. Sure it lacks video calling, but it's arguably my number 2 messaging app. Rock steady, deliver/read receipts, fast..

> what's wrong with WhatsApp

It's owned by FaceBook.

That's the best knock against it you can come up with? I'll take that over "Love the app yet? Good because we're killing it" when owned by Google....

The text messaging sucks in multiple ways.

Not on Linux.

I agree with you that Facetime/iMessage could have been the standard but Apple never opened it up (API/SDK). When iMessage was announced years ago they had an opportunity, now there are too many players and too much at stake (Facebook paid how much for WhatsApp?!).

You're describing Facebook Messenger, which is my primary mode of communication