The iMessage feature is available within other Apple phones, however - I have an iPhone & my friends have androids. We are still able to text back & forth without issue as my iPhone will send the message as text format, rather than iMessage to a non-Apple phone. My computer (which talks to my phone - BTW) does the same thing. It's not like owning an iPhone means you can ONLY send messages to other iPhone owners. I easily can receive & send messages to my friends who are not Apple friendly.