Google Jibe: Better carrier messaging for everyone

Post by X-Istence » Mon, Feb 22, 2016, 8:48 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #50

dheera wrote: post #7

Ick. I wish we could kill SMS/Whatsapp/Wechat/LINE already and just do everything over e-mail or some other cross-platform, multi-login protocol. I hate being tied up to one device to message people. I change devices on the order of minutes, move over the course of a day between a few locations that all have devices I own, and don't regularly carry or look at my cell phone if I am already staring at something bigger…

"I wish we could kill SMS/Whatsapp/Wechat/LINE already and just do everything over e-mail or some other cross-platform, multi-login protocol." That's an workable idea. What's needed first is to improve the transmission speed of short emails. I was once considering writing a mail forwarder for servers that don't have mailboxes, one that would open an outbound SMTP connection to the destination host before closing the…

Post by esolyt » Mon, Feb 22, 2016, 9:08 PM UTC

ChrisArchitect wrote: post #17

all of the messaging apps WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat etc are terrible in that they owe a lot of their rise due to users lack of comprehension of sms vs IP and carrier lockin etc etc. However - google and messaging is just a messy, and they're pushing this now? How about sort out your Messenger and Hangouts mess and get all of that consolidated

Post by toomuchtodo » Mon, Feb 22, 2016, 9:33 PM UTC

danyork wrote: post #60

eximius wrote: post #10

Anybody have a good source on what the heck RCS is? I've never heard of it until now. I will google also, but I bet someone knows of an introduction they'd recommend.

RCS is the legacy telcos ongoing attempt to try to somehow get into the messaging game that all of the Internet-based communications app are doing (WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Line, Kik, Skype, iMessage, etc.). Basically, they'd like all their SMS revenue back! Dean Bubley had a great analysis - "Google + GSMA announcement on RCS is no gamechanger" : http://disruptivewireless.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/google-gsma...

Post by ine3432n4e23n4 » Mon, Feb 22, 2016, 10:34 PM UTC

habosa wrote: post #30

trebor wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's irony for you: basic text messaging is almost free to the carriers, because it actually happens on the cellular protocol's control channel. [1] Your phone maintains that connection persistently (I think), so fitting SMS messages into idle time makes it virtually free. The SMS cost is just a profit center for carriers, but this explanation also accounts for the speed of delivery, etc. > Look at what happens to…

1 - yes that is a major issue with SMS and why SMS use is in such sharp decline. I doubt the carriers will make the mistake of pricing RCS like SMS or they'll never get to break into messaging again. 2 - the iMessage to Android experience is still broken in many other ways. For instance if you were in any long-running group messages that were iMessages, your messages will be silently dropped until the thread is re-cr…

Post by profeta » Wed, Feb 24, 2016, 10:17 PM UTC

grahamburger wrote: post #58

profeta wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hangouts does everything BUT this. The UI shows several user accounts that you have to keep switching. it is a total nightmare. then, the worst offense, you have absolutely no idea if you send a message to someone, if it will go via hangouts http IM message or via SMS. you have zero control/feedback from the UI. The ONLY way to know, is to create contacts with just email address and others with just phone numbers. an…

When I'm using it I have a drop down next to where I send the message that lets me select sms or hangouts that seems to work as expected. I can choose which number to send to or to send a hangout. Maybe it's been a while since you tried it? I vaguely remember having problems like that in the past. I respect your opinion about separate apps for sms/messages, but I personally don't believe that was the right choice. I…