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Updates to our Google Voice apps

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Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#121

Post by erikpukinskis »

nol13 wrote: post #80
jitl wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Group SMS and MMS messages weren't supported by the backing service. As group messages became more popular as more of my friends got smartphones, I'd miss more and more communications that my friends were having. Additionally, there were times when even regular SMS messages would be delivered minutes or hours late. The whole system felt unreliable. It felt like the only purpose was to send outbound messages from the…

Same gripe I've had on iOS past, could never figure out if my response was going to go over sms, imessage, or email, and if email which account, so I just avoid as much as possible, and don't setup additional accounts on my iOS devices or ones i set up. Mostly to avoid getting "why am i getting email responses to my text messages" questions etc. Not saying it's hard or complicated, just hard and complicated enough fo…

Apple doesn't care if you can communicate with non Apple users. They have their iMessage population hostage. Those people can never switch to Android because they'll be left out of group texts. It's vendor lock-in of the highest order. Spectacular play by Apple, really. They guarantee switching to Android is painful, you risk losing business deals and messages from friends. I doubt it's legal, but for now they are getting away with it.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#122

Post by maxerickson »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #15
jitl wrote: post #14

I used to use my Google Voice number as my primary contact number, but when development of the product seemingly died for three years without addressing outstanding issues with group MMS or picture messages, I migrated back to my regular cell number. I've already told all my friends to forget my Google Voice number. I've changed my preferences in every service I use to contact my regular cell number. Now Google is so…

Out of curiosity, why didn't you keep using it, but with Hangouts instead?

I just recently realized I had to tell Hangouts to ring.

I also haven't figured out how to set it to have Hangouts ring when I am on wifi and forward to the phone only when I'm not. So I get dueling ringers.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#123

Post by memco »

Great and timely news for me. I have been very disappointed with the iOS apps since upgrading to new high-res devices. The UI, the inability to search message history and the discontinuity of conversations were all pain points that had me in the past week considering whether I would pursue something like twilio + a self-hosted app or just give up on the niceties of web access to all my messages. That, and the fact that Apple now has messaging and call support (albeit only to other Apple devices seems to work for me) means that GV has been losing value and appreciation steadily. Looks like I'll be keeping it around a little longer.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#124

Post by knz »

hamandcheese wrote: post #63
izacus wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand what's there to be lost about? Those are separate chat services? Or is 2017 the year when understanding that e.g. Facebook Messenger, Duo (video chat), SMS and Hangouts are different services?

Suppose we're using Facebook. How do I send a text? Messenger. How do I make a call? Messenger. How do I make a video call? Messenger. Try answering the same question using Google's services.

Doesn't Hangouts do all of the above? The icons in Gmail are video chat, add user, voice chat, and send SMS.

Hangouts on my Nexus 6 has the same options.

Imgur link to screenshot -> http://imgur.com/a/vTlqO

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#126

Post by niftich »

A timeline of Google's messaging rivalry with Facebook. Original inspiration from source [23], enhanced and corrected from [33]:

- 2006-02-07: Google Talk integration inside Gmail goes live [35]

- 2006-09-26: Facebook opens up to everyone (not just colleges) [36]

- 2007-02-14: (corrected date) Gmail opens up to everyone (not just invite-only) [37]

- 2008-04-06: Facebook chat goes live [34]

- 2008-07-11: iOS App Store launches [38]

- 2008-08-26: Facebook hits 100 million active users [24]

- 2008-09-23: Android 1.0 launches [39]

- 2008-11-11: Google Talk introduces voice and video calling [40]

- 2009-03-11: Google buys GrandCentral, launches Google Voice [1]

- 2009-04-08: Facebook hits 200 million active users [25]

- 2009-06: iOS gets push notifications [42]

- 2009-06-25: Google Voice invitations being serviced [2]

- 2009-09-15: Facebook hits 300 million active users [26]

- 2010-02-04: Facebook hits 400 million active users [27]

- 2010-05-20: Android gets push notifications [41]

- 2010-06-21: FaceTime released with iOS 4 [43]

- 2010-06-22: Google Voice opens up invite-free to everyone in the US [3]

- 2010-07-21: Facebook hits 500 million active users [28]

- 2011-01-05: Facebook hits 600 million active users [29]

- 2011-05-30: Facebook probably hits around 700 million active users [30]

- 2011-06-28: Google+ launches, with text chat "+Messenger" and video chat "+Hangouts" [4]

- 2011-07-06: Facebook introduces video calling powered by Skype behind-the-scenes, needs installation [5]

- 2011-08-09: Facebook introduces Messenger app [6]

- 2011-09-22: Facebook hits 800 million active users [31]

- 2011-10-12: iMessage released with iOS 5

- 2012-04-23: Facebook hits 900 million active users [32]

- 2012-09-20: Facebook tries SMS sending from Messenger [7]

- 2013-04-17: Wired editorial on "Will Google Hang Up on Voice?" [8]

- 2013-05-15: Google launches 'Google Hangouts', which subsumes Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, Google+ Hangouts [9]

- 2013-10-29: Facebook discontinues send-SMS support in Messenger, sends Messenger message instead [10]

- 2013-10-29: Google Hangouts Android App gets SMS handler support [11]

- 2014-02-19: Facebook announces it will acquire WhatsApp [12]

- 2014-04-09: Facebook removes chat from its main app, forces people to use Messenger [13]

- 2014-09-11: Google Hangouts gets Google Voice integration [14]

- 2015-03-25: Facebook announces Messenger Platform for business, bot, and ad integration [15]

- 2015-04-27: Facebook Messenger gets native video calling [16]

- 2016-01-27: Hangouts 7.0 asks users to use Google Messenger for SMS instead [17]

- 2016-06-14: Facebook Messenger gets Android SMS handler support [18]

- 2016-07-13: Hangouts 11.0 removes support for merged conversations [19]

- 2016-08-16: Google releases Duo [20]

- 2016-09-21: Google releases Allo [21]

- 2016-10-07: Duo is replacing Hangouts in the base Android install [22]

- 2017-01-23: Google launches rebooted Google Voice app, with Hangouts-like UI

[1] https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-comes-google-vo... [2] https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-voice-invites... [3] http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/google-voice-for... [4] https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-p... [5] https://www.facebook.com/notes/philip-su/building-video-call... [6] https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2011/08/a-faster-way-to-message... [7] https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/20/facebook-android-update-yo... [8] https://www.wired.com/2013/04/google-voice-future-uncertain/ [9] http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/15/4318830/inside-hangouts-go... [10] https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/29/facebook-messenger-phone-n... [11] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/google-hangouts-gets-... [12] http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/02/facebook-to-acquire-what... [13] https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/09/facebook-messenger-or-the-... [14] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/google-hangouts-gets-... [15] https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2015/03/25/introdu... [16] http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2015/04/introducing-video-callin... [17] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/google-hangouts-7-0-f... [18] https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/14/facebook-messenger-texting... [19] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/07/google-hangouts-for-a... [20] https://blog.google/products/duo/meet-google-duo-simple-1-to... [21] https://blog.google/products/allo/google-allo-smarter-messag... [22] http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/7/13202866/google-hangouts-a... [23] http://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2014/10/22/instant-mess... [24] https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/our-first-100-millio... [25] https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/200-million-strong/7... [26] https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/300-million-and-on/1... [27] http://web.archive.org/web/20100212075226/http://blog.facebo... [28] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/jul/21/facebook-... [29] http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-has-more-than-600-mi... [30] http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/facebook-nears-700-mil... [31] http://mashable.com/2011/09/22/facebook-800-million-users/ [32] http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/23/technology/facebook-q1/ [33] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11114518 [34] https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/facebook-chat-now-we... [35] https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/chat-email-crazy-del... [36] https://techcrunch.com/2006/09/26/facebook-just-launched-ope... [37] https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/from-gmail-with-3.ht... [38] http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/06/09Apple-Introduces-t... [39] https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2008/09/announcing... [40] https://gmail.googleblog.com/2008/11/say-hello-to-gmail-voic... [41] https://blog.serverdensity.com/android-push-notifications-tu... [42] https://www.urbanairship.com/push-notifications-explained [43] https://web.archive.org/web/20100609163523/http://www.engadg...

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#127

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

nextos wrote: post #106
baggachipz wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a die-hard Google user/fanboy until about a year and a half ago. I was a Fi user, Voice user (before Fi), Hangouts, Nexus buyer, you name it (I even had a Google TV and almost bought an OnHub). I bailed on it all when I realized that Google has absolutely no long-term vision or desire to support what they produce. I went to an iPhone and despite Apple's warts, it's a night-and-day experience. I'll never again t…

Frankly, I can't understand how Google is so chaotic. Perhaps it's the organization, which looks more like a conglomerate than a cohesive corporation with a clear vision. They release products, only to abandon many of them without a clear reason (like Google Talk). Or they release two products that should be one instead (Android & ChromeOS, or Allo & Duo). The Google Talk fiasco got me particularly disenchanted. A be…

This: "they release two products that should be one instead (Android & ChromeOS)"... I've been thinking the same exact thing. Google basically split the ecosystem in half...devs have to unnecessary build seperate apps for each (unless they are using a cross platform engine).

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#128

Post by bjt »

colechristensen wrote: post #48
jitl wrote: post #14

I used to use my Google Voice number as my primary contact number, but when development of the product seemingly died for three years without addressing outstanding issues with group MMS or picture messages, I migrated back to my regular cell number. I've already told all my friends to forget my Google Voice number. I've changed my preferences in every service I use to contact my regular cell number. Now Google is so…

I'm assuming what happened is they used Google Voice to jumpstart Google Fi and left Voice around as a neglected old version which they actually kept supporting (whoo). Now Fi is settled they're turning their focus back to Voice.

Except that Fi leaves the really killer Voice features behind. You don't get texts or voice transcriptions emailed to you in Fi.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#130

Post by justabystander »

I still use GV, but it's been frustrating. I stuck with the actual voice app as long as I could manage, but Google was making it really difficult to avoid using Hangouts. As in, there were features you wouldn't get if you didn't switch. Post-switch, MMS and group texts mostly work (although it still fails whenever someone tries to send me a phone contact). Prior to the switch, MMS showed up as emails and it was annoying. They worked really hard to make it inconvenient outside of Hangouts.

But, of course, the web and phone versions of hangouts have serious UX problems because it's a chat app first and a SMS/MMS app second. Instead of directly searching for people in the messaging, which will give me 2nd-degree contacts I've never spoken with instead of my actual google contacts with phone numbers, I search through the phone call interface and click the SMS button. On the phone, it tries its hardest to hide the SMS functionality behind Hangouts. And of course, Hangouts is less popular since they gutted that product. They need to stop their forced upgrade attempts. And incoming GV phone calls only show up in the Phone app's history, while outgoing only show in Hangouts. Not to mention how utterly difficult it is to search just GV SMS/voicemail history now. It's like they rounded up every stoned-useless intern they could and told them to break the product.

Also, I'd much rather they build their feature set around an API than around apps. They've already proven they have no idea on how to manage apps. I'd rather just have an API we can build against and use. Or even just treat GV as a SIP number that we connect to. I could build myself a pretty sweet SMS/VoiceXML gateway app for routing my calls. But depending on Google to not ruin things is kind of a lost cause at this point.

Free, carrier-agnostic web SMS should be an international thing, as long as it's not abused. And that ideal is probably one of the main reasons I stick with it.

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