Category Archives: Mobile Messaging
Confusion surrounds Google Hangouts & SMS support
Perhaps our Indian & Israeli readers can help us out
Well Google certainly knows how to confuse the Hell out of this particular GoMo News hack. And in the case of its recent release of Google Hangouts, the company has really got us scratching our heads. Initially we were just trying to ascertain whether Hangouts already supported SMS as an alternative communications’ medium. No we’re trying to ascertain where Hangouts fits into the scheme of things. We can definitely say we’ve got Hangouts working but we also need the help of our Indian and Israeli readers to investigate if SMS/text is genuinely supported. Continue reading
Google lets slip intention to support SMS in RTC offering
Google Hangouts’ Dori Storbeck reveals it in Google blog
It seems that Google’s Google’s G+ community manager of Hangouts and Chat, Dori Storbeck, accidentally let the cat out of the bag over Google’s intention to roll out support for SMS within Google Hangouts here. She was actually trying to publicise the release of an iOS client for Hangouts here. Storbeck describes the move as an upgrade to Google’s Real-Time Communication product. Asked about support for SMS, Dori replied, “Yes, SMS integration is coming soon – it is one of our most requested features!” However, the blog was later edited to say,” Oops! We actually have nothing to announce at this time. My apologies.” Still, JF Sullivan, CMO with Acision, still believes Google’s inevitable move into SMS will have major repercussions. Continue reading
BlackBerry opens up BBM to Android & iOS
No mention of WP8 version, though
In a typical if-you-cant-beat-em-join-em approach, BlackBerry has just announced plans to make its IMS facility BlackBerry Messenger BBM available to iOS and Android users. That is, of course, if Apple and Google allow BlackBerry to upload the apps to their resxpecitive app stores. There’s no mention of a Windows Phone 8 (WP8) client, of course. One UK publication described BBM as the “rioters’ texting toool” because BBM proved to be the IMS of choice amongst London rioters. Other observers take the view that WhatsApp is likely to have the most to lose. However, GoMo News believes that it’s the mobile operators who are most in danger as a universal BBM could seriously dent their SMS revenues. Continue reading
SMS isn’t dead it just smells funny
Rating: Texting won’t be replaced by IM quite yet
JF Sullivan
GoMo News has just had a very interesting chat with JF Sullivan, CMO with Acision, which has just finished research into ‘real world’ usage of SMS/text. On paper, the good news for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) is that text isn’t dead by any stretch of [...]
BroadSoft says that MNOs are missing out on UC opportunities
Rating: Apparently people already know what unified communications offer
With the worries over security that have been generated by the introduction of BYOD (Bring Your own Device) rollouts, there’s been renewed interest in ‘unified communications’ (UC). That was the clear message GoMo News received from a cosy chat with Leslie Ferry, vp for marketing with BroadSoft. Over the years, the term unified communications has been frequently reinterpreted. However, Ferry was adamant that people understand what is meant by UC and are positive in their desire to achieve this. Moreover, Ferry argues that with their investments in LTE networks, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are strongly positioned to meet the UC needs of an increasingly mobile workforce. Continue reading
Dinamotxt puts SMS/text onto Android tablets
Rating: More like BlackBerry Bridge than Facebook Home
When the folks at Dinamotxt first contacted us about their app, they made mention of a similarity with Facebook’s forthcoming app. It wasn’t until after Facebook had launched Home for Android that we made the connexion and understood what Dinamotxt was going on about. Their app is for texting from Android tablets. Dinamotxt claims the app(s) solve serious issues associated with other apps in the category. For example, the company believes it is the first to give users a PIN to protect text privacy because tablets are often family devices. Nonetheless, Dinamotxt offers none of the tight messaging integration that Facebook Home app will eventually provide. Continue reading
Nokia S60 handsets capable of running whatsapp
Rating: Notice that the N73 is NOT on this list
Here at GoMo Towers we are constantly being asked the same question – mainly from our loyal readers in India and Asia Pacific. It is … Can the Nokia N73 run the popular messaging application app – whatsapp? No it can’t. If it could, then N73 owners could contact millions of other whatsapp users around the world. The bad news is that the N73 NOT on the list of Nokia Series 6 handsets which support whatsapp. We’ve reprinted the list of Nokia handsets which CAN run whatsapp below. You might be wondering why the N73 isn’t included but the N78 is, for example? Continue reading
Guest Post: Retargeting for mobile messaging
How an old marketing tool becomes new again
by Brendan O’Kane, CEO with OtherLevels
Imagine the following scenario: – you’re deploying an email campaign to promote a new product launch. You’ve crafted your messages and sent them out to several audience segments that are likely to be interested. The result: 40 per cent of customers who received the email make a purchase. But 60 per cent didn’t buy? Would you leave it at that? Certainly not! You would send them a follow-up email. Continue reading
Biggest challenge for BYOD is data security not phishing
Rating: Hospital recommends TigerText for doctors
Responding to a recent opinion piece from SpamTitan here, hospital professional, Trinity Shravner has written in to warn of the security dangers from BYOD, Trinty says, “I agree that in 2013 that social media will be the platform of choice for phishing attacks, but I think one of the biggest BYOD challenges will be data security and device control. Continue reading
Virtual telephone numbers will combine SMS & OTT
Rating: GigaOM Research & tyntec study identifies way forward
A study conducted by tyntec in association with GigaOM Research has identified virtual (telephone numbers) as the way forward for both OTT (over the top) messaging services and mobile operators offering SMS (text) based messaging. The research found that the number of IP-based messaging subscribers already surpassing SMS user numbers in 2012 and 1.8 billion users sending 15 trillion messages per year by 2016. But SMS isn’t dead because it is a vital medium in specific instances. Continue reading
Voxofon’s VoIP service overcomes the SMS gap
Rating: You can still send and receive texts from your featurephone mates
Here at GoMobile Towers we thought that the market for VoIP mobile apps was already overcrowded. However, it seems that Voxofon has come up with a bit of a new angle. It claims to have overcome the ‘SMS Gap’. Plenty of other VoIP apps allow their users to swap text messages (usually for free). But what happens when you come across a mate who is stubbornly sticking to his or her featurephone (and so can’t run Voxofon)? Voxofon has developed the technology to enable smartphone users to chat with non-smartphone users seamlessly at (obviously reasonable) VoIP rates. Continue reading
Twitter announces most retweeted winners for 2012
Rating: USA dominates but UK and Japan get mentions
When we spotted that Twitter had released the Golden Tweets for 2012 we were first intrigued, then disillusioned. The Golden Tweets are based on the number of times that an original tweet gets retweeted. What the results showed is that by far users in the USA dominate Twitter usage. However, Japan and good old Blighty (GB) get honourable mentions. The numbers are also intriguing. The Top Tweet garnered some 810,000 retweets. Yet those at the bottom scored only some 67,000 retweets and some 5,000 favourites. With a little bit of tweaking, therefore, mobile marketers could easily get themselves up the rankings in the Twittersphere. Continue reading
Revolutionary messaging app, ZMS, confuses GoMo
Rating: it’s nothing to do with SMS
When the authors of the ZMS app for Android and iOS , inZair, described the product as, “Set to revolutionise smartphone messaging,” – they managed to confuse us here at GoMobile Towers. We thought the product (because of the name) was revolutionising the text/SMS market. The blurb talked about ZMS users specifying the time and/or the location that recipients receive their text, picture, video or voice messages. Initially, we thought that would enable us to trigger an SMS when we reached a particular venue, for example. Sadly, this ability only applies to those with the app loaded and the app creates a ‘ZMS’ rather than an SMS or MMS. Continue reading
Guest Post: The power of messaging
Why it so important in today’s hyper-connected world
by Arnold Rijpma, vp for business development with Acision
This Summer [2012], over 400,000 people descended upon London to witness sporting history being made before their very eyes. Currently, with the Premier League and the Rugby Union in full swing, we can see that during truly global events, fans at home and abroad use their mobile devices to send text and picture messages of the action as it happens. Or they browse the internet to get the latest news and follow results. Although Facebook and Twitter are great ways of sharing instant snaps and statements publicly, SMS and MMS are widely used (and in demand) to share private thoughts and pictures between family and friends around the world. Continue reading
tyntec predicts markets for A2P SMS is set to explode
Rating: Developers using text to promote their apps
Mobile interaction service provider, tyntec, is predicting that the market for Application to Person (A2P) messaging is on the verge of exploding. In particular it says that the internet industry – and Silicon Valley internet giants in particular, extending email and social networking services with SMS especially into emerging markets. tyntec says that app developers and marketers are driving demand for A2P messaging, as they are increasingly looking at push messaging and SMS to drive downloads, engagement and to reactivate customers. Continue reading
