Our little Android devices can do almost as
much as some PCs, but it’s easy to forget that your smartphone is still a
phone at heart. And with all the instant messaging services available
for you to communicate, sometimes text messaging gets put in the
backseat to the more robust features of something like Google Talk.
Being able to keep up a conversation across multiple devices is
incredibly handy, and it’s often much easier to type on a full computer
keyboard as opposed to a smaller smartphone keyboard.
Using instant messaging isn’t without it’s
flaws, however. If you have friends that all use different IM services,
or friends without smartphones, it can be difficult to keep up with all
of them in different programs and browser tabs on your desktop, and in
the case of messaging someone without a smartphone, you’ll have to use
your phone to send traditional text messages anyway. With this guide,
we’re going to get into a few different apps that add many of those
instant messaging features to your SMS text messaging, including being
able to send texts from different devices and syncing conversations
across devices.
DeskSMS
DeskSMS is an application developed by
Koush, who’s also responsible for a handful of other extremely useful
Android applications, like Carbon, which we’ve discussed as one of the best ways to backup your phone data.
The premise of DeskSMS is simple; you link your phone to your Google
account, and sign into a website (or browser extension) with your Google
account, and you immediately have access to your SMS logs and can
freely send and receive texts, all from the comfort of your full-sized
keyboard.
DeskSMS is great for a number of reasons.
First, it’s simple to set up, and simple to use. Sending texts is just
like opening up an app on your phone, typing away, then hitting enter to
send the text. The devices don’t need to be connected to the same WiFi
network or through Bluetooth. As long as they’re tied to the same Google
account, you’re in business.
Second, DeskSMS offers many ways to send
text messages. Want a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox? No
problem. Would you rather use a website? You can do that. Maybe you want
your texts to link into your Google Talk account or Gmail account? You
can do that, too. Possibly the coolest feature of DeskSMS is text
forwarding to Google Talk (or any third party IM application that
supports Talk), so you can essentially turn a text conversation into an
instant messaging conversation without the other person doing anything
differently. Koush also offers a TabletSMS app, which syncs and pushes
your text messages to any tablet with the app installed. Of course, you
may not even need to do that if you’re using the Google Talk or Gmail
forwarding, but we’re never going to complain about having more options.
DeskSMS itself is free, but the service
costs $4.99 per year. Of course, for the convenience of being able to
send text messages from any internet enabled device, it’s definitely an
app worth passing up on coffee one day for.
MightyText
SMS Text Messaging ↔PC Texting
from MightyText is similar to DeskSMS. It’s an easy to use, free app
that syncs SMS from your phone onto your computer or tablet. It works
very similarly to DeskSMS by syncing through your Google account, but it
does also offer a handful of extra features, like the ability to see
your phone’s battery level and see who is calling you on your phone
before answering. It also lets you securely back up your SMS and even
MMS messages to MightyText’s servers, which is handy for extra data
backup. MightyText also offers tablet texting via an extra app just like
DeskSMS. Plus, there’s no monthly or yearly service charge to pay for
here.
MightyText is extremely functional, but it
is a bit more bloated than DeskSMS. If you’re looking for all the extra
features, you’ll definitely want to give this app a shot. Below is the
main app to download, and the companion tablet app. You’ll only need the
tablet app if you want to text message from your tablet.
Tablet Talk
If you’re not much on communicating on your
computer, and it’s more about the tablet for you, then Tablet Talk might
be the way to go. It’s more lightweight than either of the first two
options and doesn’t need to latch onto your Google account to make
things work.
Essentially, Tablet Talk tethers your tablet
and your phone together, either through a WiFi network or Bluetooth.
Once connected, Tablet Talk becomes a fully functional SMS application
for your tablet and automatically syncs up with your phone messages. It
also adds in the ability to make phone calls through your tablet, which
neither of the other options can do. While holding a tablet up to your
face isn’t practical, if you use a Bluetooth headset and would prefer to
do everything through your tablet, this is a great option.
Tablet Talk is very functional, and there’s
only one app you need to install. It automatically detects if it’s
installed on a phone or tablet and sets up accordingly. And if you’re
into extreme customization, there’s plenty of themes for Tablet Talk in
the Play Store.
Verizon Messages
If you’re a Verizon customer, you have access to a solution for cross-device text messaging
through your Verizon phone number. Their Verizon Messages application
is a simple way to enable that functionality; install the app and link
up your Verizon phone number and you’re good to go. You can use the app
on your PC or tablet and see up to 90 days of saved messages, and freely
send and receive SMS.
The Verizon app also has a few other unique
features, like the ability to set up an auto-reply, report spam
messages, full group messaging support, and even a widget with a badge
counter for unread messages. It’s definitely a robust app, and if you’re
already a Verizon customer, this one is definitely worth checking out.
These are three extremely simple-to-use apps
to enable text messaging across multiple devices to help SMS keep up
with instant messaging. A few OEMs do offer this functionality through
other services on their products, (Samsung’s KIES software comes to
mind) but in many cases, it’s easier to pick your own software
for compatibility and flexibility. Are there any apps you use that
didn’t make the list?
source: talkandroid.com
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