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Best SMS App

Which app do you think it's the best alternative to apple's SMS app?

  • BiteSMS

    Votes: 9 39.1%

  • MySMS

    Votes: 4 17.4%

  • iRealSMS

    Votes: 10 43.5%
  • Total voters
    23
anjinha

anjinha

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 21, 2006
7,324
206
San Francisco, CA
I think it would be nice to have a thread about the alternative SMS apps in cydia, where people post their opinions about the best features and which apps work best. I'm going to list all the features of the apps and then people can give their opinions on which one is best.

BiteSMS
Buy credits from BiteSMS to send SMS for cheap
Forward and delete individual messages
Landscape mode
Add contacts and location to a message
Credit and character counter
Proxy Support
Ability to hide the keyboard when composing a message
Smileys

- Coming soon in 2.8 (end of January)
Quick reply
Auto-correction in settings
Build-in delay of 20 seconds for more than 4 multi-part SMS messages, so that they arrive in order
Privacy features

MySMS
Different views of your SMS (Incoming, Outgoing, Conversation)
The entire app works in landscape and portrait
Forward SMS
Able to send contact information.
Set a password on load
Safely delete either one message or the entire list
Message templates
Disable autocorrection
Ability to use your own skin
Ability to change the loading screen and app icon from within the app
Delivery report

iRealSMS
Full app in Landscape Mode
Quick Reply
Conversation Mode
SMS messages organized in folders: Inbox, Drafts, Templates, Outbox, Sent
Saving messages as drafts or templates
Search messages by sender's name and text
Character Counter
Reply, forward and delete messages
Forward and Reply via Mail
Insert Contact details and templates
Master password to restrict access to app
Turn on/off keyboard autoCorrection and autoCapitalization
Automatically request sent notification via notification code
Mark all messages as read
SMS alerts can be deactivated
 
BiteSMS is in a different category due to the fact that it doesnt use your carrier's SMS which is what most people are after.

What are people's verdict between the other two? Which one has the nicer interface and better feature set?

//doobi18
 
doobi18 said:
BiteSMS is in a different category due to the fact that it doesnt use your carrier's SMS which is what most people are after.

What are people's verdict between the other two? Which one has the nicer interface and better feature set?

//doobi18
Click to expand...

In biteSMS you can use biteSMS credits OR your carrier's SMS.
 
I personally LOVE iRealSMS and I believe it has the potential to easily trump the other two. That said, it is MUCH too slow in its current state to be very useful so I throw my own mix into it. Here is what I do.

After I download iRealSMS I make it the primary texting application. Then I use SBSettings to hide it. (Keeping default SMS on my dock) Everytime I receive a text message I receive the iRealSMS notification with a chance to quick reply, but if I choose to close it or access my text at any random time I use the default which is much faster.

This works for me because the most important thing about iRealSMS (for me) is the quick reply, not the landscape texting. If I want to forward a message or use one of the other features I can go into iReal and use it, but I don't have to put up with that slug every time.
 
doobi18 said:
BiteSMS is in a different category due to the fact that it doesnt use your carrier's SMS which is what most people are after.
Click to expand...

For newbies...While biteSMS can use biteSMS credits (which cost 10 cents each) to send messages, ALL incoming messages use your carrier. With ATT, if you aren't on a plan, you pay for each one.

Additionally, some carriers, like Verizon, can not Reply to messages sent using biteSMS credits.
 
MikePA said:
For newbies...While biteSMS can use biteSMS credits (which cost 10 cents each) to send messages, ALL incoming messages use your carrier. With ATT, if you aren't on a plan, you pay for each one.

Additionally, some carriers, like Verizon, can not Reply to messages sent using biteSMS credits.
Click to expand...

um you can still use bitesms to send text via your carrier.

also none of these apps OVERALL are good at all. i would vote for irealsms if it werent so god damn slow and useless. also when you receive a text while you're in landscape mode it appears all jumbled up.

i generally only use bitesms to forward messages.
 
MikePA said:
um, where did I say you couldn't? um.



If 'none of these apps overall are good at all', then why use them for anything?
Click to expand...

because the native sms app doesnt allow forwarding? the only time i open bitesms is when i need to forward something. thats about it. i wouldn't use it as a full time sms app. hopefully you understood this message.
 
For me the best one is biteSMS. It might not have a lot of features yet but the ones it has are well implemented, while keeping the UI simple and apple-like.
iRealSMS has quite a few bugs and UI issues, all of which I emailed the developer about and he never replied and never resolved those issues. With biteSMS you have a forum where you can discuss features and suggestions with the developers.
 
anjinhamarota said:
In biteSMS you can use biteSMS credits OR your carrier's SMS.
Click to expand...

w-w-w-wait, sorry to bump a somewhat old thread, but are you guys saying that I can use my AT&T phone number that people know to text people through an app?

does any such app exist, where i can give people my phone number to text me through a 3rd party app (not the iphone messages program)? does anything come close?

i only ask because the $15 for 1500 messages, on top of a $70 plan is simply too much to pay per month! however, i love to text and would love to keep my same number, only using data instead of texts. i don't mind if the app costs money at all.

thanks!
 
Since this got raised from the dead, I want to chip in with my two cents.

I use a combination of biteSMS, Tlert, and iblacklist. Tlert is the perfect message notification system - non-intrusive. The problem with the quick reply of biteSMS and irealquickSMS is that they still popup and get in the way, forcing you to respond right away. With Tlert's alert system, I can respond when I want, or close it out. (Plus it shows the contact's picture :)). If I do close it out instead of responding, I can then use the quick compose feature of biteSMS (although, I would like to use irealquick's, but I'm not paying $7 for it). Perfect combination. iBlacklist I use to block the native iPhone SMS popups from coming up at the same time as tlert's. Also, with Tlert, I can answer the text right from the lockscreen.
 
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