Android Users: What SMS Client Do You Use?
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To my fellow Android users:
I currently use Hangouts as my SMS client. For a lot of people the built-in app works fine, but it was never enough for me. I used Handcent for awhile but ran into an issue where my texts wouldn't go through at home because of my weak cell signal. I switched to Hangouts because I can text using wifi that way, even with my cell (AFAIK). Also, when I text the same number from either my carrier number or my Google Voice, it aggregates it together in Hangouts on my cell, which is awesome. I will often text from my Google Voice from work because I can text using Hangouts through Gmail, which makes me faster and makes it easier for me.
I have no qualms with Hangouts at the moment, but I'm curious what everyone else uses for an SMS client. As I said, I used Handcent, which I loved because it would pop up a notification window I could reply from in front of the lock screen. Hangouts doesn't do this, and I miss that feature.
So, what do you use and why?
Thanks!
A.J. -
@thanksaj I use Hangouts as well... I am heavily invested in Google Voice and this is one of the better clients for it (the default client is pretty awful and the 3rd party one I tried just didn't work very well.
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@coliver said:
@thanksaj I use Hangouts as well... I am heavily invested in Google Voice and this is one of the better clients for it (the default client is pretty awful and the 3rd party one I tried just didn't work very well.
As am I. It drives me nuts that there is no way for me to text from my carrier number through Hangouts from my PC. I use Airdroid at home, but the wifi network my phone is on and the network my test box is on are separate, so Airdroid doesn't really work here.
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@coliver I am more looking to see if there is anything else out there that I should try. Like I had said though, I've been very happy with Hangouts. I kind of wish they could integrate Facebook messenger into it...
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@thanksaj That would be nice... the new Facebook messenger is basically useless on my phone...
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@coliver said:
@thanksaj That would be nice... the new Facebook messenger is basically useless on my phone...
I don't care for the interface but it works.
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Even though airdroid is not SMS client, I really like it, gives me the flexibility of sending sms from my laptop and much more! http://help.airdroid.com/customer/portal/articles/1286642-sms
Apart from that, I am also using hangout replacing the native sms app
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@ambarishrh said:
Even though airdroid is not SMS client, I really like it, gives me the flexibility of sending sms from my laptop and much more! http://help.airdroid.com/customer/portal/articles/1286642-sms
Apart from that, I am also using hangout replacing the native sms app
I love using Airdroid but can't at work unless I do it over mobile which is slow! So I generally end up texting from my Google Voice at work...
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You find that the network is too slow for SMS messages?
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@Reid-Cooper said:
You find that the network is too slow for SMS messages?
My signal tends to have issues at my apartment. My calls are overall good, but do have some sound quality issues from time to time, although that could be on the other party's end too. SMS usually goes through without an issue, but sometimes it hangs and MMS messages are kind of slow.
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What carrier are you on? Have you looked into a range extender?
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@Reid-Cooper said:
What carrier are you on? Have you looked into a range extender?
Verizon. My apartment seems to be in a little bit of a dead zone. Not completely dead, but mostly.
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You can definitely get repeaters for them.
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@Dominica uses a Verizon extender.
Don't need one for my TMobile iPhone because with TMobile and iPhone you get calls and SMS over WiFi which is awesome. Way better than needing an extender. I love it. TMobile was the best idea ever.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dominica uses a Verizon extender.
Don't need one for my TMobile iPhone because with TMobile and iPhone you get calls and SMS over WiFi which is awesome. Way better than needing an extender. I love it. TMobile was the best idea ever.
This is an awesome idea.. I need to see if AT&T supports it?
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dominica uses a Verizon extender.
Don't need one for my TMobile iPhone because with TMobile and iPhone you get calls and SMS over WiFi which is awesome. Way better than needing an extender. I love it. TMobile was the best idea ever.
I'm looking at Republic Wireless for personal use. Seems like the same idea.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dominica uses a Verizon extender.
Don't need one for my TMobile iPhone because with TMobile and iPhone you get calls and SMS over WiFi which is awesome. Way better than needing an extender. I love it. TMobile was the best idea ever.
Problem is if you don't live in a major city (so Dallas isn't an issue but Syracuse is very problematic), you get $4!+ for coverage...
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Not that I ever plan to live in Syracuse again...I would rather stay in Dallas than go back to Syracuse if that says anything...
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I've had surprisingly good luck with TMobile. In Dallas it was better than Verizon, by a lot. That's why I initially was willing to switch. But after moving back to the northeast I found that where one worked the other likely did too and when one didn't the other likely didn't. Verizon coverage here is definitely better, out in the woods, but both are uselessly bad. But TMobile offers the WiFi option which makes it a dramatic winner in my everyday usage. I can connect to wifi most places that I go or else I get great reception.
I live in the woods by a mountain, so I am in a dead zone. But if I go for a walk it is only minutes past my driveway that my coverage shoots to five bars on 4G. And because of the wifi option, my coverage at home is excellent. So put together, TMobile has outperformed Verizon for us for the past five years.
If you do a lot of traveling, like driving all over, Verizon is far better.
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@scottalanmiller said:
I've had surprisingly good luck with TMobile. In Dallas it was better than Verizon, by a lot. That's why I initially was willing to switch. But after moving back to the northeast I found that where one worked the other likely did too and when one didn't the other likely didn't. Verizon coverage here is definitely better, out in the woods, but both are uselessly bad. But TMobile offers the WiFi option which makes it a dramatic winner in my everyday usage. I can connect to wifi most places that I go or else I get great reception.
I live in the woods by a mountain, so I am in a dead zone. But if I go for a walk it is only minutes past my driveway that my coverage shoots to five bars on 4G. And because of the wifi option, my coverage at home is excellent. So put together, TMobile has outperformed Verizon for us for the past five years.
If you do a lot of traveling, like driving all over, Verizon is far better.
Verizon dominates the NE market. Of course, they were founded in NY, so it's not entirely surprising.
