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Cry for Google Proprietary Messaging App

I am transition from BB back to android for various reasons, but one thing I will miss is BBM. I think that apple creating their own propreitary messaging platform shows there is definite potential in such a product.
I did some searches and looks like google had something called huddle, then messenger for google+. I am not on google+ so I dont know if thats still around.
Either way I think its time for google to create such an app. I know they have gchat and google voice. But the main draw of BBM (and imessage) I think its focus on messaging: the read and delivered indicators, sending files, seamless integration into the OS. I use both quite often but neither really measure up to BBM's capabilities. With the new OS's JB and ICS (haha new) this might be a sweet add to them.
Honestly even just adding read/delivery indicators to gchat might seem like a great marginal improvement..
Thoughts, or I am just so out of touch that gchat has been improved (in my years absense) to the point thats its way superior to BBM (more than just superior in amount of friends who use it lol).
Thx.

I too went from android to bb then i died and went back to android.
One major drawback of the bb is the apps. App selection is horrible and now that BB is in the hole because of their money issues and the fact that their os is not keeping up with Apple or Google they are probably going to keep declining.
Google+ is great. One major problem is that not everyone uses them. Google+ has Hangout which allows you to video chat with 10 people and txt chat with groups, like Family, My Friends, Coworkers, etc. You dont need a pin, just have them as a friend.
Now, my final Opinion,
BBM is great, you can chat(like AIM back in those days) and stalk with r or unread.
But, keeping a BB as an overall phone is a big negative.
theres a saying like "with great something comes great sacrifices."
It depend on what you choose, yes they all have a chat style thing, but you need to look at the other features that you also need that others dont have.

Thanks for the feedback. I would agree. I do love my bb; its a fantastic phone (ie communications device) unfortunately seems I think I need my phone to be more than a phone (per the culture nowadays). So I look to android. But the bb is superior in email, text, and calling but you are right- no apps really. Plus a bigger screen is oh so tempting.
And as far as the 'r' / 'd' indicators (ie stalking), it would nice to have a messaging app that does at least the delivered indicator. Too many times I wonder if my text has gone through as some people dont get mine sometimes (could be their phone or mine)
I guess my intention with this thread was to see if I am missing anything or raise awareness that goog should make a messaging platform..

GTalk still needs improving.
But only by a few tweaks. It still doesn't allow you to send pictures!
I have to manually upload them to Photobucket, copy the link, go back to GTalk and paste it :what::screwy::sly:

I think theres already a Whatsapp Messenger for Android.

I would love to see a combined Messaging/Google Talk app that allows me to send messages to either phone numbers or email addresses in the same threads. Kind of like Big Fruit's iMessage feature. I want to be able to keep the same conversations going whether I'm on my phone or tablet. I /could/ use Google Voice, but I like keeping my GV number separate from my real number.
Sent from my SGT+7

What if MIUI...

Is sending personal information the Chinese communist regime? With all these Cloud options MIUI is offering... When Google has plenty of options for Cloud software for the android platform. You don't see HTC doing this kind of stuff with Sense is all I'm saying.

Then don't use miui if that's,how you feel about it ......just saying.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using xda premium

I can't even get the registration to work to setup an account for backup, so they gots nada from me.

MIUI is being open sourced, if you think it's spying on you look in the code and see. It wouldn't really be that different from an official google rom, where you KNOW they're spying on you.

FirstNoobToBrickHisPhone said:
Is sending personal information the Chinese communist regime? With all these Cloud options MIUI is offering... When Google has plenty of options for Cloud software for the android platform. You don't see HTC doing this kind of stuff with Sense is all I'm saying.
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Are you from Taiwan then ??
Or genuinely serious?!??!

I love conspiracy theorists, always good for a laugh!
Sent from my MB865 using xda's premium carrier pigeon service

You could stay off the grid completely and be relatively hidden and safe, so long as you are also secretly employed, secretly housed, not paying tax, getting paid cash, not travelling on commercial flights, avoiding security cameras and not calling the same phone number more than once a month.
Or you can commit yourself with any of the following: An address, telephone number, bank account, credit card, Internet connection, Email address, Google or YouTube account, MSN account, FaceBook account or Twitter account.
If that isn't `microchip' enough for you, you could by an iPhone (Identity phone) or many other phones which you need to use a credit card to buy.
You might go for something simple. Or you might feel the need to have front and rear facing cameras (to be seen), 3 microphones with noise cancelling (to be heard), gyroscope (to see if you are dead or you move), temperature detection (coming soon), GPS (for global positioning), NFC (for exact positioning), Batteries and sim cards (which can't be removed), ...
If that still seems OK and you feel like a mysteriously protected person who would never need to worry about being influenced, taken advantage of or treated like a consumer, then you could get a phone with an operating system designed by a company running the largest personal database in the world.
Add onto that they decided to call their Operating System, ..er..
What is it called again?
Sleep well.

[Q] google voice alternative

moderators, if there is a better place to put this, please move accordingly.
situation:
my employer will pickup $95 of my cellphone bill if i get a smartphone for work - so that i can check emails while traveling to job sites, meetings, etc. i travel about once every other week now. they will put me on the company account when i am traveling every week. so this might only be a 2 year stop-gap till they are paying for all of my phone and this isnt an issue at all. at that point, i can port my GV number to ATT and the company account.
i currently have a dumb or "feature phone" and cant justify spending the monthly data rate to get a smart phone for personal usage, but if my business pick-ups most of the tab, it is worth it. personally, i make less than 200 minutes of calls and 200 texts (mostly to my wife who is on the same plan, that is all negated as part of the "shared"
if i stay on my current family's plan and convert it to a family data share plan (ATT), that actually saves me about $15 a month on my phone bill
downside - i have an out of area phone number and my office wants me to have an in-area phone number for business
in short, what is the best, long term way to have 2 numbers call/receive on a cellphone, without having to pay extra, or minimal, for the convenience of being able to call from the different numbers. if the telecom carriers would just drop their stupid tax limitation for having different tax / area codes on the same account, i wouldn't have this issue. realistically - if everyone in the USA had free nation wide calling via cellphone, land-line, etc - we would all just have 10 digit numbers and this wouldn't be a problem b/c we wouldn't need all of these hacks and tweaks for porting numbers, move voice over sip/voip, use 3rd party programs that use txt over data rather than it just all being easy and cheap / rant over.
GV number
it appears i am receive / call from an in-area number - i already setup a number and tried a iphone and it works great.
not concerned that it uses minutes b/c family share plan has unlimited minutes (i keep searching for google voice alternatives and i either come up with VoIP / SIP options to avoid using minutes and use data OR business plans that use voice, but charge for minutes)
my concerns / reason for looking for other options / alternatives
1. every year google says that US calling is free for the next year. and their rates page shows the same.
since i will be using default GV iphone/android app that will use minutes rather than VoIP to make the calls, will that ever be a concern of mine (e.g. if google makes a call $0.01 a minute in the future, i don't want to have to find another option really quick b/c it does not suite my needs anymore)
2. GV closing - everyone was "up-in-arms" about reader closing this year. most of us have moved to other programs / clients that allow us to continue reading news
3. GV says that you shouldnt use it for business b/c they don't have enterprise support. the company i work for is far from an enterprise, but i still have some an uneasy feeling that if google doesn't like GV anymore and drop it, im scrambling to find something fast and dont want to do that. e.g. is this the best long term solution?
option 2: long time listener to leo laporte / twit and they are advertising ring central.
looked at their features and not only will it cost more than i am saving, but also, it has tons more features that what i need.
other options? someone on the GV forums called GV a "call management service" and i have searched for alternatives and most of the business oriented services seem to want to offer more features than i need and to change for it. most of the personal alternatives are an attempt to reduce voice minutes, but use data.
a lot of our contractor clients have project managers and job-site supers have completely random area codes and call from other named business's when they call us, so it might not even be an issue. trying to do all my research before i go back to my boss and give him some options and see if having an in-area number is required or just something that they would want.
thanks for the help and advise.

The Moto X and Republic Wireless

So has anyone gotten the Moto X on RW yet? If so can you give me your personal review of the phone and service? Thanks a million!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

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I hope I hace one

Using Moto X on RW for 30 days and love it!
Being a newby here, I can't provide a link to my original post, so here's the response cross-posted.
In short. I dig it. Cheap phone, well equipped (no, not the best or fastest, but hits my sweet spot; ok, no jokes...), and WiFi access is fine.
Pros
- convenience (dirt simple; if you can post to this site, you can manage your phones)
- cost/TCO (half the cost of VZW)
- quality of handset
- no contract
- service extends between US and Canada (calls from Canada to US included; WiFi use encouraged, but not required)
[Update: service was confirmed during a 6 day trip to Ontario, where we had no difficulty calling each other and others using RW phones while roaming, all included in the flat monthly rate. We only lacked the data, voice and SMS were fine; we had no trouble finding WiFi for email, etc.]
Cons
- Sprint network is not the best (but works well in my area; ymmv)
- can't auto-dial a conf call number (can dial 800-numbers, but can't pass a second string automagically; I have to remember the code and enter after the call connects; for me, a small trade-off for cheap service)
- phones have custom ROM to handle hybrid WiFi/Cell calls, so they can't be used on another network.
If you have questions, please ask. I do NOT work for RW... I was a very loyal VZW customer (great network, great service, but expensive)
If you want $19 discount on first month, use my discount code at referrals dot republicwireless dot com /a/clk/1x9d7h
My Experience
Call quality has been great during our first month of ownership. WiFi and 3G calls are great, with only a few moments of "clipped" speech on two separate calls. I believe that has more to do with my WiFi network than anything else. Not bad considering the many hours of use the Moto X has been getting. According to the RW site, I've "offloaded" about 25% of my calls to WiFi this month, which allows them to lower costs.
[Updated: I did confirm that my router/ap setup impacted calls and I've tweaked things for perfect results, now]
Setting up the phone was a simple, guided process. You are assigned a phone number, based on your billing address, and there's a web form for porting an existing number to the new device. Note: Google Voice numbers can't be ported to the phone, but you can still use the GV app on the phone, and can even force the phone to only dial out as GV. Number porting was done in 2 days and I noticed I lost access to my VZW online account. I figured this would happen and grabbed anything of value from the site before initiating the port requests.
Based on prior comments, here are a few corrections. Google Voice works just fine on the Moto X, including visual voicemail and transcription of messages into text (very convenient). LastPass integration is awesome... and don't forget your YubiKey NEO for two-factor authentication. VPN connections are supported, which reduce exposure while on public WiFi. Google integration is excellent and setup is easy. I have some concerns about Motorola capturing data and sending through their servers, but lack the skills to cut them off -- search for Motorola Is Listening and you'll get the story.
NAS/Cloud
If you have not checked out Synology, do yourself a favor... the absolute best NAS out there. Their software is amazing and it permits use of Android Apps to get at Music, Videos, Files, and downloads. To cut it short... their apps are my personal cloud. Paired with cheap 3G/4G, you can't beat the convenience and security of knowing you're activity is not being monitored for later resale in the form of promotions suited to your tastes.
Total Cost of Ownership
Even with a 22% corporate discount, my wife and I spent $7,000 with VZW over 5 years for voice/text (no data) in US and Canada... that's about $115/mo * 12 * 5 years. I don't know about you, but that's more than I spent for my desktop, laptop, and Comcast bill. Pricing is not in line with reality... same as the $250/MB text plans of yesteryear.
The new plan ($25/mo for 3G talk/text/data) will cost $600/year for two lines. Yes, we have to purchase phones, but the 5-year TCO will be $3,600 ($50 * 12 * 5, plus $600 for phones)
By the way, did I say I'm excited about this phone/plan... eeeegad, it's awesome!
Bye bye LG VX9200 (Env3)... you served us well. sniff. sniff.

Android App that forwards and logs calls?

I need an app for Android phones that will forward calls and keep a log of how many calls were forwarded. I'm not sure if this exists or if I need to create it but here is an explanation of what I'm trying to do.
I run a marketing business and my clients need to know which channels are driving business. So what I have in mind is to use different phone numbers for online ads vs newspaper vs billboards etc... This would be straightforward in the US, there are services that issue virtual tracking numbers. But where I am, these services don't exist so I have to find a workaround.
So like I mentioned before, my plan is to get a few different mobile phone numbers, and forward each number to the main business line. But I need a way to track how many calls each mobile phone is forwarding.
If you know of an app that would help or have another approach I should consider, please share it.
Thanks in advance...

Anyone have ANY ideas on this?
ichiban876 said:
I need an app for Android phones that will forward calls and keep a log of how many calls were forwarded. I'm not sure if this exists or if I need to create it but here is an explanation of what I'm trying to do.
I run a marketing business and my clients need to know which channels are driving business. So what I have in mind is to use different phone numbers for online ads vs newspaper vs billboards etc... This would be straightforward in the US, there are services that issue virtual tracking numbers. But where I am, these services don't exist so I have to find a workaround.
So like I mentioned before, my plan is to get a few different mobile phone numbers, and forward each number to the main business line. But I need a way to track how many calls each mobile phone is forwarding.
If you know of an app that would help or have another approach I should consider, please share it.
Thanks in advance...
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