Citation needed; I'd certainly love to know whether J2ME devices were a significant chunk of WhatsApp's actives, but there's zero data to back up the suggestion..
WhatsApp is also really strong here in Germany and other parts of Europe. More of my friends are on WhatsApp than Facebook (only very few more though).
These numbers are going to drop significantly now. Everyone I talk to is unhappy about the acquisition and will switch to something else like telegram.
I'd say more than 99.9% of WhatsApp users haven't heard of Telegram.
WhatsApp users are mostly not early adopters like you and your friends. They are ordinary people, because WhatsApp is is a simple communication tool targeted to everyone. And that's why they keep doubling their user base.
Unless Facebook actually puts their logo on WhatsApp, hardly anyone would notice. The tech community is minuscule compared to the large number of non-tech people using WhatsApp.
The uproar in Spain about WhatsApp switching to $1 per year was huge, noisy and... emphemeral. Line got a lot of new signups for a few weeks, but the only person I know that still considers using Line today didn't even have WhatsApp back then (but, like everyone else, does have it now).
Also in the Netherlands. E.g. in June 2013, 75% of the smartphone users used WhatsApp daily. Moreover, more than three quarter of the Dutch citizens has a smartphone.
So, WhatsApp is definitely used in high-profit markets as well.
Singapore is a Smartphone country, but Whatsapp is pretty dominant there. (I didn't run into anyone who didn't use it as their primary messaging platform)
Remember that it's not only the J2ME actives that matter. The fact that you have access to all your friends wihtout exception inside the same app is killer, even if you have the latest iPhone.
That's what made me return to WhatsApp in the first place. That, coupled with an apparently flawless experience.
It's not just the raw numbers. I would love to move onto Telegram, which is more secure, has an API, and works from a desktop. But, I can't.
There are about five or six odd people in my life (professional or private) that I message frequently. Even if 1 out of them isn't on a particular messaging platform, I can't adopt that platform wholeheartedly. With Fb Messages, Hangouts and every other popular smartphone oriented messaging platform there would always be that one or two contacts that you regularly communicate with, who would be left out due to having an incompatible device. Whatsapp on the other hand works on pretty much every phone. When you want to replace something as prevalent as SMS, the long tail matters.
There's another tangible benefit of focusing on so many platforms. Whatsapp, which doesn't spend much (if anything at all) on promotion, is prominently featured in the advertisements of many budget phones, as manufacturers see Whatsapp support as a strong selling point.
