
Android’s messaging mess is about to get even worse? - rahuldottech
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/25/20931699/
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ohazi
Why do so many people think it's reasonable to use a messaging system like SMS
that's tied to your cell phone?

I type at least 5-10 times faster on a real keyboard than on a phone... I
can't be the only one who gets annoyed after two messages and prefers to move
the conversation to a real computer where I can type faster, open lots of
reference material, copy and paste content easily, etc. Most messaging apps
let you do this, iMessage lets you do this, but without jumping through hoops,
SMS on Android is stuck on your phone.

Yet tons of people seem to use plain old Android and use the plain old SMS
app, and... are just fine with this?

Does this just not occur to people? Do kids these days not learn how to touch
type anymore? Every time someone sends me an SMS I feel like I'm going insane.

~~~
sandGorgon
Because the Next Billion Users (basically all of India and Asia) does not own
a computer or a full keyboard.

The only computing device they will ever own in their life is a smart phone.

~~~
johnchristopher
That doesn't mean the rest of the planet has to downgrade their experience to
the lowest denominator.

~~~
sandGorgon
That _is_ the rest of the planet. The number of computers are a sheer minority
compared to the number of phones used as primary internet access devices for
the rest of the planet.

We have more users coming online in a YEAR in India than the whole of the
United States desktop population.

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rahuldottech
I agree with ohazi's comment. I hate it when messaging systems are linked to
mobile phones. This is true for most of them: WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.

I _much_ prefer a system that works independently from my phone. Throughout
high school, this used to be Hangouts. Now it's been replaced by
matrix+riot.im for me.

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panpanna
This is a fairly ignorant article by the verge and some comments here just ran
with it and made it worse.

Let me explain:

1\. US carriers control a very small part of the global Android market. Google
can still push for a better RCS and they will eventually have to follow.

2\. Android suppprts many third party messaging apps (WhatsApp, signal, etc),
some significantly better than on iOS. For example some apps have reduced
functionality on iOS or lack an iPad version.

3\. You can access your messages on your computer. Google supports this
natively, Microsoft has great Android integration on Windows 10 and Linux has
kde & g-connect. But more importantly, things like push bullet have been
around for years, probably before iMessage even existed.

But I give you that Google has done a horrible job in the app department.

~~~
fulafel
Good points. Also, nothing prevents you from sms-ing from your pc assuming you
have a sim in it.

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NKosmatos
Although RCS (Rich Communication Services) [0] is/was supposed to be a good
idea, I don’t see it being widely adopted like SMS. Many similar standards
(MMS, video calls) failed to get traction due to lack of coordination,
adoption and common sense between telcos, manufacturers and operators.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services)

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einpoklum
It seems the story is mixing up two different issues:

1\. (Some) cell network operators want to standardize & popularize a protocol
for messaging over cell networks but not over IP, i.e. a richer SMS. 2\.
Today, there are typically different apps for SMS and for IP-based messaging
(and among the latter - different apps for different protocols/service
providers - WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, etc.)

Obviously, Google can be involved at the most with (2.), and even there it's
not clear there's much to be done. I mean, WhatsApp is closed-source and
commercially controlled. You can't make a "SMS+WhatsApp+Telegram" unified app.
Ok, well, unless you get Facebook to cooperate, which the story does not
indicate is happening.

~~~
ViViDboarder
Right. But you can with Signal. Not only does the app already work that way,
but it’s also open source.

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gyuserbti
The title should read "Somehow, the messaging mess is about to get even
worse." The mess isn't about Android.

It's always mystified me why an open, cross platform messaging protocol hasn't
become as widespread as SMS or email.

It seems messaging use is always driven as a side effect of other use; people
use a messaging system because they use something else that happens to have a
messaging system, and their friends all use it too.

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tibbydudeza
Whatsapp is the choice even for Apple users where I live. Nobody I know
bothers with SMS except for two factor authentication for online banking.

