How To Backup & Restore WP7 SMS And Export Them To PC [Homebrew]

Windows Phone 7 Mango has a lot of features (not to mention the endearing metro interface) that have made many people fall in love with the platform. Take the Messaging hub for instance; it's efficient, simple to use, and even integrates with Facebook chat. Though, till now, there hasn't been an easy way to back up and restore texts before and after, say, factory resetting your device or trying something risky. SMSBackup is a new Homebrew that provides you with a simple way to do just that, provided you have interop unlock on your WP7 device. In addition to that, it presents backed up messages in a human readable format, unlike some of the other available solutions that give you nothing more than an XML file. Read More

Messages2PDF: Backup iPhone SMS & iMessage Threads On Email [Cydia]

Messages2PDF might not be the first option available to iOS users for backing up their text messages, but it certainly is one of the most convenient solutions yet. If you text a lot, and happen to be a fan of the Cydia store as well, then you should know that every so often you have to do something with your iPhone which leads to the loss of all your text messages, like when you have to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. With the advent of iMessage, the problem of exporting and backing up your messages has spread to the all iOS devices, rather than just iPhone. So, Messages2PDF might be the perfect Cydia app for you if you want to export your messages in textual form, and with complete ease. Read More

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

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

xMessages: Add Timestamps & Contacts Photos To All SMS Threads [Cydia]

In most iOS devices, Apple’s main focus is to make things as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and at times, this might lead to omission of some useful features. Take the Messages app in the iPhone as an example; it is difficult to find the exact time of every message, as timestamp is not added to each SMS in a thread. xMessages might not be the first Cydia tweak which brings this feature to the iPhone, but it does come for free, and also has the functionality to add photos of your contacts to their respective SMS threads. Read More

TextPics: Send ASCII Pictures/Text Art In SMS From iPhone

If you have been using social networking services before Facebook took over the field, you must be aware of Orkut. The initial social network allowed every person’s friends to post testimonials about them to their profiles. It was through those testimonials that text art became quite famous. Text art is the name given to pictures and designs created by using nothing but ASCII characters found on an ordinary keyboard. The characters are arranged in such a way so as to create a wonderful image, or whatever the creator intended them to be. It is next to impossible to create some of the more complex text pictures, and that’s why there are many tools which help in creating them (like ASCII Generator for Windows). If you are an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch user, and like images created from alphabets, then you are sure to love TextPics. Read More

Orange: Bomb Anyone With Multiple SMS Using Your iPhone (Cydia)

SMS bombing implies sending a text message multiple times to the same person. There is a prankster in all of us, and if you really want to bug someone, SMS bombing is a pretty slick idea. I am sure people can come up with some positive excuse for SMS bombing, but mainly, people use it just as an annoyance tool. Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of SMS bombers available for iOS. However, now, if you have a jailbroken iPhone, you can use SMSBomber (Orange), which is a free Cydia tweak allowing users to send as many as 20 copies of the same text with a single tap. Read More

MyTextTwister For WP7: Decorate Your Text Messages With ASCII Art

Are you a fan of ASCII art? We are too! In the olden times, people used to hire calligraphers to create beautiful illustrations of text for various purposes like sending invitations, special messages, or as decorations. Nowadays, it just takes a Windows Phone 7  to create ornamental messages for your loved ones with MyTextTwister, an app that offers an interesting set of styles to decorate your text messages (SMS, emails etc), and is ideal for sending greetings to friends and family. Read More

How To Fix WP7′s SMS-Triggered Reboot Bug & Re-Enable Messaging Hub

Despite being the underdog in the smartphone race, there are certain features regarding which users of Windows Phone 7 can boast about when confronted by arrogant Android and iOS us. One such area where WP7 has a clear lead over its competitors, is OS security. While Android is infested with malware, and iOS can be exploited via SSH and other methods, WP7 is completely air-tight, or at least that’s what everyone thought until yesterday. The folks over at WinRumors have discovered a rather dangerous bug in Microsoft’s mobile platform, which reboots the phone and then renders the Messaging hub useless. Details after the break. Read More

SMS Board Forwards Incoming SMS To Facebook, Twitter & Email [Android]

If you receive a lot of text messages that you feel can be set as your status updates on your favorite social networks, then this app is going to impress you big time. SMS Board is a simple little Android app that lets you instantly forward a text message/SMS from your phone to your Facebook/Twitter account or an Email address. The app’s main interface is comprised of a solitary native inbox that lists all your recent text messages. To share a message, just tap on it, pick a service of your liking and let it go! That’s not all, the app’s SMS Popup option (Menu > Settings), if enabled, displays each incoming SMS via a dialog box that provides you with an option to post the message to any supported service with just a tap of a button. Read More

Call Master: Schedule-Based Call & SMS Screening App For Android

If there is one Android app that offers comprehensive control to the users for all their incoming texts and calls, then Call Master has to be it. Call Master, currently in open beta, provides fully customizable screening options for your texts as well as calls and lets you put a lid on all unwanted content in such a way that you’d never even know that a ‘blacklisted’ number ever tried to contact you. That’s not all; you can pick from a wide pool of blocking/notification actions for selected content with customized vibration and LED settings, auto-reply to a caller with a custom SMS, indulge in Private conversation without anything being recorded in the logs and much, much more. For each call that you wish to block, the app can reject/ignore it altogether, hang up the call after answering it or simply allow it to be silently recorded in the call logs without any kind of ring or notification. Text messages can also be allowed or blocked in the same manner. In-depth privacy settings, password-protected access to the app, scheduled profile switching and the option to tweak every single facet to the very core are some of the other strengths of Call Master. Read More

SMSConfirmation: Get Push Notifications For SMS Delivery Report On iPhone [Cyda Tweak]

Don’t you just hate it when you send a text and forget all about it, only to return back to your iPhone’s Messaging app to find out that message sending failed due to a network error? Even if you don’t hate it, apparently the jailbreak community does, and that’s why SMSConfirmation has been made, which is a Cydia tweak to let you know if your text message was sent or not. The cool part? You don’t have to check the status of the text yourself; the tweak displays a push notification which is impossible to miss. I have often missed the warning badge on the stock Messages app when my network is playing tricks on me. The fact that there is no sound, or alert notification associated with the failure to send a message, has been a rather annoying omission in iOS for a long time. Thankfully, SMSConfirmation has finally been able to fix that. Read More

Sonalight Text By Voice: Send, Listen & Reply To SMS via Voice Commands [Android]

The latest voice recognition sensation Siri that has recently been introduced along with iPhone 4S might be the talking point among smartphone users right now, but there’s certainly something for the Android users to cheer about while discussing apps from the same genre for their beloved platform. If you’re familiar with voice recognition apps for Android, then you must’ve come across Vlingo – an Android app that takes voice commands from users, allowing them to control or access various aspects of your device. Sonalight Text by Voice, although not as feature-packed as the aforementioned app or as intelligent as Siri, is another useful Android app that puts Voice Recognition to good use and lets you record, send and repeat outgoing text messages through its own dedicated service. In addition, the app also reads all your incoming text messages and lets you repeat and reply to them without having to touch your device. What’s best about Sonalight is that it’s light-weight, requires minimum configuration. We delve into this handy app after the break. Read More

Send & Receive SMS On Homescreen With QuickSMS [Android]

A few years back, before the world knew the likes of iOS and Android, smartphones required tech-savvy users to be taken full advantage of. This all changed with iOS' simplicity-of-use and Android's vast customization possibilities. Android, in particular, optimized the way we work, interact and socialize by delivering apps, tweaks and workarounds that weren't possible in any other smartphone platform. When it comes to customizing and tweaking Android according to your own desires and wishes, there is hardly any competition. Texting via Android is as simple as using a 90’s Nokia phone, supplemented further with the several SMS/MMS utilities available in Android Market. In presence of such handy apps as Handsent and Go SMS, a tiny and light weight QuickSMS widget has been released with the intent of making it easier to read, reply, delete and navigate text messages from the comfort of your phone’s home screen. Read More

Message Icons: Compose SMS & Emails Via Springboard Shortcuts [Cydia]

If you are a smartphone user, you must have realized the importance of performing a task in the least possible steps. To most of the people, it might not appear to be a critical thing if an app takes a few extra seconds to launch, but once this lost time begins accumulating, you are sure to get a bit annoyed at your phone's slowness. That is where shortcuts have the potential to come into play. iOS takes special care to provide its users with shortcuts wherever possible. The popularity of Cydia tweaks like SBSettings is a testament to the usefulness of shortcuts on an iPhone. Back in the days of dumb-phones, shortcuts on mobile devices were pretty common. A tap of the down key would take you to the ringtones menu, or a long-press of hash key launched the messaging options. Message Icons aims to achieve a similar functionality by allowing jailbroken users to compose a new text or e-mail right from their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch’s Springboard. Read More

See Through Messaging: Safe Texting From Your WP Mango As You Walk

Thankfully, Microsoft isn’t proving to be as strict and closed about granting OS level access for Windows Phone 7 to developers as Apple is for iOS. With the Mango update, third-party apps can now access features like messages, camera, contacts, etc. This has resulted in the appearance of a bunch of new apps in the Marketplace that make use of these stock features. See Through Messaging is one such app that makes good use of SMS and camera access granted through Mango. Using this app, you can now text while walking and be aware of what’s under your feet or coming at you from straight ahead without having to take your eyes off the screen. Read More

Multi Texter: Send Multiple SMS To Multiple Contacts At Once [Android]

Looking for an effective way to send multiple text messages to multiple contacts at once from your Android phone? Look no further because Multi Texter has now arrived in the Android Market. Developed by XDA Developers member shabihsherjeel, Multi Texter is a free Android app with a plethora of options for your texting needs; the best of them all being the option to simultaneously send as many as 15 different text messages to multiple contacts. To mention a few other additional features of Multi Texter, the app keeps tabs on all your sent and pending messages along with an option to resend the failed ones and lets you search through messages by content or by contact name. Read More

Locate ‘N Share For WP7: Find And Text Your Current Location To Anyone

If you are one of those people who are bad at memorizing directions (like me), then having a smartphone with any maps app must feel like a real blessing to you. However, if your navigation skills are as bad as your memory, such apps won't do you much good either. That’s the philosophy Locate ’N Share seems to have been based upon. It’s a free app for Windows Phone 7 that is designed to help people find where they presently are and text their current location along with complete directions to anyone. Read More

Total SMS Control: Remote SMS, Call Log Backup & Forwarding To Email Or Twitter [Android]

The Android Market is filled with apps (free and paid) that let you backup and remotely access your phone’s content, help tracking/securing your device when it is misplaced and offer various privacy settings to ensure that both your device and the data lying within is always safe from prying eyes. To avail so many features at once, you are often required to install multiple apps. However, if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, then you must consider using Total SMS Control. Apart from the aforementioned functionality, the app offers a few handy new features of its own, such as automatically forwarding incoming SMS to Twitter as Direct Messages, remotely backing up and forwarding call logs and texts to email and more. Read More

Future SMS Lets You Schedule SMS On Your iPhone [Cydia App]

The feature to schedule SMS for sending at a later time is usually offered by carriers for some amount of money - very useful for dumbphones. Though, if you own a jailbroken iPhone, then there’s an app for that! And it’s free too. Future SMS lets you cheat on your friend’s birthday by not having to stay up and wait for midnight to wish them. Simply use this Cydia app to schedule your SMS to be sent at a later time of your choice. Read More

RapidContact – Swipe To Call / Text Your Favorite Contact On iPhone

The apps and tweaks on iOS regarding gesture control have seen a sudden resurgence in recent weeks, as you can see from our past posts. Adding to the list of Cydia tweaks that concentrate on gestures for a variety of tasks is RapidContact, focusing on bringing gesture control for quick dialing and texting without going to the dialer screen or accessing your contacts list! The tweak is, of course, for jailbroken devices only. Read More