I'm fully aware it only works on iOS devices. I won't be mad at all when google comes out with a good system. I'll be happy for android users because frankly SMS texting sucks. It's painfully slow and the file transfer are a joke. I use Facebook messenger with my group of friends because not everyone has an iPhone and MMS group messaging is god awful. Android devices always seems to receive them out of order and sometimes messages just don't send. Facebook messenger is better but it's so much more clunky than iMessage. The integration of iMessage with iOS' messaging app is perfect.
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Android... get it together!
- Thread starter rockitdog
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I'm fully aware it only works on iOS devices. I won't be mad at all when google comes out with a good system. I'll be happy for android users because frankly SMS texting sucks. It's painfully slow and the file transfer are a joke. I use Facebook messenger with my group of friends because not everyone has an iPhone and MMS group messaging is god awful. Android devices always seems to receive them out of order and sometimes messages just don't send. Facebook messenger is better but it's so much more clunky than iMessage. The integration of iMessage with iOS' messaging app is perfect.
Why would you use SMS to send files? You can't. It's for texts or MMS photos. As for FB messaging??? Who the heck uses that except for FB-related chit-chat? Whatsapp and others like it are the accepted messaging apps. If you need to send files, then use email.
Some of you guys just aren't getting what is lacking. iOS allows an integrate IM/text system that is seamless. I've yet to find an Android alternative. Every Android alternative I've seen has either been IM only or not as robust as iOS (ie hangouts does not allow you to send a video to another Hangouts user like iOS does).
The reason why someone would want to send a video or a full resolution picture is beside the point, but all I know is iOS allows it and it can come in handy at times.
If there is really an Android alternative that has an integrated IM/texting solution, please give it.
The reason why someone would want to send a video or a full resolution picture is beside the point, but all I know is iOS allows it and it can come in handy at times.
If there is really an Android alternative that has an integrated IM/texting solution, please give it.
Files... aka videos and pictures..? Sorry for not using what you recommend. FB messenger is literally the same thing as whatsapp concept wise, so I don't see what the big deal is. It's a big group chat with 11 people and it works fine, no worse than whatsapp. Not many people in the US use whatsapp anyways and almost everyone has facebook so it's easier for most.
Fair enough.
iMessage seems to be a much bigger deal in the US than it is here, we tend to use SMS and Whatsapp.
The discussion is not concerning the ability to send video via MMS but rather that the quality is terrible, that iMessage offers a much better solution on iOS as it allows much higher quality video without compression between Apple devices and that Google/Android does not yet offer an native counterpart that offers the same seemless functionality. What you're doing is just sending a SMS or MMS message.
Yes, iMessage is not perfect (Apple devices only for the enhanced functionality) but even with its limitations, offers better out-of-the-box functionality than anything else presently available. Hangouts has the most potential (largest native user base in Android users AND it's cross-platform) but still doesn't work as well--thus this debate.
I also understand how many tout the benefits of WhatsApp. I think it is often discounted on these forums because they are still heavily US-centric in users and discussion and while WhatsApp has significant user base, it's predominantly outside the US. Off all of my contacts (hundreds), 2 have WhatsApp accounts.
So people are gloating about Apple's proprietary solution that no one else will use then? Fair enough, but I find hangouts to be much more functional than iMessage is.
I think the way Apple locks your mobile number to it's proprietary system is despicable, and the hoops you have to remember to go through if you change to another platform, so you can send and receive messages is a joke and IMO makes any other platform far superior for SMS.
Out of curiosity, what features does Hangouts have over iMessage outside of multi-person video chat in its mobile form?
My wife often sends short videos to me in text messages of our daughter during the day. They come through fine in iMessage. The alternative I suppose is to use Whatsapp.
Yep turning off iMessage in settings is terrible.
Even worse if you forget to do that having to go to https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage and simply de-activate it there is an absolute 'hoop' of despicability.... #drama
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Wow that looks far too complicated for me too.Yep turning off iMessage in settings is terrible.
Even worse if you forget to do that having to go to https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage and simply de-activate it there is an absolute 'hoop' of despicability.... #drama
Who's gloating? The only relevant point is that Apple has implemented a solution that works pretty well--why can't Google do the same? Let's face it, Google is primarily a services company--it's there bread and butter, so to speak (I used predominantly Google services, even though I have mostly Apple gear). I think most just expect more considering Hangouts has been pretty lackluster since its release.
And to your second point, yes no excuse for the bug that persisted for quite a while concerning users being stuck in iMessage limbo. But let's be honest here, it was only an issue for users that switched platforms (and not everyone because I used to be a chronic phone switcher and never had any problems as long as I remembered to turn off iMessage on my iPhone first). Considering the overwhelming majority of people probably only change phone every 1-3 years, we're talking about a once time event. And as MRU has so kindly illustrated, it's now quite easily resolved.
Yep turning off iMessage in settings is terrible.
Even worse if you forget to do that having to go to https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage and simply de-activate it there is an absolute 'hoop' of despicability.... #drama
And your average Joe blogs iPhone user knows how to do that how exactly? Plus this deregistration website was only recently put up after the outcry from iOS users. No other platform has this problem because they don't force their own stupid made up standards on you.
Yep turning off iMessage in settings is terrible.
Even worse if you forget to do that having to go to https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage and simply de-activate it there is an absolute 'hoop' of despicability.... #drama
And it took a law suit to do that. Apple got busted and that system does not always work either. It took years for Apple to finally offer that. Honestly what Apple should of done is if it does not hear from say your phone for 24-48 hours it automatically removes your number from their system and everything is moved over to SMS.
True, but I was just posting that in a teasing manner as Apolloa's wording was on the little miss drama queen side and couldn't resist playing along
Google hangouts only has support for MMS, you cant send videos over the internet on hangouts to the other person, which sucks a ton. its funny because Hangouts on iOS actually allows you to send 10 second video clips to other iOS users with Hangouts but you cant even do that on the Android version
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this is that ******** damage control. iMessage is the best mass market messsaging solution on the market, and is actually also the most secure mass market messaging app on the market, it is very easy to turn off iMessage on your phone or just deregister. how pathetic you cant even send videos over Hangouts on Android but on iOS you can loll.
Hangouts STILL doesnt even have end-to-end encryption...
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its very easy to turn imessage off, either deregister or just merely turn it off in your settings, thats it.
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what hoops? you mean is it really that hard to just turn off iMessage in the settings which takes 5 seconds? which does the trick. i have switched back and forth to multiple android devices and back to iPhone and have never had a issue ever, i always would disable imessage before giving up the phone. your argument is very flawed and poor and i think you ran out of fuel for your argument. iMessage is very huge and popular and is also the most secure mass market messaging solution on the market right now aswell. the intergration of Facetime/iMessage and how seamless it is essentially still unparalled in the industry
i do not understand the "nobody will use then" , people send over 15 billion iMessages and Facetime calls a day in the world, it is very heavily used.
What are you on about? I CAN send videos using Hangouts just fine, iMessage has done nothing for text messaging? You need to either expand on your rant or research some more.
Please provide some factual evidence that iMessage is the most secure mass market messaging solution, because you are now implying Apple has some how made something more secure than SMS despite the fact it uses SMS and MMS.
And it is not the most popular, because Apple does not have the majority world wide market share of the mobile market so it is impossible for it to be the most popular, there are more Android users in the world.
As for jumping through hoops, that is totally accurate for the normal user, especially if they change their phone to a none iOS device, and then find out their SMS isn't working.
Apple has made a solution to a problem that didn't exist and tried to lock users into iMessage, and people heavily complained at Apple and they came up with the de-registration website but not until the end of last year, NO other manufacturer has had to do this, because they don't lock your phone number to their messaging system.
And as such Apple is facing a lawsuit from ex iOS users over this whole iMessage lock in mess:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/11/us-apple-lawsuit-textmessages-idUSKCN0IV1TK20141111
Your arguing that iMessage is somehow better despite the fact it uses SMS and MMS the exact same way as any other phone that uses those.
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I know people love to trash it but Facebook Messenger works great for sending video and pics. It really has gotten a lot of features in the last year or two (being able to send videos being one of them).
Unlike needing the other party to have Whatsapp, etc, most everyone has facebook. Doesn't matter if they are on Android or iOS.
Michael
Unlike needing the other party to have Whatsapp, etc, most everyone has facebook. Doesn't matter if they are on Android or iOS.
Michael
I don't know anybody who uses Hangouts yet but I suppose these things take time to catch on. Most people I know either text or use Whatsapp which pretty much do the same thing anyway. What's the advantage of Hangouts out of interest?
It's just more commonly used than whatsapp in the US, Facebook messenger may actually be most popular here (aside from sms and iMessage)
Ah right ok. I've seen it mentioned a lot on here but never encountered it amongst my social groups. Usually when these things catch on you get invites galore. I had forgotten about Facebook Messenger which I use quite a bit too. Whatsapp apart sms is the most popular here and has been for some years now. I remember a while back it was said Google + was going to be bigger than Facebook. Everybody I know got an account and nobody uses it any more. These trends obviously differ from country to country though.