Whatsapp vs BBM

For those who haven't heard as yet, the immensely popular  BBM is coming over to android and iOS in short order, this raised a few questions to me. 1) would people actually switch back over to BBM from Whatsapp? And 2) which messaging system is better?

I've take a small survey among my colleagues who all have had a blackberry but are currently rocking with either android or iphone. The general consensus is "no I wouldn't switch" After BlackBerry started to fade out whatsapp was the only decent app that came close to BBM. It had most of the same functions like voice note, file transferring, emojis and etc. The only issues BBM migrants had was the last seen online status and the using of your actual phone number. Over time users have learned to live with it, I certainly have. They have definitely made up for those small flaws with great updates to the overall user interface and functionality. 

This brings me to the next question; which is better? Their is a difference between being popular and being better. Here is how the features stack up.

Feature                                 Whatsapp                                     BBM
Invitation                               Phone number                                PIN, Email,QRC Code (NFC BB10)
Message Delivery                  Shows sent and received ticks        Shows sending, sent, delivered, read
Calling                                   Voice note only                             Yes, over WiFi
Video Calling                         No                                                Yes
Emoticons                              Yes                                               Yes
Contact Storage                    Sync with phone                             Backs up to cloud
Price                                     Free for a year                               Free

BBM does have a bit more depth to it, but they both have their ups and downs. While BBM is incredibly secure, whatsapp makes up for with smooth flowing interface while being secure enough. It's hard to say which is actually better. These apps have similar capabilities and really depends on your preference.