I am using Maxis Hotlink (prepaid) and a Nokia N86 8MP with the latest WhatApp Symbian v2.6.8 installed.

I should say it really is an awesome app. You can cross-chat with people who have WhatsApp installed on their phones too, be it iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android phones.

Another good thing about it is that you don't need any ID (unlike Blackberry Messenger) and upon start-up, the app will automatically scan the contacts in your phone and will identify who already have WhatsApp too. Those who have WhatsApp are listed under "Favourites".
Some of my friends who use BlackBerry Messenger don't even know the phone numbers of the friends. They only know their BBM IDs. Lols. With WhatsApp, your phone number is your ID.

I am using the Maxis RM3/week (quota: 5MB) and it really is enough. Unless of course you are a very heavy user, chatting all the time, sending images, audio files etc.
Another good thing about WhatsApp is that it can use WiFi. So whenever I'm at home, I use WiFi.
This way, you can save a lot of money. Pay only RM3/week, and you can stay connected all the time just like using BlackBerry messenger.
Sending and receiving messages does not consume a lot of data bytes.
Newer versions of WhatsApp have been very efficient in terms of the data usage. It seems that now my data usage is less than how it used to be even though I chat even more frequently.

As for the battery life of your phone, it really depends. If you use WhatsApp often (by that, not only leave the App open, but really use it for chatting), then yes, it will drain your battery faster.

While not in use, it does not affect your battery life that much. Maybe if it takes you 1 charge every 2 days, now you'll only need to charge it once every 1.5 days. If used frequently, then you might need to charge it once a day or even more often.

No I don't think so. It's the standard ringtone.


Your status really depends on both connections i.e. yours and your friend's.
When both connections are really good and stable, both of your status will be "online".
Once something happens to your connection, your status won't be "online" anymore since WhatsApp thinks you're at the moment not connected / are not using the application. It would be "Last seen at..."

For connections, among Maxis, Digi, and Celcom, I should say Maxis is the most stable one. Most of the time, messages go through easily. Celcom is less stable, sometimes it takes 15-30 secs or even, minutes for the messages to go through. DiGi, I should say is the worst among the three. Again it all depends on the strength of the connection in your area. This is just what I observe in my area. And yes, the 3G subscriptions for Maxis are the most expensive ones, followed by Celcom, and lastly, DiGi. So I guess, what you pay really represents the service you get, eh?