Database Info

SMS on Android

Hello chaps
I've just got an HTC Legend and love pretty well everything about it ...except...
The SMS side of things is awful - you access it via the "Messages" widget, not sure if this is a native Android app or an HTC add-on but it's rubbish. All you get is a list of messages you've sent and received with no indication as to which is which and messages from the same person are bunched together into one on the list - it's just awful and there seems to be no way to change it so just an "inbox" view or whatever.
In addition, when you compose an SMSthe text entry box statys tiny and docks at the bottom so yuo get the recipient at the top and the message at the bottom with a big space in between unless the message is really long.
I'm amazed how bad it all is. Is there a good market replacement for it?
Cheers
K

Check out Handcent. Not only does it make the list more similar to an iPhone-esque style, but adds a bunch of extra features like colored trackball alert if you're rooted, or a Quick Reply function, where you can quickly send a message to anyone using your hardware buttons.

Is this some kind of joke!? April 1st has passed!
kurtalden said:
Hello chaps
I've just got an HTC Legend and love pretty well everything about it ...except...
The SMS side of things is awful - you access it via the "Messages" widget, not sure if this is a native Android app or an HTC add-on but it's rubbish. All you get is a list of messages you've sent and received with no indication as to which is which and messages from the same person are bunched together into one on the list - it's just awful and there seems to be no way to change it so just an "inbox" view or whatever.
In addition, when you compose an SMSthe text entry box statys tiny and docks at the bottom so yuo get the recipient at the top and the message at the bottom with a big space in between unless the message is really long.
I'm amazed how bad it all is. Is there a good market replacement for it?
Cheers
K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Handcent is the best IMHO....
There should be a messaging application you are using... not just the widget.

I would have to agree that Handcent is a pretty decetn app!

is it possible to disable the default sms proggy and let handcent be the only one?
Sent from my HTC Legend using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

sackynuts said:
is it possible to disable the default sms proggy and let handcent be the only one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, It should just be a matter of going into the stock Messaging app. On the main screen that shows all your threads, press menu, go to Options/Settings (whichever one is there, cba to look at my phone at the moment) then just disable notifications. That means it should never bother you again (unless you want it to - in which case just re-enable that)

Friendstream replacement for AOSP ROMs?

This is the only thing that I've been missing since moving from a Sense ROM/launcher.
Does a nice scrollable widget exist that's similar to the stock Friendstream one?
EDIT: I've tried out Socialite, but it seems to never sync properly and eventually force closes on the CyanogenMod nightly builds.

I miss it too.

Try Pure Messenger Widget.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-koxx-pure_messenger-zmmq.aspx

joackie27 said:
Try Pure Messenger Widget.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-koxx-pure_messenger-zmmq.aspx
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Click to collapse
OP if you try Pure Messenger let us know what you think. I use Socialite and it seems to work okay... but could be better of course.

spiicytuna said:
OP if you try Pure Messenger let us know what you think. I use Socialite and it seems to work okay... but could be better of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: I was just too tired to realize what I was doing incorrectly. Trying to get a widget setup that looks decent.
All of the different variants of the Sense style widgets look really "off" for some reason. Looking further, it's definitely the pictures, as they trail a bit off the left side of the widget. (See pic)
I'm also not fond of the left/right arrows on the widget. I only set up FB, so I don't need non-working buttons.

Pure Messenger will make you forget Friend Stream every existed.

TooSlo said:
EDIT: I was just too tired to realize what I was doing incorrectly. Trying to get a widget setup that looks decent.
All of the different variants of the Sense style widgets look really "off" for some reason. Looking further, it's definitely the pictures, as they trail a bit off the left side of the widget. (See pic)
I'm also not fond of the left/right arrows on the widget. I only set up FB, so I don't need non-working buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the scrollable version with ADW/LauncherPro. It is better than FriendStream.
Like so:

Nice setup TheBiles.
PureMessenger > friendstream with the ability to use skins, add email and sms along with twitter and FB to stream, ability to select preferred clients for clicked feed, and oodles of config settings in a nice scrollable UI with ADW or launcherPRO. Well worth a buck-fifty.

I wouldn't consider Pure messenger better than Friendstream myself.
It's nice... but sadly needs a few fixes in my opinion
1) Won't display 'mobile upload' picture notifications properly. It only shows 1 picture in the internal viewer with no way to go directly to the person's photo list.
2) Pictures display as filenames in the list view, rather than the actual thumbnail as sense does. (This might be considered user preference, but I'd prefer to see a picture rather than <randomwords>.jpg )
3) No support for built in HTC applications for Facebook nor Twitter (aka peep). While the internal viewer can be dismissed in favor of a real 'app', the selection is limited to bout 3-6 apps none of which are the built in parts of HTC's rom. (Of course if you're not using HTC roms then this isn't problem
Overall it's a great app, and the best out there I've seen, don't get me wrong.. but Friendstream still has the edge in actual functionality for basic use. Sure, No themes, lack of customization hurt, but when it comes down to using the product for what it's intended for (Keeping up with posts/photos from your friends) it has a few issues IMO.

Socailite, its from LG but u can find the apk on here

davebu said:
Socailite, its from LG but u can find the apk on here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP said it wasn't working for him in the first post...
Sent on the go from my HTC EVO

Had a chance to play with Pure Messenger Widget a bit more today.
Overall it seems "ok" but lacking in some ways as well. You can't post directly from the widget, which is a huge strike against it. I want the widget so I don't have to clutter my homescreens with redundant apps.
Guess I accidentally went past my 24 hours so I am the proud owner, or some such thing.
TheBiles said:
Use the scrollable version with ADW/LauncherPro. It is better than FriendStream.
Like so:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the scrollable widget currently, and like I said, it's neat to watch updates, but it's a killer that I don't see an obvious way to post anything to FB/Twitter through the widget, instead I'm forced to use the app.
It just feels "clunky" for lack of a better term.
I will say that the widgets can be set up to look better, it just seems that some of the skins are definitely not ones any OCD person would want to use.

TooSlo said:
EDIT: I was just too tired to realize what I was doing incorrectly. Trying to get a widget setup that looks decent.
All of the different variants of the Sense style widgets look really "off" for some reason. Looking further, it's definitely the pictures, as they trail a bit off the left side of the widget. (See pic)
I'm also not fond of the left/right arrows on the widget. I only set up FB, so I don't need non-working buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which launcher is that? How do you get it to look like that?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

DanBergundy said:
Which launcher is that? How do you get it to look like that?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's Launcher Pro. I'm using the Froyo wide dock (in settings) and just setting up normal apps and using the Launcher Pro icons for them.
I like how it looks with a nice black/white theme.

TooSlo said:
Had a chance to play with Pure Messenger Widget a bit more today.
Overall it seems "ok" but lacking in some ways as well. You can't post directly from the widget, which is a huge strike against it. I want the widget so I don't have to clutter my homescreens with redundant apps.
Guess I accidentally went past my 24 hours so I am the proud owner, or some such thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erm. You just click that little star, and select "update status." You never have to open the official apps. You can also click that little arrow and select "open Facebook" so you don't ever need an icon on the screen in the first place.

TheBiles said:
Use the scrollable version with ADW/LauncherPro. It is better than FriendStream.
Like so:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get that toolbar at the bottom. It looks a lot like mine but with a few more icons. Is that a 4g between the wireless and sat?

PAPutzback said:
Where did you get that toolbar at the bottom. It looks a lot like mine but with a few more icons. Is that a 4g between the wireless and sat?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's Extended Controls. The second icon is the Froyo hotspot toggle, but it does have a 4G toggle option. I just don't have it on there because 4G doesn't work with CyanogenMod at the moment.

TheBiles said:
Erm. You just click that little star, and select "update status." You never have to open the official apps. You can also click that little arrow and select "open Facebook" so you don't ever need an icon on the screen in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well crap, it looks as though I'd always been fat-fingering the arrow and only saw the "open Facebook" link in there.
I recant my previous statements and accept that this is a damn fine alternative to Friendstream. (after a little getting used to)

The only issue that I have with Pure Messenger is this: When a FB contact posts something on someones' wall it doesn't show who the other person is, even if the other person is one of your contacts it doesn't show.

Got socialite running on newest cyanogen nightly. Its pretty nice really, I actually like it better than friend stream.

[APP] ICS SMS Beta [4.0+][UPD July 7]

ICS SMS is a replacement for the stock Messaging app, for those that want the vanilla Holo theme, with or without stock ICS. Currently only supports SMS (Sorry no MMS yet guys!) and aims to provide a minimalistic SMS app, that fits in with the rest of the Ice-Cream Sandwich look and feel.
This app is still in beta, and being actively developed on (unfortunately its not my day job though) so bear this in mind with any feedback!
Download it now from the play store!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androidproductions.ics.sms
Any bug reports you have PLEASE attach a logcat of whats going on - it makes the whole process a lot easier!
Any feature requests stick them in a reply here, or get in touch direct, and I'll see about getting it included!
Features
usual messaging features - Wouldn't be a messaging app without one!
POPUP DIALOG!
Customizable notifications
6 Different themes
Ability to disable other messaging notifications (NOTE: This doesn't always play well with GoSMS)
Notification Privacy Mode - Don't display a received message in notifications
'In reply to...' - See what the last message you sent to a person was - straight from the dialog
Call direct from SMS view
SMS Forwarding
Willing to do some more involved testing? Send me a PM, and I'll add you to the list of testers that get development versions of the app before it gets put into the market.
Change Logs
03-07-2012
Option for lighter icon in notifications
02-07-2012
New Theme
New notification type
Bugfixes
29-05-2012
Preliminary MMS integration. Can now view MMS within the app [ALPHA APP ONLY]
Known Issues
No notifications/popups for MMS
Need to download MMS items from stock messaging app

Outside of a few bugs I am pleasantly suprised by this. Obviously Mms support is a huge must, all these new beta messaging apps coming out also miss Mms support so if you want to beat the rush you better work on that quick. Other than that, using the ics framework background that you do, isnt so nice with the new theme engines as whatever background your using gets some interesting themeing images sometimes.
As a praise im loving the pop up, its almost exactly what im looking for the only thing I would like more is if it it was stretched out to full edge of screen but less width and lifted to the top, like miuis pop up. All the pop up add ons are in the middle nowadays except miui's and miui's does it right.
I also LOVE your in reply too button, being able to see the last thing I said real quick is freaking awesome!

Love the idea of being able to do a quick reply for the pop up instead of pressing reply in order to reply. But it could be better if it could sync the contact pictures (facebook) or maybe have a widget for the app.

man can u make a stock ics messaging theme. i really like the app cant wait till it has mms support

Mms is definitely the most requested feature, so that's the next thing that's going to appear in the app. Only problem is that I can't test it myself with my phone plan, so I will have to rely on others for testing. Mms viewing will be the first release, and sending will be second.
Thanks for all the feedback so far! Glad to see its appreciated.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

Can you make a reg link to the play store. Can't click pic links using tapatalk or the xda app
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

great app!
just wish you could control font size for near sighted people.

Good, But missing mms and Facebook contact photo sync. Theme and extra features are new otherwise identical feature wise to tim hutts version on market, of which I like the light theme better myself. Also lacks feature of clicking on contact picture in thread to bring up their contact info. I don't care for it but I did notice. Reading white on a black background hurts my eyes. In the theme could you maybe give a light or dark option? At least in thread view, in thread select dark is fine. Maybe consider doing that nice striped background from the aosp dialer or holomusic on background of thread select?
I love devs that keep up on their work and I hope you are working diligently to get mms at least working.
Thanks!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

ApolloCS said:
great app!
just wish you could control font size for near sighted people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this a problem? It shouldnt be too much work to get this in, i may be able to fit it in with one of the mms updates
OneDeep said:
Can you make a reg link to the play store. Can't click pic links using tapatalk or the xda app
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First post updated
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

Great beta! Agree with mms, but also, EMOJI SUPPORT would make it even better. The ability to switch return key with the android as well as emoji would be better
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

Nice app, works very smoothly. The UI is nice too. My only thought is that the font size is a bit large, but overall I'm using it over the stock ics messaging app.
Sent from my GT-I9300

AzureNightwalker said:
Mms is definitely the most requested feature, so that's the next thing that's going to appear in the app. Only problem is that I can't test it myself with my phone plan, so I will have to rely on others for testing. Mms viewing will be the first release, and sending will be second.
Thanks for all the feedback so far! Glad to see its appreciated.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id love to test it for you, my brother and I live together and both have unlimited messaging and plenty of data to spare, we both have gnexus and both are rooted so we are damn similar except he uses go sms. I can be the sender or receiver at any time and actually be using the network or wifi. Send me a PM
Edit- the Themes only seem to theme the receiver text and the text in the conversation list. Its nice for someone who doesnt use a custom theme engine but for the most part is a lil outdated, I would suggest opening up a cm9/7 theme engine apk and using the included framework info there so that, your sms app themes with the theme engine, a first since the included sms default app only has like 10% ability to be themed (NOTE - it already does this at like 60%, it just needs alot of clean up so that all themes make it look wonderful). Maybe add this as an option right along with the holo themes you have? Also the pop ups need a Mark as read button so that the Notification will clear from the status bar. And as mentioned before, the worst thing that can happen for a pop up is to pop up right in the middle of everything, move it up and out of the way, and if this is possible, when in landscape mode make it wrap to the top and left borders? I dont know any system that does that, and it moves itself the most out of the way from say a movie or something that your watching on the phone.

Looks great, I just wish it supported MMS but I will definitely use it when it does!

miketoasty said:
Looks great, I just wish it supported MMS but I will definitely use it when it does!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This and emoji. Nice work!

Just downloaded it and played with it for a bit. So far, it's looking pretty good!
I know it's still being worked on, but here's a couple feature suggestions:
1) Ability to add multiple contacts to recipients. I send "mass" texts all the time, whether it be to 2 people or 20 people.
2) Ability to set a ring tone or vibration for the notification.
Great start though! Can't wait for mms to be built in, and to see the progression of this app!

Using the included phone dialer if I tell it go to SMS it force closes and if I use ex dialer then it goes to a new SMS for existing names. The difference being ex dialer sends it with parentheses and a dash and your SMS app doesn't include those when looking up numbers

jaydubbs said:
This and emoji. Nice work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MMS and Emoji Support request also! Awesome

alatedseraph said:
Using the included phone dialer if I tell it go to SMS it force closes and if I use ex dialer then it goes to a new SMS for existing names. The difference being ex dialer sends it with parentheses and a dash and your SMS app doesn't include those when looking up numbers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the report. Useful information also, i can reproduce it so i will try get a fix over the weekend.
DevinLeFevere said:
MMS and Emoji Support request also! Awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MMS is being worked on now! Emoji will be coming along afterwards.
havens1515 said:
Just downloaded it and played with it for a bit. So far, it's looking pretty good!
I know it's still being worked on, but here's a couple feature suggestions:
1) Ability to add multiple contacts to recipients. I send "mass" texts all the time, whether it be to 2 people or 20 people.
2) Ability to set a ring tone or vibration for the notification.
Great start though! Can't wait for mms to be built in, and to see the progression of this app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good suggestions! I'll try get these included before too long!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

Nice application and a great start. The pop up on its own is enough to make me try this over GO Sms.
Sent from my AOKP'd GNex using xda premium

does this app 'parse' the messages if there are too many? like gosms where it only loads a few per thread and if you want to see more you just load them at the top...

[Q] Text app like Facebook Messenger? (Consistent popup)

Hi there,
Since the new update of Facebook Messenger, the functionality of sending texts (SMS) has been removed. As I don't like holding on to an older version that will get outdated one time, I'm wondering if there is any text app like it.
I have searched dozens of pages on Google, including threads on xda, but none seem to have what I'm looking for. The closest I have come to is GO Sms (which I'm using now) and SMS Ninja (I even tried Paranoid Android with it's Halo functionality) Both SMS apps have the same chathead-like popup of FB Messenger which you can press to open, but once you close the message, the popup is gone.
In Facebook Messenger, the chathead-popup stays on the screen until you drag it to the bottom to delete the overlay from the screen.
Do you happen to know an app that provides me with what I'm looking for?
Thanks in advance for your time!

I'm afraid I don't have an answer but I'm curious why you want it to stay open? I never used the Facebook messenger and am wondering if I missed some functionality.

krabman said:
I'm afraid I don't have an answer but I'm curious why you want it to stay open? I never used the Facebook messenger and am wondering if I missed some functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I like about Facebook Messenger is that I can open the chathead, read the message, and don't have to reply instant because the popup would close. I can just close the bubble, go on with what I was doing and reopen the bubble whenever I want to reply

Ok, thanks. Not sure if that would suit me or not as I've never tried it. I avoid Facebook on principle although I grudgingly created an account some time ago.

Maybe you could give Portal a try. Personally I'm more interested in the multi-window function it provides.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gflam.portal

Ninja SMS popups work almost identically to Facebook's chat heads. You just have to click the collapse arrow instead of the close button.

jacob_woolf said:
Ninja SMS popups work almost identically to Facebook's chat heads. You just have to click the collapse arrow instead of the close button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I didn't know that! Although I find the popup layout of Ninja SMS pretty ugly, I guess I'll have to live with that for now.
I'm gonna give Portal a shot as well once I get home, although I'm not sure if it has the permanent popup functionality that I'm looking for.
Thanks to both of you for your helpful replies! More suggestions always welcome

Hey guys, letting you know what solution I'm using now:
Textra is a great, simple, text app that uses popups with quick reply. It doesn't have sticky, permanent chat heads, HOWEVER. It does have the option at the popup 'Leave it', which leaves a notification in the drawer. Whenever you press the notification, the popup opens again (you can keep doing this).
It's like a chathead that doesn't take up space! Awesome!

Ad Fundum said:
Oh I didn't know that! Although I find the popup layout of Ninja SMS pretty ugly, I guess I'll have to live with that for now.
I'm gonna give Portal a shot as well once I get home, although I'm not sure if it has the permanent popup functionality that I'm looking for.
Thanks to both of you for your helpful replies! More suggestions always welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget you can (kind of) change the appearance of the popups! Go to settings, choose theme. I use Holo Light just because it's simple. I agree that it could use some extra customization features. It seems like the devs do a really good job of responding to user feedback though, so maybe that'll be fixed in an upcoming version (fingers crossed )
Ad Fundum said:
Hey guys, letting you know what solution I'm using now:
Textra is a great, simple, text app that uses popups with quick reply. It doesn't have sticky, permanent chat heads, HOWEVER. It does have the option at the popup 'Leave it', which leaves a notification in the drawer. Whenever you press the notification, the popup opens again (you can keep doing this).
It's like a chathead that doesn't take up space! Awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard awesome things about Textra as well, I might have to give that a go.

The Unicorn SMS App

I'm looking for an SMS app that doesn't seem to exist, so I thought I'd post here in case there's a cool project I'm missing or some interesting ideas anyone has to share.
What I'd Like:
An SMS app with the following features:
-Both SMS and MMS work reliably and consistently
-Material Design compliant
-Swipe to return to conversation list
-Quick reply
-Avatar images in the conversations
What I've Tried and Why I'm not a Fan:
-Hangouts: No swipe or quick reply, the workflow/2-tab system in inefficient and ugly
-Textra: Weird font and no avatars in the conversations
-QKSMS: It bugs out on my phone...it thinks I have on-screen buttons (I have capacitive) and it puts a giant bar at the bottom of the screen, but stuff I can't see or interact with goes under that bar.
-Evolve: So much going on, it's so busy and sort of laggy and clunky even on my brand new Droid Turbo.
-Chomp: It keeps yelling at me that it can't find my APN settings even though every other app including Textra made by the same company works fine. Also only partially Materialized. OCD.
_Google Messenger: No quick reply or swipe.
-Go: Too much stuff for my taste
-Verizon Messages: Super ugly.

empoweredh22 said:
I'm looking for an SMS app that doesn't seem to exist...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try YAATA
i think it meets (almost, if not) all the above mentioned :good:

I use YAATA and love it

YAATA would be perfect if it would turn Wi-Fi back on after sending a MMS

Thanks guys, I'll have to check that one out. Just got it installed and I'm playing with all the settings. When I initially opened it the font and pictures were huge and I felt like I was holding a Fisher Price toy but it has a ton of settings it looks like so I'm feeling a lot better now that I've played with a few of them. I figured there was a great app I was missing, so thanks for the help guys!

empoweredh22 said:
-QKSMS: It bugs out on my phone...it thinks I have on-screen buttons (I have capacitive) and it puts a giant bar at the bottom of the screen, but stuff I can't see or interact with goes under that bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a fix for this in the advanced settings of the app

Someone pointed out the navigation bar fix option to me over in the G+ community for the app, but it didn't work in my case. Nothing changed.

Never heard of qksms before. Absolutely love it. Thanks xda and all members for suggesting approximately 70% of all my installed apps. ?

Indeed...actually QK started working for me again after I rebooted my phone. Not sure why I didn't think of that. I originally found out about that here too, and YAATA is actually really nice also. QK is still prettier, but YAATA seems to have fewer bugs right now.