HeyWire is a free app for iPhone and iPod Touch to send free SMS messages to any phone number in all the popular countries, like, U.S., Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, and many more. Apart from that, this free text messaging app for iPhone also gives you a US phone number for free. If anyone sends message on that U.S. phone number, you will get on your iPhone, for free. It does not matters which country you live in to send free messages; you can send free text messages from any country in the world.
Even though free text messaging is limited to a few countries, HeyWire provides unlimited free messaging between HeyWire to HeyWire users in any country. HeyWire works on Android as well, so you can use this to send free messages to Android users too. Apart from that, HeyWire provides option to engage in Facebook chat, and update Twitter status as well. That’s a lot of features in a simple messaging app!
Better than WhatsApp?
When I started reviewing HeyWire, I was under impression that it is similar to WhatsApp, and probably a free alternative to WhatsApp for iPhone. However, soon I realized that it is much better than that. WhatsApp is limited to messaging between WhatsApp users only. However, HeyWire lets you send free text messages to even those mobile phones which do not have HeyWire installed. Completely free.
And of course, it does provides core WhatsApp functionality as well: Free messaging with anyone who has HeyWire installed, irrespective of the country he is located in.
Why is This Free Text Messaging App Free?
I have mentioned multiple times above that HeyWire lets you send free text messages. When I read that myself, first question I had is how is this app free. The catch here is that this free text messaging app is ad-supported. However, the ads are non-intrusive and I don’t mind them at all. If you do mind the apps, then HeyWire lets you disable the ads by paying a low annual fee of $5.99.
Features of HeyWire Free Text Messaging App for iPhone and iPod Touch:
Free Text Messaging: The best feature of this app undoubtedly is its free texting feature. You can send text messages to any phone in most of the popular countries.
Here is the list of supported countries at time of writing of this article:
USA, Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, BritishVirginIslands(BVI), Canada, CaymanIslands, Chile, Columbia, CostaRica, Curacao, Dominica, Ecuador, ElSalvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, MainlandChina, Mexico, Monserrat, Nicaragua, NorthernMarianaIslands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, PuertoRico, SaintMaarten, St.KittsandNevis, St.Lucia, Suriname, TheBahamas, TrinidadandTobago, TurksandCaicosIslands, UnitedStatesVirginIslands(USVI), Uruguay, Venezuela.
Free U.S. Phone Number: As I mentioned in the beginning, HeyWire assigns you a US phone number. So, if you send SMS to anyone, they will get that from that US phone number and not your number. So, you might want to tell them in advance that those messages are coming from your phone. And if anyone sends messages to that U.S. phone number, HeyWire will deliver those to your phone.
Free HeyWire to HeyWire messaging: Another interesting feature of HeyWire is that it lets you send unlimited free messages to anyone who has HeyWire installed, irrespective of the device they are on. So, if you are a big fan of WhatsApp, it would not be difficult to switch to this free text messaging app.
Facebook Chat: Facebook Chat of HeyWire app lets you chat with your Facebook buddies on iPhone. Now, this is where you can do multi tasking and communicate with all your friends. You don’t have to head to your Facebook app for iPhone to chat with your Facebook buddies. Just do it all in one smart app.
Update Twitter Status: HeyWire also lets you update your Twitter status. The update feature is quite basic, just type any message and update your Twitter timeline with that. You can’t see other Twitter followers or see your complete timeline. But this is good enough if you just want to quickly update your Twitter status without using a dedicated Twitter app for iOS.
Group SMS: The app allows you to text in group. You can chat with up to 10 buddies of yours. Type a message and select up to 10 mobile numbers to send the same message all together on all of your 10 friends. To use Group SMS, you just have to add numbers in the recipient list.
Auto Response to SMS: Smart SMS feature of the app lets you auto-reply to the text messages which you receive. If you are in a meeting, in your office, or you are busy somewhere in your work, then enabling Smart SMS feature lets you auto-reply to the text you receive. The reply which the app send says “I am away”. The receiver will then know that you might be busy somewhere and cannot chat at that particular point of time.
Picture Messaging: This free SMS app also lets you include pictures in your messages.
Only thing I miss in this app is free-calling, that other apps like Viber provide.
How to Use HeyWire Free SMS App:
- Download and install HeyWire app on your iPhone. You can also scan the QR Code below to download the app.
- Register with your unique credentials with the app.
- You will get a unique US number from which you can send and received messages.
- Tap on “compose a new message” button to compose a new message.
- Select the number on which you want to text.
- You can now send free SMS to any mobile number or between HeyWire to HeyWire.
Verdict:
HeyWire is awesome. This app lets you send free text messages to many countries, provides app-to-app as well as app-to-phone messages, works on all popular platforms like iPhone, Android, Windows Phone; lets you do Facebook chat and Twitter update, and is completely free. Phew! That’s a lot of features in a simple free text messaging app. I Love it. Try it out and let me know in comments how does it works for you. And if you know a similar or better app, do tip me in comments.
