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SMS text messaging has long been one of the cellular industry's biggest cash cows and most notorious rip-offs. But the death knell for SMS may sound soon, thanks to smartphone messenging apps like WhatsApp Messenger. A free messenger app that runs on all the major mobile platforms, WhatsApp works with your cellular number and integrates with a phone's address book. It supports video, image and voice messages, and allows free messaging to fellow WhatsApp users across the globe.

There's plenty of competition in this space, of course, most notably Facebook Messenger, which doesn't require a Facebook account to send/receive messages. (Like WhatsApp, a simple phone number and user name will suffice.) So if you're paying a wireless carrier to text, don't do it!

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