Before I get started, I want to point out that I have been a major fan and supporter of Sliding Messaging since early January. It was a major step in the right direction for text messaging on Android, bringing a great mix of looks and functionality to a somewhat bland stock experience Google gives us. Last night, Sliding Messaging received a major update, bringing a completely “re-imagined” look for the entire app. 

Inside the update is a new card-based UI. As one reader put it, think Google Now. On the first page, you are shown your entire list of conversations, allowing you to swipe through cards of all your ongoing texts. Depending on how many people you text, this could either be great or a nightmare. If you hit on a single conversation in the list of threads, you are skipped to it, then can hit back to be returned to your messages. It’s neat, but is quite slow depending on how many texts you have.

So far, I have tried the updated version on a Nexus 4 and a RAZR HD, with much more luck performance wise on the Nexus 4. The RAZR HD can hardly handle the new card system, so unfortunately I had to disable it. I simply had too many cards for this poor phone to handle. Performance optimizations are something the dev will hopefully look into as the update rolls out and bug fix requests pour in.

In the meantime, go check it out and let me know what you think of the update.

Play Link ($0.99)

Cheers Derrick!

Sliding Messaging Updated, Brings New UI and Google Now-like Card Layout is a post from: Droid Life

Two of our favorite apps received updates within the last 24 hours that brings support for another favorite app of the moment, DashClock. Both PushBullet and Sliding Messaging now include extension support for the hottest lock screen widget of the year. In Sliding Messaging, you’ll see an unread message count that can be tapped to launch into the app. PushBullet’s extension shows the number of pushes you’ve made to your device along with a preview of your most recent push. When tapped, it launches into the list of recent pushes.

Other than DashClock support, Sliding Messaging brought in a new grey text color option, option to use Android Emojis, better handling of messages, speed improvements and bug fixes. PushBullet now plays your default notification sound when pushes are received and should have less bugs.

Any other new DashClock extensions that we haven’t seen?

Play Links:  PushBullet | Sliding Messaging Pro

Sliding Messaging and PushBullet Both Receive DashClock Support is a post from: Droid Life

Application updates are in the house. Today, we have the first major update of Carbon for Twitter, some minor fixes and additions for Flipboard, and of course, yet another update for Sliding Messaging.

To get the links and full changelogs for each update, check down below. 

Carbon for Twitter:

• Notification bug that crashed after tapping
• Repeat Notifications
• Notification bug that crashed app when Avatar couldn’t be loaded
• Retweeting, adding to Favorites, and Deleting tweets did not update Cache.
• Direct Messages Delete bug wasn’t saving changes
• Long press bug on Messages
• Composition Screen Account Selector bug
• User Profile Bio: tapping on Mentions & Hashtags bug.
• Timeline duplicated tweets on concurrent refreshes
• Compose bug that didn’t allow tweeting at 140 characters
• Verified & Private badges
• Quick mentions on Compose Screen

Flipboard:

• More bug fixes
• Now you can select “Save image to device” for any post with an image and it will be saved to your Gallery. Tap and hold on the post, or open the sharing menu to access this option.
• Resolved problem with retweet button
• Install size has been reduced

Sliding Messaging:

• More quick updates and some changes how notifications are displayed.

Now, if any of you have Sliding Messaging installed on your device, you have probably noticed that this app receives about one hundred updates a week. While I appreciate this speedy work of the developer, is it just me that gets somewhat annoyed when I have to update the same app several times a day? That could just be me. By no means am I actually frustrated, but I did feel like pointing that out.

Either way, go enjoy your updates.

Play Link: Carbon for Twitter | Flipboard | Sliding Messaging

Wednesday’s App Updates: Carbon for Twitter, Flipboard and Sliding Messaging is a post from: Droid Life

It has been way too long since I have gone out and interviewed a shining star in the Android community, so what better way to bring this series back then by reaching out to Jake Klinker, developer for Sliding Messaging. If you are unfamiliar with Jake’s work, it has been my officially unofficial app of 2013 so far, and for darn good reason. It is a messaging app, based of Google’s own that comes on stock Android devices, but with a new look and a ton of awesome features.

I know plenty of our readers have taken a liking to it, so I reached out to Jake to see if he would like to do a quick ten question interview for DL. He is a very active guy, currently in school, but is somehow making the time to create apps, answer people’s questions, and be there for the community. But enough of all this, welcome back to The Tato Series. 

Droid Life:  What’s your name and current occupation? (If in school, what’s your major?)

Jake:  Jake Klinker. I am currently a freshman at the University of Iowa studying computer engineering.

DL:  What interested you about developing for Android? How did you get started in developing?

Jake:  I got started developing in high school by taking a couple programming classes and I realized that it was something I had a natural talent for. I was always an Android guy, not a fan of Apple at all, so naturally I picked it as my platform of choice.

DL:  Is Sliding Messaging your first app?

Jake:  Sliding Messaging isn’t my first app, I’ve made a couple of others. One of them was for swimmers and converting times from yards to meters, and I also looked into making a game called Squarez. It wasn’t much of a hit though, but it made me really want to keep trying to see if I could create something useful that others would enjoy.

DL:  What’s the story behind Sliding Messaging? What did you not see in the stock app that you wanted in Sliding?

Jake:  Sliding Messaging really started when I saw the twitter client Falcon Pro. I loved the app and the navigation scheme, and I thought that was exactly how a messaging app should feel! It was a quick and easy way to switch between messages. A lot of people have told me that its a lot like the Google Talk app, but in reality, I’ve never used that app before and had never even seen it in action. The whole idea really all came right out of my head and into code.

DL:  Did you expect such positive feedback from the public for your app?

Jake:  To tell you guys the truth, I never planned on publishing the app at all. I really made it because I was bored over my Spring Break and put all of the base together over about a week. My brother convinced me to publish it and I sure am glad that I did. It seems that there are a lot of people out there who like the idea and that makes me happy! I never expected it to turn into much, just posted a quick thread on XDA and it took off from there. I was so surprised when I started getting all of the feedback and have been trying to fix most people’s issues since. Makes me happy to know that others are using it and enjoying it.

DL:  What can we expect in terms of the future of you and your apps?

Jake:  As for the future, I am doing my best currently to fix bugs and at the same time, adding new features that people are asking me for. Currently I’m working on adding a per contact notification system for even more customization. That’s a big feature that people have been looking for. After that, I will work on some speed optimizations as that is the main problem holding many back. For me, the app flies on my phone and its actually faster than the stock app. But for people with a ton of messages in their inbox, there have been some problems, so I would love to fix that for everyone. It actually may require an almost complete rewrite of the code, so that will take a lot of time, but it should be worth it. After that, I will begin working on MMS as long as I don’t get too many new requests and ideas that I like. Right now, the problem with MMS is that Google hasn’t done any support with it in the APIs, so I am having to look into the CyanogenMod messaging app and trying to figure out how it sends and receives MMS. That will be a very lengthy process, so I am saving it until I have more time. School has kept me very busy lately so I don’t have time to add big features like that.

DL:   If there was another app that you would want to tackle, what would it be?

Jake:  Right now, I’m not thinking about new apps, but when the time comes and I am happy with where Sliding Messaging is at, I may begin something else. What I really like to do is take Google apps (which in my opinion are really amazing looking apps), and emulate the look along with adding features to improve it.

DL:  Any words of advice for other young/new developers?

Jake:  For those of you starting out developing either in school or just for fun, just know that it can sometimes be very hard to get started, but there are so many people out there on the Internet willing to share knowledge. If you get stuck, Google it and chances are someone else has the answer. Google has done an amazing job of documenting APIs, so be sure sure to check those out when you have problems or get stuck. Use your resources and you will have a much easier time! I taught all of this stuff to myself and its paid off. Someday I hope to get a job doing this for a living because its what I love to do.

DL:  What’s your current phone?

Jake:  Right now, I’m using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but I recently bought two Nexus 4′s and I may be switching carriers away from Sprint so that I can use a GSM phone. Could never switch away from a developer phone now that I’ve used one for a while though.

DL:  Any last words for the Android community?

Jake:  I don’t like last words, makes me feel like you’ll never hear from me again and that’s not the way I like to leave things. Instead, I’ll close with this – expect lots of updates in the future! You guys that have paid for the pro version will always have priority on requested features and I will do everything I can to accommodate them! Thanks for downloading the app!

If you still haven’t checked out his app, you can grab it through Google Play for just $0.99.

The Tato Series Returns: An Interview With the Developer of Sliding Messaging is a post from: Droid Life

We love app updates. They’re refreshing, and when it’s a substantial update, it’s like you have a brand new app to play with. It’s a win win situation for everyone involved. This morning, three of our favorites have received some pretty noteworthy updates. One of our go-to Twitter clients, Hootsuite, now has a widget and bug fixes. Sliding Messaging supports the sending of a text to multiple contacts and more colorful emojis. And Minecraft got its major 0.6.0 update which brings a whole ton of features and fixes.

We have full changelogs down below! 

Hootsuite:

• Stream Widget can now be added for devices on Honeycomb or higher.
• Fixed skipping tweets in timeline due to retweets.
• Fixed cursor jumping in the Search box when using certain keyboards
• Fixed Scheduling AM/PM setting on ICS
• Fixed crashes and improved performance

Sliding Messaging:

• Much more colorful emojis
• Send Message to multiple contacts
• Screen wake option for notifications
• Separate limit conversations option
• Personal signatures
• Bug fixes & Minor UI changes

Minecraft:

Awaiting changelog for 0.6.0. Cheers @Daniel for catching that!

Play Link: Minecraft | Hootsuite | Sliding Messaging

Cheers Justin!

Hootsuite, Minecraft, and Sliding Messaging All Receive Updates in Google Play is a post from: Droid Life

It is always a good day for app updates. Today, we got some from Facebook, Notif, and Sliding Messaging. As with most Facebook updates, there is no changelog, but if and when they decide to post it, we will update the post. As for Notif, there are a few new settings/features such as keyboard popup settings, icon settings, and other little bug fixes. 

The one I am more concerned about is Sliding Messaging. No, there is still no MMS support, but the developer mentioned that these newest updates are preparing the application for that feature. Since installing this app, I have seen a constant stream of updates, which is fantastic. Today, there are some new options for contact photos, conversation limit options, link parsing, and date format options. It really is a great messaging alternative and once MMS is there, there is no doubt that this app will take off.

Go grab those updates!

Play Link: Facebook | Notif | Sliding Messaging

App Updates: Facebook, Notif, and Sliding Messaging Have New Features and Bug Fixes is a post from: Droid Life

Sometimes you come across an app that has that “wow factor.” I am pleased to say that Sliding Messaging has it. Based on the design guidelines of Android, this is the slickest text messaging app I have seen in some time. It is clean, minimal (naturally), and fluid. 

There are three columns – your inbox, each individual message, and then a compose column. Navigation is based purely through swiping to each one, which is what makes the application so gorgeous and easy to use.

Now, there are some things still missing, such as MMS support which is a deal breaker for some. It also doesn’t pair well with Google Voice. But, it does have a light and dark theme setting, Emoji support, quick reply popup which I have always been a fan of, plus it’s completely free on Google Play.

Try it out and let us know what you think down below.

Play Link

Cheers Tim!

Sliding Messaging is My Vote For The Future UI of Android Text Messaging is a post from: Droid Life