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Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

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Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#191

Post by sangnoir »

dx034 wrote: post #151
ChrisArchitect wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WhatsApp, nothing more than another internet messaging app that requires data, shot to popularity because it fooled users into thinking it was somehow an SMS client because it used phone number as account.

No, because it was (and probably still is) the only messaging app that works with feature phones.

> No, because it was (and probably still is) the only messaging app that works with feature phones.

Sadly, Facebook has since dropped feature phone support to support their flanking maneuver on Snapchat (Instagram on the other flank). Instead of keeping WhatsApp simple and admitting it was feature-complete, the grand plan seems to be "copy features from Snap, and drop feature phones that can't keep up".

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#192

Post by giancarlostoro »

jayd16 wrote: post #177
moksha256 wrote: post #134

Didn't Google have messaging figured out with Google Talk? Everyone was on Gmail all day (as many still are) and people actually used it. Then they let it wither, came out with Hangouts, and it's been a downhill train wreck from there. Google Talk had the potential of being one of the biggest messengers in the world...they own Gmail and Android (!!!!!). Are you kidding me? There's really no good reason for them NOT t…

It's a pretty simple explanation. Google talk was XMPP which is just not a good mobile protocol.

I had Google Talk on my phone for ages, I'm not getting what you mean by this. I had no issues. It was fast, to the point, and worked.

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#193

Post by riffic »

scrooched_moose wrote: post #110
exabrial wrote: post #87

The carriers are idiots. It's where innovation goes to die. We had to pull them kicking and screaming into the smart phone and data era. (Remember When AT&T sent a paper copy of every image you downloaded on your iPhone in a bill?) Quite frankly the core problem with Google's strategy is involving then at all. Instead, go the manufacturers and campaign against supporting sms at all . It's insecure, slow, unreliable,…

> unreliable Really? It's the only messaging format that works without a data connection and is an absolute godsend when I'm out camping, rural biking, or at large sporting events and the towers are absolutely swamped. I'm in a situation at least once a month where the only reliable communication method is SMS.

SMS is a best-effort protocol; that is inherently unreliable.

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#194

Post by ChuckMcM »

For me, nothing demonstrates how self defeating Google's internal structure is, than chat. They had a lot of adoption of their system in the early 2000's (and granted it became unmaintainable but that was an engineering issue not a technical issue) and they killed it. They had a great system they could have copied (iMessage) and they ignored it. They had a standards friendly system and they spurned it.

The combination of killing gchat and reader really struck me as "Wow, it feels this company has no idea what they are doing strategically."

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#195

Post by JshWright »

pilom wrote: post #153
moksha256 wrote: post #134

Didn't Google have messaging figured out with Google Talk? Everyone was on Gmail all day (as many still are) and people actually used it. Then they let it wither, came out with Hangouts, and it's been a downhill train wreck from there. Google Talk had the potential of being one of the biggest messengers in the world...they own Gmail and Android (!!!!!). Are you kidding me? There's really no good reason for them NOT t…

One of the best features of using Google Fi as my cell provider is that I can still use Google Talk. Still works amazingly well and I can send text messages directly from Gmail or from my android phone. I love it.

I was a Fi user for about a year, but had major issues getting the phone to switch back to the cell network when I left my house. We live in a little valley with poor reception, so the phone seemed to "give up" on cell service, and then I'd have to reboot it after I left my house to get it to reconnect (wifi calling worked fine while I was home).

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#196

Post by blueside »

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Google's course of action and decision making to messaging isn't satire. I can't imagine what a dumpster fire must be going on somewhere within, eventually I hope we get to hear the stories behind their calamity of multifarious messaging products.

I'm not even being facetious when I say that they should include an estimated date of when they expect to cease supporting said product (2 years seems to be about right)

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#197

Post by sorenjan »

moksha256 wrote: post #134

Didn't Google have messaging figured out with Google Talk? Everyone was on Gmail all day (as many still are) and people actually used it. Then they let it wither, came out with Hangouts, and it's been a downhill train wreck from there. Google Talk had the potential of being one of the biggest messengers in the world...they own Gmail and Android (!!!!!). Are you kidding me? There's really no good reason for them NOT t…

Google messaging must have some of the worst project managers in the industry. Not only did they let their lead disappear, when they decided to start competing with Facebook and WhatsApp they released Allo! A crappy MVP in a crowded market hugely dependent on the network effect.

And now they've decided to involve the carriers, using a technology that's not made to be cross platform but instead be dependent on phones. I can see RCS being a good solution for companies to send out rich boarding passes and similarly, but nobody around here uses SMS or MMS for person to person contact. Chat shouldn't be locked to or even routed through phones, and using a telephone number as an ID is impractical.

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#198

Post by periferral »

The problem with Allo and Duo and other "chat" tools google provided never felt feature complete. If I'm on my mobile phone, I want one app to get messages regardless if it comes from the carrier or my peeps on google. Hangouts is the closest thing we have to this. Even hangouts doesnt fully integrate. I'm a Fi user and when use apps that send text to verify, the autoverify doesnt work with Hangouts as my default messaging app. It only seems to work with Android Messaging app. These kind of half baked reasons are why none of the google messaging apps really have taken off. I agree with the past comment that Google had the opp to just improve on Google Talk and build on it rather than create 6 different messaging apps.

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#199

Post by dchuk »

mistermann wrote: post #132
SubNoize wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that + a desktop client/web app is all anyone wishes for, how can they be do blind and stupid.

It never ceases to amaze me how blatantly incompetent Google is when it comes to software, blind and stupid is not hyperbole, the proper thing to do here is absolutely crystal clear, users are begging for it (I know, I've googled trying to find a desktop solution that works and doesn't cost $5/month ffs), and they just keep releasing pieces of crap over and over. It's hard to believe this is real life sometimes.

Are you actually calling out arguably the most successful web software company of all time (primarily through search and adwords) for being incompetent? A company that profits billions a...quarter?

Maybe chat just doesn't make them any money so they don't really give a shit and all of these things are pet projects that get shut down on a whim?

The key to Google is that their real Users are advertisers. That's it. The "users" you're talking about are the product they're selling to their real Users(Advertisers).

Re: Google changes its messaging strategy again: Goodbye to Allo, double down on RCS

#200

Post by sorenjan »

elvirs wrote: post #94

Its shocking how Google is embarrassing itself with these incompatible chat apps released one after another and abandoned right after the release. GTalk Gmail Chat Google Voice Hangouts Android Messages Allo Duo for fucks sake Google, just copy Whatsapp but make it stored on cloud, not on the device, like FB Messenger. Enable account recovery using email in addition to sms and enable usernames or email in addition ph…

They recently added a chat function to the Youtube mobile app too.
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