Tag Archives: messenger

Hands-On With Google Hangouts Unified, Cross-Platform IM & Video Chat

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The Google I/O keynote yesterday brought a lot of important announcements, but the revamped Hangouts service seems to have managed to cause the most excitement among them all so far, probably because it has already been rolled out for users all over the world. The iOS app is available in the App Store, while  lot of Android users have managed to get their hands on the Hangouts update for their Google Talk app as well. Google already offered its Google Talk (also called GTalk, Google Chat and Gmail Chat) already enjoyed integration with Google+ and Gmail but compared to the Hangouts feature of Google+, it wasn't too heavy on features. Some of you might have wondered why the plain old chat can’t become as cool as its Google+ variant. Even if you have never thought of that possibility, Google seems to have been thinking along those lines. The new Hangouts can be considered a consolidation of Google Talk and Google+ Hangouts that works on Android, iOS, Google+ and Chrome. The service offers everything from video calling to group chat, and even a huge collection of emoticons. Read More

just.me For iPhone Combines Messaging, Email & Social File Sharing

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With so much saturation in the App Store, very few apps can become instant hits these days. just.me has had some time to reel in a decent number of users since the app’s beta came out a few months ago, and it has been in the news for even longer due to the fact that some big names have been backing the project. Now that the app stable version has finally been released, we are pleased to see that it doesn't disappoint. just.me is basically an instant messaging app, but one of the great things about it is that the app works even if your contacts aren't on just.me, as such people receive messages via email or SMS. just.me also incorporates cloud storage, where you can keep any text snippet or media file stored as long as you want. The privacy is completely in the user’s hands, which makes it possible to use just.me even as a social sharing network. Read More

Vtalkie Is A Push-To-Capture Video Messaging App For iPhone

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Almost every messenger available on iOS lets users share media files. You can send photos, documents, videos and even doodles to your friends via messenger apps from your iPhone. Vtalkie might appear to be just another messenger for iOS, but actually there is something really unique about it. The app lets you share videos with your friends, but it treats this transfer as a walkie talkie exchange. Instead of recorded voice messages, you get to record short video clips that are then sent to your friends straight away. Apart from this primary feature, the app can also be used to discover people near your current location, and comes with a nice collection of animated emoticons. Read More

Viber For Windows Phone 8 Gets HD Voice Calls & Better Live Tiles

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When we first covered Viber for Windows Phone a year ago, the app was quite disappointing. For some reason, the team behind the famous messenger didn’t add VoIP calling options to the WP7 client, and even when the calling capabilities did come, they were limited to Nokia devices. On Android and iOS, Viber is used almost exclusively for its free calls, since a lot of other text messengers (like WhatsApp) are already more popular. So, it is nice to see that after a considerable wait, Viber has properly arrived on Windows Phone. The app’s WP8 version has just been updated with several new features, and the most important among them are voice calls (that too in HD quality). Apart from free VoIP calling, the update makes better use of the WP8 Start screen by letting users pin individual conversations as live tiles. Read More

Vonage Mobile For Android Updated With Video Calling

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Skype has always been the top VoIP choice for many when it comes to making voice and video calls over WiFi, 3G and the recently introduced LTE. The service has provided an unparalleled medium of communication that enables us to get in touch with friends, family, coworkers and clients no matter where they are. Though that doesn't make Skype the only player in the game fighting to claim the top VoIP service crown, with apps like Viber and Tango giving it a run for its money on smartphone platforms. Previously, we covered a powerful VoIP app for Android called Vonage Mobile by Vonage, which we found to be one of best VoIP apps out there after Skype. For those unfamiliar with Vonage, it's one of the top VoIP and SIP service provider in US, Canada and UK. When we first reviewed it, the app only allowed to make voice calls, but today Vonage has updated their app to a new beta version that includes a video call option as well. Let's take a closer look at this new feature. Read More

MessageMe: Cross-Platform Mobile Messenger With Great Sharing Options

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WhatsApp is by far the most popular cross-platform online messaging app for mobile devices, but there are also other really good options such as Viber, Tango, Kik and many more that offer many other features in addition to text messages. Most people hate moving from their current messenger app to a new one, but there are times when the features offered by a new one are completely worth the switch. MessageMe might not emerge as a clear winner when you pit it against a few of the giants of this genre, but the new app does have a few really nice features that make it worth a try. Released simultaneously on iOS and Android, MessageMe lets you easily connect with your friends using a BBM-like PIN, or by just searching for contacts on social media. There is also group messaging, advanced media sharing (including support for doodling and push-to-talk) and a smart typing indicator. Read More

WhatsApp For Windows Phone Gets Backup, Lock Screen Notifications & More

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Although WhatsApp has been around on Windows Phone for quite a while now, the app has never been as good as its Android and iOS counterparts. Apart from the usual interface and live tile support issues, WhatsApp (both on Mango and WP8) didn’t even have lock screen notifications. Thankfully, the app’s latest update has brought this much-needed functionality to Windows Phone. In addition to a better notification system, it is now easier to personalize the app as well, thanks to a host of new options in the app’s settings. The attachment options have seen some improvement as well, letting you share media, contacts and your location with your contacts. Read More

Facebook Messenger For Android Gets SMS/MMS Support, UI Tweaks & More

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Just a couple of days ago, we posted about Photo Syncing – a test feature of the official Facebook app for Android - which, once enabled, can be used to automatically, instantly and privately upload photos from Android to Facebook. Another very significant update has just been rolled out in the Google Play Store – this time for Facebook Messenger for Android – that not only brings some much-needed enhancements to the overall UI of the social network’s default messaging app, but also expands its messaging capabilities manifold. Besides serving as a dedicated messaging app for your Facebook chats, the app now qualifies as a handy SMS replacement app for your Android. That’s right, provided you own one of the select devices on which said feature is supported, you can now use the Facebook Messenger Android app to send SMS/MMS messages to desired phone numbers (standard messaging rates may apply). The app’s IM interface now sports bubble-style conversations, where a blue/white bubble combination represents Facebook message threads, whereas a green/white combination indicates SMS threads. In addition, the app now provides even better and quicker means to select a Friend to start chatting with. Better yet, its lets you pin your favorite/most frequently contacted Friends right at the top of the Friends list. Read More

Trillian For iOS Updated With iPad Support, New Interface & Notifications

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Smartphone apps like WhatsApp and ChatOn might have diminished the importance of desktop messengers, but there are still a lot of people who use applications like MSN Messenger, Yahoo and Trillian. While Trillian was originally just a desktop application, it has been around for iOS for quite a while, and has amassed many fans. The iPhone app has always offered all the basic functionalities usually associated with the Trillian service, but it lacked the extra edge and finesse that makes Trillian such a hit on desktop. Now, however, things have taken a turn for the better and Trillian for iOS has been updated with a new interface, along with a ton of fresh features, and got enough juice to grab our attention for a review. The app sports a Dashboard on its main page, where users can pin the most frequently used contacts. Apart from that, there are new emoticons, the notification system has been enhanced and it is now possible to invite your friends over to Trillian via SMS. To top all that, Trillian has gone universal, meaning that you can now enjoy the app fully on your iPad, as well as the iPhone. Read More

LINE: A Fun & Free Cross-Platform Instant Messenger For WP7

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Although the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace now boasts more than 100,000 apps, WP7 is usually labelled as the smartphone platform with the least number of apps. Having said that, there is no shortage of text chat apps for Mango phones, and WP7 has steadily accumulated all the popular chat clients available on Android and iOS. Samsung’s ChatOn (reviewed here) is the latest major messenger app to arrive in the Marketplace, but that doesn’t mean that the flow of such apps has finally subsided. WP7 developers have more to offer to users, and LINE brings a new dimension to the whole niche of messenger apps for Mango. Like all good chat apps, LINE is cross-platform, but rather than taking the whole business of communicating with your friends too seriously, the app makes chatting more fun and attractive. Instead of emoticons, LINE relies on packs of stickers that let users express their feelings even more thoroughly. The app is highly customizable in terms of its looks, and you can choose any background for separate chat windows. Read on for details. Read More

eBuddy XMS: A Simplistic Cross-Platform Messenger For WP7

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eBuddy is a popular service for accessing multiple chat clients without having to install any application for them. Now, imagine a messenger app released by such a service, won’t it be cool? eBuddy XMS is everything you would expect from an official eBuddy app. With this app, Windows Phone 7 users can text anyone conveniently, and for free. eBuddy XMS might not come with too many bells and whistles attached, but it is a perfect option if you are looking for something that acts as a replacement for the Messaging hub in WP7, and that, too, in a more efficient way. eBuddy scans your Facebook friends and the People hub to import all the contacts that are already on eBuddy, and you can interact with them after signing up through your phone number. Read More

Cross-Platform VoIP & Messaging App Viber Comes To Windows Phone 7 & Blackberry

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Viber is one of the most popular free text and VoIP call services on both Android and iOS. After much success on both these platforms, the famous service has finally released its client for WP7 and the currently-somewhat-neglected Blackberry. Before you get too excited though, please note that the Mango version of Viber is still in its limited beta and you cannot make voice calls for now. Luckily, the text messenger service alone is enough to give WhatsApp a run for its money. Read on to know all about Viber’s features and current limitations. Read More

Join Chat Communities, Text Your Friends & Groups With Text+ For WP7

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TextPlus is one of the most popular messengers for smartphones, with iOS and Android versions of the app around for quite a while. It seems that after those two platforms have been covered by most developers, they invariably turn to Windows Phone 7, and that has been the case with TextPlus. The famous messaging app just became available for Mango users, and it brings all the features to the Metro platform which have made it a hit on other platforms. If you download this free app, you can send free SMS to friends (US & Canada only), join communities of like-minded people and chat with them, and there are a few bonus features as well, like the push-to-talk options and the ability to add multiple contacts to a single conversation. Read More

Locate Friends Near You & Chat With Them Using Peachy For iPhone

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Messengers and other chat services make up a very popular genre of apps in the iOS App Store, and with the release of iMessage, people have started chatting even more than before. Texting is going out of the vogue pretty quick, and chatting has almost replaced it entirely. Every once in a while, an iPhone app is bound to come along which brings something completely new to even the most crowded categories of iPhone apps. Peachy is one such app. It is just another messenger app on the surface, but actually it is based on a rather interesting concept. Using Peachy, you can only chat with your friends when they are in your vicinity. The app will let you know whenever a friend (or group of friends) is within 3 miles of your current location, and then you can start a conversation with them straight away. Despite having a rather unpolished interface, the app can prove to be a useful tool for a variety of people, and in addition to being a location-based messenger, you can use Peachy to ask for user feedback regarding a number of items in your area. Read More

GroupMe Brings Group SMS & Chat To Windows Phone 7

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There are many messenger apps in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, and a lot of good ones at that, but with every new release, something fresh comes to the Mango platform. GroupMe is not a new app for WP7 by any means, but it was taken off the Marketplace some time back. The good news is that it’s back, and better than ever. For those who are not familiar with GroupMe, the app lets users define groups, and then you can chat with all your contacts in those groups. If you are living in the US, the app will even let you send group text messages, increasing its usefulness. Read on to know more about GroupMe for WP7. Read More

HeyTell Brings Cross-Platform Push-To-Talk Voice Chat To Windows Phone 7

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There are many messenger apps available for Windows Phone 7, but not all of them are cross-platform, and even fewer let users communicate via voice messages. HeyTell is a popular messenger app that has been around for iOS and Android for quite a while, and now it has made its way to the Metro platform as well. Using the app, you can stay in touch with your friends, regardless of the platform they are on. Not only that, the app also finds users near your current location, and lets you send them recorded voice messages (via push-to-talk). The app comes with all the usual messenger options, and you can share your location with messages as well as managing attachments and conversations in distinct threads. Read More

Chat & Share Media With Friends via The Official Palringo App For WP7

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Palringo is a well-known name when it comes to cross-platform messengers, but until now, Windows Phone 7 lacked an official client for the popular chat service. Not anymore, as recently Palringo released a Mango version of their service, and despite being in open beta phase for now, the app is pretty smooth. Using Palringo for WP7, you can stay connected with your friends, no matter on which platform they are, as Palringo has clients for Android, iOS, PC, Mac and almost any JAVA-enabled platform you can possibly think of (we have covered other Palringo versions in detail previously). Not only can you chat with your friends using Palringo, but the app also lets you import contacts from various other services like Facebook, GTalk, Windows Live, Yahoo, etc. Read More

Send Free SMS To Anyone With Cross-Platform Messenger HeyWire [WP7]

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HeyWire is a messaging service that has been around for quite a while on iOS and Android. It is a very useful app, using which you can send free SMS to any number in the US. Even if the recipient is living outside the 'States, texts can be sent if they, too, have HeyWire, or any other service that assigns US numbers to its users (like Google Voice). HeyWire has extended its reach considerably now, as recently, the Windows Phone 7 client of the service was released. Read on to know of all the features HeyWire brings to the Mango platform. Read More

Textie Brings Its Cross-Platform IM & Photo Sharing Client To Android

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Textie is a simple yet efficient cross-platform (and free) messaging app for Android and iOS devices that lets users send unlimited text messages to other app users, mail contacts and/or most US mobile carriers over the internet (Wi-Fi/3G). The app sports an IM-style chat interface through which you can not only share simple text messages, but also send high quality images to multiple contacts at once. Initially available only in the iTunes App Store, Textie has just made its way to the Android Market. The app has a simple, customizable interface, automatically fetches contacts from your address book, provides secures connections using SSL and push notifications for incoming messages. Read More

ChatOn Is Samsung’s Official Cross-Platform Messenger App For iPhone

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iMessage hopes to oust all other iOS messengers, but like most other fields, Samsung is not going to give up that easy. This is evident from the latest release by Samsung, called ChatOn. Samsung's "response" to iMessage on Android has made its way to iOS platform as well, despite the legal battles that both tech giants fight against each other. This app, like any good iPhone messenger, comes with a lot of options, and using it, you can stay in touch with your friends even on iOS' arch-nemesis, Android, with utmost ease. Read More