WTF are they doing? They want to force people to use Google voice numbers for SMS?
If Hangouts won’t support SMS after May 22… Why would anyone use it instead of say, Facebook messenger where everyone is already?
P.S. apparently hangouts/sms will still work under project Fi.
Most of the people I instant message with are not people I know IRL and thus don’t friend on Facebook which has IRL info on me. Many of them I also don’t have phone contact with. I never understood the point of having SMS in Hangouts, to be honest. I already have perfectly good apps for that and would like my IMs to be handled like IMs.
It means I can receive and send SMS on my PC when I load gmail.com
As an internet-based IM client, hangouts is kinda useless because nobody I know uses it. It’s my SMS client.
There are other ways to do SMS on PC. There are other ways to do IMs, too, of course, but none of my friends are on them and they tend to be a) bad and/or b) not as convenient on a phone.
What’s the most elegant way for SMS on PC? The Win10 messaging app which was supposed to sync with Windows Phone is completely useless.
I love Google Voice with its SMS y’all.
This kind of makes me glad that my texting has been funneled through Google Voice for the last 8 years.
Well, at least until Google Voice gets dragged into a back alley too.
God I hope that never happens. It’s integrated with Sprint, so I’d miss it very much.
At this point I kind of don’t even know what google stuff I’m using at any particular time.
I think hangouts mostly? But SMS goes through it. Also SMS comes through my hangouts in gmail on my computer’s browser. As do phone calls.
It all works fine, and I have no complaints. But I have no idea how Google’s plans to retire clients or make more is going to impact anything.
I just use Google Hangouts to send SMS in my browser.
Native SMS over the cellular modem is leaving Hangouts. It’ll still support GVoice for now.
I use MightyText, which is a solid multi client syncing text app that lets you read and reply via pc program or web app. It also supports driving phone notifications to the pc, if you want. Free, but paid if you send a lot of messages…
I like MightyText but they put a lot of the interesting features into the Pro version which is a bit expensive IMO ($60/year).
I just use the basic Google Messenger SMS app. I like it. Pretty basic. For SMS from PC, I use Pushbullet, which I pay for. It’s $40/year. So cheaper than Mighty text, and I prefer the aesthetic and functionality over MightyText.
ProTip: if you use Android, AirDroid costs a mere $20/year compared to Pushbullet.
Airdroid is a good solution at home. If you’re at work, or traveling, it can be a royal PITA to get the connection working through corporate firewalls.
Some friends are on iMessage; is there any way our group messaging can stay in one thread? As it is with the Android sms app, they keep getting individual replies.
Thanks
Ha. Yeah, at this point I wouldn’t touch a Google chat product with a ten-foot pole, even if they paid me to. There are just too many better alternatives to spend any time on left-hand, unsupported solutions such as what comes out of Google in this respect.
What better alternatives? The FB chat? Fuck Facebook. I’m not weeb enough for WeChat/line. I don’t have Apple. Hangouts is gonna be replaced too.
My group chat has been trying to figure out what to use as a replacement. I guess it’s back to sms.
I have friends that like GroupMe, but I don’t care for it. WhatsApp still seems less obnoxious than Facebook Messenger, but if your concerns are about privacy, they’re not an option since FB owns them. Beyond that, I dunno, but those are the two that I still get dragged into by other people.