The New Messenger App from Google(play.google.com)
play.google.com
The New Messenger App from Google
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.messaging
55 comments
With regard to the messenger stuff, there is now only Hangouts, if you do things the "Google Way" - it integrates Google Voice, Google Chat and Messenger.
This Messenger app appears to be if you don't want to use Hangouts.
This Messenger app appears to be if you don't want to use Hangouts.
The Drive/Sheets/Docs/Etc. split is old news at this point. That happened awhile ago. I believe the split was a good choice though. It is the difference of Microsoft Works and the individual products of Office. It allows someone who only needs to read content, like I'm sure most phone users are, to have an app for that purpose and it allows Google to iterate on the individual apps on different cycles. This means more frequent and rapid updates for the individual apps, but it can also mean fewer updates for the user if they don't have the full suite installed.
Google Delete happens. Just ask Google Reader.
Did they also delete peoples reading history? Now thats the puzzler.
I don't know what's happening inside Google right now but their products are becoming ridiculously fractured.
Android is the clearest example. They also just fractured one of their biggest, most successful products with Inbox.
This leads to an interesting paradox: Google aggressively kills or uproots projects, APIs and frameworks (Angular) with little regard for users but can't seem to apply the same ideology toward building a coherent app ecosystem.
Android is the clearest example. They also just fractured one of their biggest, most successful products with Inbox.
This leads to an interesting paradox: Google aggressively kills or uproots projects, APIs and frameworks (Angular) with little regard for users but can't seem to apply the same ideology toward building a coherent app ecosystem.
I am amazed it is the end of 2014 and Google (and Microsoft) still have not figured out messaging yet. iMessage is far from perfect but it is a hell of a lot nicer experience than anything else.
This is even more true for Microsoft IMHO as they could (should!) have had an integrated messaging app between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 to allow for transparent SMS/Skype/MSN/WhateverTheyWantToUseNow messaging the same way iMessage does and have everything synced between devices.
This is even more true for Microsoft IMHO as they could (should!) have had an integrated messaging app between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 to allow for transparent SMS/Skype/MSN/WhateverTheyWantToUseNow messaging the same way iMessage does and have everything synced between devices.
Some people have suggested that this integration have been limited by the necessity to appease the carriers.
I don't think that iMessage is perfect in any way (if anything the fact that it keeps hogging your messages when you switch from iOS to Android is a big issue) but yeah I also think that it is the way to go.
Ideally, nobody should care about the specific protocol used to transport the message, you should just have a contact list and be able to let the app figure it out for you.
There are still some contracts where SMS messages are not unlimited though and it sounds like a nightmare to make this kind of automatic fallback without taking the risk to drain your user account.
Honestly, the SMS protocol should just die in a corner though. We just need to figure out how (maybe with something similar to WhatsApp ?)
Maybe the "messenger" app should be somehow like that Blackberry 10 OS "hub" for multiple messaging apps. I don't know. But other than that, I don't think SMS should be deeply integrated into any data-based chat application.
SMS is a legacy system that has no encryption (or very weak one if you count A5/1) and we should let it die. If people focus on data-based chat apps only such as Whatsapp, at least we have a chance to kill SMS and use better encryption for our chats. SMS is also very expensive for what it really costs.
SMS is a legacy system that has no encryption (or very weak one if you count A5/1) and we should let it die. If people focus on data-based chat apps only such as Whatsapp, at least we have a chance to kill SMS and use better encryption for our chats. SMS is also very expensive for what it really costs.
SMS continues to be the lowest common denominator because a) not everyone has a smartphone but everyone has SMS, and b) SMS is standard across carriers. We need common carrier protocols for more than just voice and SMS, IMO.
This is nice, and I prefer it to the combined hangouts app as I tend to receive a lot of hangouts and few SMS and yet the SMS are sometimes important and effectively this filtered view (by using two apps) makes it easier and quicker to find a specific SMS.
I also like that it's now a little clearer how to block a number. They were under similar interfaces in the hangouts app but because it was combined it wasn't as clear.
It would be good for the times that I do get SMS spam if Google partnered with the telcos in such a way that Google reported back spam and offered a "Report Spam" button in addition to the block option.
The material design really does make the Hangouts app look dated and clunky by comparison.
I also like that it's now a little clearer how to block a number. They were under similar interfaces in the hangouts app but because it was combined it wasn't as clear.
It would be good for the times that I do get SMS spam if Google partnered with the telcos in such a way that Google reported back spam and offered a "Report Spam" button in addition to the block option.
The material design really does make the Hangouts app look dated and clunky by comparison.
I agree, but why switch to hangouts for SMS at all? I just kept the stock app as default for SMS. I really hate going into hangouts at all, I don't know what I'll do when they disable the XMPP bridge. My main medium of communication with my friends is Hangouts on Pidgin for the desktop, and I'm not looking forward to moving to some chrome app.
My conspiracy theory is that this app will eventually replace the Hangouts app.
Notes:
1) This is not AOSP. It is closed source. And since it can be updated through Play, Google can ship new features independent of Android releases. Some say good (I do). Some might label it as a trojan horse... for Hangouts.
2) For Lollipop, carriers choose between the classic AOSP Messaging app and this one, Messenger.
3) Hangouts suspiciously has not received the Material Design treatment.
4) Google is holding Material Design hostage to get Messenger onto the phone as the default SMS/MMS app, possibly to deliver an even more integrated Hangouts later.
5) Wonder if Messenger is part of the Google app preload required to get the Play Store on the device?
Notes:
1) This is not AOSP. It is closed source. And since it can be updated through Play, Google can ship new features independent of Android releases. Some say good (I do). Some might label it as a trojan horse... for Hangouts.
2) For Lollipop, carriers choose between the classic AOSP Messaging app and this one, Messenger.
3) Hangouts suspiciously has not received the Material Design treatment.
4) Google is holding Material Design hostage to get Messenger onto the phone as the default SMS/MMS app, possibly to deliver an even more integrated Hangouts later.
5) Wonder if Messenger is part of the Google app preload required to get the Play Store on the device?
Hangouts looks pretty 'Material' to me, and has got its updated look quite early before lollipop.
Hangouts can be downloaded on its own from the Play Store too can't it - not sure what the angle is for Messenger...other than no Google Account.... strange
Hangouts can be downloaded on its own from the Play Store too can't it - not sure what the angle is for Messenger...other than no Google Account.... strange
Is this not the same app that is in Android 5.0 AOSP?
Didn't we just get done transitioning to hangouts for everything?! Jeez...
Yeah I'm really starting to get annoyed with this.
The most painful part is thinking back to when I signed up for my Google Voice number. The promise seemed so great. A single number that Google would control and allow me to forward to any phone. At the time I thought Google were the guys who get it, the guys I'd want to have controlling my number for years to come. And they'd let me text using my browser too!! A hugely useful feature.
And YET here we are. hangouts is the most dysfunctional chat experience I've ever seen. It's like a normal chat client crossed with Bonzi Buddy. But I have to use it to get GV texts on my browser.
I think the saddest part is that my number hasn't actually changed once since I got GV.
:(
The most painful part is thinking back to when I signed up for my Google Voice number. The promise seemed so great. A single number that Google would control and allow me to forward to any phone. At the time I thought Google were the guys who get it, the guys I'd want to have controlling my number for years to come. And they'd let me text using my browser too!! A hugely useful feature.
And YET here we are. hangouts is the most dysfunctional chat experience I've ever seen. It's like a normal chat client crossed with Bonzi Buddy. But I have to use it to get GV texts on my browser.
I think the saddest part is that my number hasn't actually changed once since I got GV.
:(
"But I have to use it to get GV texts on my browser"
Not sure if I'm misunderstanding what you mean but you should still be able to see your Google Voice texts via browser at voice.google.com (the pre-Hangouts interface).
I'm not a big fan of the crossover of Hangouts and voice either, I still use the older UIs (voice.google.com via browser and the old Google Voice app on android) and both still work for me so far.
Not sure if I'm misunderstanding what you mean but you should still be able to see your Google Voice texts via browser at voice.google.com (the pre-Hangouts interface).
I'm not a big fan of the crossover of Hangouts and voice either, I still use the older UIs (voice.google.com via browser and the old Google Voice app on android) and both still work for me so far.
It's true I could do this. I'm pretty reluctant to because I really want to use hangouts for both on my phone. It remembers which number I've texted someone from previously which is pretty indispensable.
We did, but a lot of users (and apparently several carriers) wanted a messaging platform for SMS/MMS that wasn't tied into Google's messaging platform so they made this (which is basically just the SMS/MMS part).
I can definitely see how multiple apps that are so similar would be annoying or seemingly redundant. Still, the whole point of the Android platform has always seemed (to me) to be flexibility and options even if it's at the expense of simplicity or streamlining. iOS seems to address the market on the other side of that demand and is biased toward simplicity and streamlining at the expense of flexibility. I guess it's one way to differentiate on the software side if nothing else.
I can definitely see how multiple apps that are so similar would be annoying or seemingly redundant. Still, the whole point of the Android platform has always seemed (to me) to be flexibility and options even if it's at the expense of simplicity or streamlining. iOS seems to address the market on the other side of that demand and is biased toward simplicity and streamlining at the expense of flexibility. I guess it's one way to differentiate on the software side if nothing else.
Gyah, my android messaging experience is so confused! Has anyone else managed to get a nice experience with Google Voice? What's your set up? Last I checked, hangouts still sends SMS under your real phone number, not the GV one. Is that still the case?
I also tried tossing in TextSecure at one point, and now sometimes I get texts there, sometimes Hangouts, sometimes neither.... Sigh.
I also tried tossing in TextSecure at one point, and now sometimes I get texts there, sometimes Hangouts, sometimes neither.... Sigh.
If you want to make it explicit, you can set up Hangouts to move your actual phone number to a separate "account" for only SMS, which leaves the only phone number from your gmail as your GV number.
It's worked pretty well for me, at least on Android. The Hangouts replacement for the web client is garbage, though.
It's worked pretty well for me, at least on Android. The Hangouts replacement for the web client is garbage, though.
Hangouts integrated with GV! Or at least it did for me, it was a month or two ago. It still has some annoying usability aspects compared to the old GV app but I can at least send and receive texts to my GV number in hangouts.
Obligatory rant about too many IM apps: http://the.taoofmac.com/space/blog/2014/11/13/0830#the-insta...
From that post: Jabber and XMPP were full of promise, sure — if you bought into the “let’s build decentralized, interoperable services” Kool-Aid.
I think that article makes a lot of good points, but I am not sure why the author takes such a negative attitude towards that Jabber/XMPP "Kool-Aid". If successful, essentially all the other issues they complain about would be solved. You would not need to worry about iMessage grabbing your phone number or WhatsApp selling your contacts' information. With Off-the-Record messaging, you would have secure chats. The open standard would enable different clients with different features, some of which would undoubtably be battery life and data plan friendly.
I think that article makes a lot of good points, but I am not sure why the author takes such a negative attitude towards that Jabber/XMPP "Kool-Aid". If successful, essentially all the other issues they complain about would be solved. You would not need to worry about iMessage grabbing your phone number or WhatsApp selling your contacts' information. With Off-the-Record messaging, you would have secure chats. The open standard would enable different clients with different features, some of which would undoubtably be battery life and data plan friendly.
I think they just mean that most people simply don't care about the decentralized and interoperable check boxes. They use the apps their friends use.
Uh, nice I guess? Is it end-to-end encrypted like TextSecure? (Or WhatsApp, now?)
Because if not, why would anyone want this? Is this just the moving of the SMS app out of AOSP and submerging with Hangouts? Is TextSecure (and the upcoming Signal) not clearly better?
Because if not, why would anyone want this? Is this just the moving of the SMS app out of AOSP and submerging with Hangouts? Is TextSecure (and the upcoming Signal) not clearly better?
I guess the main purpose is to update the UI of the default android messenger.
While turning it from an open source app into a proprietary one.
As someone who does not have unlimited SMS and also communicates with many international phone numbers, this is a step backwards. The unification of hangouts and SMS allowed me to control which medium my messages took, which saves me a lot of money and allows me to stay in touch wherever I am in the world. Before, I had to straddle two apps to make this happen. With Hangouts, it's all one interface and conversation threads are combined.
I imagine that the idea of this app is that it take over from the previous AOSP messaging app, much like Chrome > Browser, and Photos > Gallery.
It's just Google's continuation of keeping everything under their roof.
It's just Google's continuation of keeping everything under their roof.
I think you can still use Hangouts for SMS messages just fine. I've heard the main reason Google made this app was to please US carriers who want to push a standalone SMS app so people spend more sending SMS messages instead of saving money when on wifi.
Yup. Hangouts and any other SMS client can be set as default. This was done for the carriers and I have no intention on using it.
this is big and clears alot up for me. been scratching my head about why Messenger even exists. And not alot said here or otherwise about why.
Will continue to ignore then because Hangouts really does cover everything
Will continue to ignore then because Hangouts really does cover everything
I'm not sure why they removed the ability to send your location via maps, as you can do this with the hangouts version of sms messaging.
It's practically a killer feature for me - so useful when meeting up with someone, and en route. I'd like to see it go further: let me message a temporary location tracker, so I can share my location with someone for, say, an hour, without having to enable stalking-mode permanently.
While it's not built-in to Android, the app Glympse does exactly this.
I like this app better than Google Hangouts but I can't seem to figure out how to use it to send SMS from my Google Voice number. I can only send from my carrier's number. I tried changing the "my number" setting but it didn't do anything.
I wonder if this works with Moto Assist for spoken SMS messages and responses while driving. SMS for Hangouts does not and this doesn't seem to replace the official Messaging app (...yet?)
Why doesnt Google instead introduce
1) rich text editing in gmail app?
2) better cut / copy / paste in all its apps on android?
Surely if you're on Hacker News you have some idea of how software development works, and that Google doesn't have a single team working on all their Android apps. Releasing something like this is unlikely to have diverted people away from GMail.
Instaedit: Sorry, that had a really harsh tone to it. I was just surprised to see that sort of post here, as opposed to Facebook where I can almost get that people believe there's a few people doing absolutely everything, and any thread is a valid dumping ground for the grievances.
Instaedit: Sorry, that had a really harsh tone to it. I was just surprised to see that sort of post here, as opposed to Facebook where I can almost get that people believe there's a few people doing absolutely everything, and any thread is a valid dumping ground for the grievances.
I think your apologetic edit actually managed to be more condescending than the original comment.
Google's email app on iOS currently suffers the worst of two worlds:
i) no rich text editing
ii) it keeps the format of pasted text
This means you can't bold headings, and you can't unbold a sentence that you paste in.
The work-around -- compose messages in a different app to cut and paste in -- is sub optimal.
i) no rich text editing
ii) it keeps the format of pasted text
This means you can't bold headings, and you can't unbold a sentence that you paste in.
The work-around -- compose messages in a different app to cut and paste in -- is sub optimal.
Gmail on iPhone supports Bold/Italic/Underline formatting for me. A bit anemic but there's something there at least.
If the energy put into the creation of mobile apps nobody needs was spend elsewhere, we would live in Utopia already.
What about the energy spent writing HN comments criticizing others for making useless things?
Yay, same name as the Messenger app from Facebook - that's gonna end up in a lawsuit. Doesn't the Play store disallow apps with the same name by default?
It's not the same name; the other is called "Facebook Messenger".
There's also Yahoo Messenger, WhatsApp Messenger, Tango Messenger, Smug Messenger and a couple of plain "Messengers" already, so I doubt any lawsuits will have a leg to stand on.
There's also Yahoo Messenger, WhatsApp Messenger, Tango Messenger, Smug Messenger and a couple of plain "Messengers" already, so I doubt any lawsuits will have a leg to stand on.
Nope, Facebook's messaging app is just called "Messenger", at least on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.o... I know because I was looking for it in the list of installed apps to uninstall it just yesterday and had trouble finding it at first because its name didn't start with Facebook.
(You may be thinking of the iOS version which is apparently called "Facebook Messenger".)
(You may be thinking of the iOS version which is apparently called "Facebook Messenger".)
It actually shows as "Facebook Messenger" here. Might be a translation issue, since my account is in Portuguese, though.
http://i.imgur.com/SugMYnS.png
http://i.imgur.com/SugMYnS.png
Nope, just called 'Messenger' on iOS too...
I'd rather hope that no lawsuit for a word as ambiguous as "Messenger" would ever make it past the laugh test...
...but I'm regularly disappointed.
...but I'm regularly disappointed.
> Doesn't the Play store disallow apps with the same name by default?
No.
No.
There was once Google Voice, Google Chat, Google Talk, Google Hangouts and now Google Messenger! This is crazy.
Yesterday I opened a Google Drive spreadsheet via the Android "Drive" (which was earlier "Docs") app yesterday but when I tried to edit a cell was told I need to install "Sheets" to do so! I'm waiting for Google Save, Google Forward, Google Share, Google Delete. Sorry, scratch that last one cos we know Delete ain't gonna happpen at Google.