BlackBerry Messenger will be iPhone-only at launch

By Christian Zibreg on May 17, 2013

If you’ve been looking to enjoy BlackBerry’s upcoming Messenger app on your iPad, bad news. Blackberry’s software portfolio chief Vivek Bhardwaj tells Trusted Reviews that the app will only target the iPhone and Android smartphones, at least initially. Although he wouldn’t ruled out the possibility of an iPad edition down the road, he didn’t specifically mention it either.

That’s hardly surprising given BlackBerry’s lackluster PlayBook tablet and the firm’s general failure in the tablet space, though it’s hard to escape the feeling that BlackBerry Messenger for iPad would make sense for the business types who’ve come to depend on their Apple tablet for work… Read More

 

Try Google’s new Hangouts app now

By Christian Zibreg on May 16, 2013

Previously code-named Babel, Google yesterday announced its new cross-platform unified messaging product called Hangouts. Shortly after, the software surfaced on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play store for Android.

In replacing Google Talk, Hangouts supports one-on-one and group chatting across desktop, Android and Apple devices and includes photos, emoji, and video calls.

In a nutshell, the app integrates messaging from Google’s GTalk, Google+ Messenger, Hangouts and Voice products. But that’s just scratching the surface as Google obviously has big plans with the product… Read More

 

Google unveils new unified ‘Hangouts’ messaging service for iOS, Android

By Cody Lee on May 15, 2013

Google’s I/O keynote is still ongoing, and the company just unveiled a major new service: Hangouts. Originally rumored to be called ‘Babel,’ Hangouts is a cross-platform messaging system that will take the place of Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, Google+ Hangout video chat, and pretty much everything else.

It’s basically a messaging app, in the same vein as WhatsApp or Kik, offering synchronized chat across virtually all of your devices. Google has mixed in a lot of its own personal flavor though, building in the ability for users to go back through their chat history, delete messages, and even grab files from past conversations… Read More

 

BlackBerry confirms BBM is coming to iOS and Android this summer

By Christian Zibreg on May 14, 2013

In a better-late-than-never announcement, Canada-based BlackBerry today posted a surprising announcement confirming it will be bringing its BlackBerry Messenger platform to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platform. Yes, BlackBerry’s killer app won’t be exclusive anymore.

BlackBerry’s move comes amid consolidation in the instant messaging space. Two increasingly popular services, Viber and WhatsApp, recently passed 200 million users each.

With iMessage pretty much ruling the messaging game on iOS devices and Google’s rumored unified chatting platform dubbed Babel expected soon, it is no surprise that BlackBerry Messenger will be available to mobile users who don’t use BlackBerry devices… Read More

 

Apple orders messaging app ‘Line’ to remove paid virtual gifts

By Cody Lee on May 10, 2013

Apple’s app approval team has seemingly been on a warpath lately, pulling popular titles like AppGratis from the App Store without much warning or explanation. It’s clear that the company is in the process of revamping some of its policies.

Case in point, LINE, a popular free messaging app, was forced by Apple to remove one of its key features today. Per company orders, the developers had to eliminate the ability for its users to purchase and send sticker sets as gifts to friends… Read More

 

Viber hits desktop, iOS app gains video chat, live call transfer, new stickers and more

By Christian Zibreg on May 7, 2013

Viber, the popular instant messaging service and WhatsApp’s chief rival, has fallen behind a bit in the past year or so. Not only did WhatsApp take the lead – the service claims to handle an astounding eighteen billion messages every day – but the search monster Google is getting ready to unify its many chat services under a new Bable IM brand.

Small wonder then that Viber in a major move on Tuesday announced a brand new desktop application for Mac and Windows PCs. Available as a free download from the Viber’s web site, Viber for Mac lets you send free messages as well as make free calls to other Viber users.

The much-welcomed software release now enables one to keep their communication in sync across mobile and desktop devices because in addition to desktop, Viber is now available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Nokia and Bada platforms.

Moreover, Viber – which was founded by American-Israeli entrepreneur Talmon Marco – has revamped its mobile iOS/Android client with video messages, an improved voice engine said to help improve call quality and lots more. Go past the fold for an introductory video and more tidbits… Read More

 

Facebook Messenger updated with Stickers, swipe-to-delete

By Christian Zibreg on May 6, 2013

The social networking giant Facebook today issued an update to its standalone Messenger app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Facebook Messenger version 2.4, available now, has brought out the popular Stickers feature that was rolled out nearly a month ago in the major Facebook iOS client update. And if Stickers are getting on your nerves, perhaps the reappearance of the swipe-to-delete functionality is just what you needed all along? I’ve included a few more tidbits right below… Read More

 

Google’s new Babel chat platform includes ‘first class iOS experience’

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 19, 2013

More details are trickling in on what to expect of Google’s upcoming unified messaging platform called Babel. Google’s internal documentation and code snippets discovered Wednesday indicate the Babel thing will support media transfers during chat sessions and group chatting ability. More importantly, the service will be available as a native app on both Apple’s iOS and Google’s own Android platform.

Of course, Babel is also going to be available on the web, as a Chrome web app and inside Gmail. The upcoming messaging platform should solve Google’s instant messaging conundrum that confuses users with nearly a doze different chat service that include Talk, Gmail, Google+ Hangout, Google Voice and Chat for Drive.

Even if way overdue, Babel will unify Google’s many messaging platforms into a single service. The Internet giant is likely to formally announce Babel at its upcoming Google I/O conference, which runs May 15-17 in San Francisco… Read More

 

Facebook 6.0 arrives with Chat Heads, new iPad UI, revamped News Feed, stickers

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 16, 2013

As promised, the new Facebook version 6.0 update has just dropped on the App Store, bringing out a number of new features such as Chat Heads borrowed from Facebook Home for Android, a redesigned user interface on the iPad focused on the new News Feed which was announced in March, stickers in chat windows and more.

Get downloading and read the following one-line disclaimer from Facebook before you jump straight to the comments:

“Chat Heads and stickers will be available to everyone over the next few weeks”.

There, it’s a staggered roll-out, you’ve been warned… Read More

 

Chat Heads coming to iOS later today via Facebook 6.0 app update

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 16, 2013

Chat Heads, the core feature of the new Facebook Home for Android, is coming to iPhone and iPad via an update to Facebook’s iOS client, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer and mobile head Cory Ondrejka announced at AllThingsD’s D: Dive into Mobile conference today.

Other new features have also been mentioned, including a new layout on iPad which takes into account March changes to Facebook’s News Feed.

As for Facebook Home, that application will see its first update on select Android smartphones from HTC and Samsung in “the second week of May”. Go past the fold for a nice Facebook 6.0 for iOS hands-on video… Read More

 

Swipe between conversations with MessageSwiper

By Jeff Benjamin on Apr 14, 2013

MessageSwiper is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to quickly switch between ongoing conversations in the Messages app using swipe gestures. You can cycle through conversations via left and right swipes to instantly go forward or backwards through your various message threads.

This is an extremely simple tweak that focuses on one particular area and does a commendable job of doing so. I do wish there was a swipe animation implemented when switching between message threads, but according to the developer, that’s due in an upcoming update. Read More

 

Messages: a compromise between biteSMS and the stock Messages app

By Jeff Benjamin on Apr 11, 2013

If you already listened to our latest episode of Let’s Talk Jailbreak, then you know that Sebastien and I discussed jailbreak tweaks for the Messages app. We talked about biteSMS, Messages+, iRealSMS, and the like. We talked about these tweaks as we discussed the validity of a new tweak, simply called Messages, and whether or not it was worth the investment.

At the time, neither of us had really put any hands-on time into the tweak, although Cody has given it a shot and seemed to like it. On the show, I promised that I would check out the tweak and provide my two cents, and that’s just what I did today. Read More

 

WhatsApp says Google acquisition rumors are false

By Cody Lee on Apr 9, 2013

The internet was set ablaze last weekend with rumors that Google’s close to acquiring the WhatsApp team and its popular messaging app. One report claimed that negotiations went on for several weeks, and a deal was finally reached for $1 billion.

Not so fast. According to a new report, the two companies aren’t even holding talks right now, let alone discussing a buyout. WhatsApp’s business development head Neeraj Arora told AllThingsD last night that the Google acquisition rumors are false… Read More

 

Two years later, DEA learns the government can’t break into Apple’s iMessage

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 4, 2013

Apple’s iMessage platform has gone through its share of teething problems, ranging from issues related to iOS devices continuing to send and receive messages, even after being remotely wiped and having their SIM cards deactivated, to iOS saving deleted iMessage attachments to a recent exploit which involved denial of service attacks leading to a series of spam messages crashing the stock iOS Messages app. Although unpleasant and worrying, these problems are mostly localized.

When it comes to government surveillance, however, iMessage is bullet proof and the agile government, of course, has only recently become aware of this. According to an internal document from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), instant messages exchanged between iOS users through the iMessage platform are “impossible to intercept” due to strong iCloud encryption… Read More

 

Make calls instantly from the Messages app with RaiseToCall

By Cody Lee on Mar 21, 2013

I don’t really make phone calls anymore these days. But when I do, they almost always originate from the Messages app. You know the drill—you tap the Status bar to scroll to the top of the conversation, and hit the ‘Call’ button.

While most folks, including myself, don’t find this two-step process at all troublesome, the jailbreak community seems to always be asking the question “how can I do this quicker?” And the answer to that question today, is RaiseToCall… Read More

 

WhatsApp to bring subscription model to iOS this year

By Cody Lee on Mar 20, 2013

WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform messaging service, is going to be bringing its subscription model to iOS this year, according to CEO Jan Koum. Koum recently spoke with a Dutch news outlet about the company’s near-term plans.

Currently, iOS users can download WhatsApp for a one-time fee of $0.99. In the new model though, which it already uses on other platforms like Android and Windows Phone, the app will be free, with users having to pay an annual fee… Read More

 

Facebook Messenger improved with updates to group chats

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 6, 2013

Facebook has just updated its Messenger iOS app with a few new features and “other improvements and bug fixes.” The new Facebook Messenger version 2.3 is all about enhancements to group conversations, says the social networking behemoth. It contains one feature I’ve been yearning for ever since the program’s debut on the iPhone: you can finally name a group by tapping on the top of your active conversation.

And just like Facebook’s main iOS client (and a growing number of other third-party apps for the Apple platform, for that matter), you can now get to your active group conversations by swipe left, which reveals them in your sidebar. I’ve included a few screenies along with other nice tweaks right after the break… Read More

 

Facebook launches free or discounted Messenger access in 14 countries

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 25, 2013

Facebook on Sunday announced a new promotion that will allow users of Messenger for iOS and Android to exchange instant messages for free or at heavily discounted data rates in select international markets. Partnering with more than eighteen operators in fourteen international markets, the social networking giant said Facebook for Every Phone, basically a bare-bone service for feature phones that is now optimized for chat, is also included in this promotion.

The move arrives just after the company flipped the switch on the in-app VoIP calling feature in its mobile client for iOS and Android devices. Facebook first rolled out VoIP calling in Canada earlier this year, and some parts of the US, via the Messenger app… Read More

 

Quick Reply for Viber now available in Cydia

By Mike Schnier on Feb 5, 2013

Are you a fan of the BiteSMS jailbreak tweak, but prefer using services other than iMessage or SMS to send texts to your friends? Back in June, Delicious Inc. released Quick Reply for WhatsApp; which essentially brought BiteSMS’s quick reply pane to WhatsApp’s notifications. Today, on the heels of the release of the evasi0n jailbreak, the developers behind BiteSMS bring a similar tweak to Viber in iOS 5 and iOS 6.

Viber is another cross platform messaging app that allows users to make free calls, as well as send texts and photos. The original app works between iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Nokia, and Bada. It’s a free alternative platform that is compatible with every major smartphone on the market. Viber is growing in popularity, so it’s ripe for a jailbreak tweak of its own… Read More

 

New report claims WhatsApp Messenger violates privacy laws

By Cody Lee on Jan 28, 2013

WhatsApp Messenger is a wildly popular cross-platform SMS replacement service. It allows you to group chat and send media files to other users, and it’s estimated to have in upwards of 300 million users.

Well if you’re one of those 300 million users, you might be interested to know that according to a new report, the app violates international privacy laws due to the way it handles Address Book data… Read More

 
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