Wire

Wire for Android attempts to be a platform for quick messaging between you and your friends. Giving users an alternative to spending their pennies on SMS messages, users can easily start conversation threads to their contacts, and even start group conversations with multiple users at once.

The concept behind this app is pretty decent. With it you are able to set up a profile within seconds, and from here you can quickly add your friends and start chatting. The interface is incredibly minimal, and this lack of cluttered functionality means that you're left with the option to do two very simple things: swipe up to send a friend a message, or swipe down to start a group conversation.

Users may appreciate this simple approach that the app has taken, and it's nice to see that the developers haven't felt the need to add any other social functionality that is often not needed. The only trouble with the app is that you need to invite your friends to download the app and register before you start talking to them, and with millions of smartphone owners worldwide already relying on similar apps such as this, you may find that very few friends will actually want to join you on this app.

Occasionally, the minimal interface seems to be a bit unresponsive, which may up the chances of keeping your friends away from the app, and in the end, the app becomes a novel idea that is hard to be adopted into your own daily smartphone usage due to the lack of compatibility with other social apps or networks.

Wire is free to download, and there are no in-app purchases, giving you a completely free platform to chat to your friends if they do so happen to download it as well.