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!
very handy and useful, I would love this feature.
how has Google not bought this yet?
Smooth so far on my Bamf’d Gnex. I’m liking it!
Holy crap I’m in the picture on the right!
I’ve got the paid version and i like the functionality, but the lags kills me. I just go back to stock JB Messaging. I send very important text to my boss and i can’t afford to have an app lag on me were it sends the text to someone else. which has happen.
Dear Google: Why doesn’t Google Voice look like this?
Yeah, this is seriously sexy…maybe Bable will?
I downloaded the Pro version but MMS group messaging won’t work for some reason. I attempted the preset APN’s but still no luck. Anyone having any luck with Verizon G-Nex?
After being tired of stock messaging apps and ones like handset, I really like this one. I do wish however one thing. I wish I could disable the contacts icon. I’ve been annoyed with the faceless man for contacts that don’t have a pic. But beggars can’t be choosers. Overall I really like it.
Runs smooth as butter on the N4
I am fan of the new look but miss the functionality of the old style.
Another new feature that wasn’t mentioned is you can change the font. I had super hexagon installed on my Galaxy Nexus and surprisingly it allowed me to use that font.
Here are my thoughts (Verizon GS3, stock 4.1):
I love this app, using the pro version currently.
The card layout is far too laggy to use. It’s very cool, and if it didn’t stutter I would most likely enable it.
The pro version does support group messaging, which works well, as least as well as VZ messages. Expanded JB notification options do not work for MMS, only SMS.
There are a bevy of notification, popup, and other common sense settings that many other messaging apps seem to lack. Only thing missing is contextual vibration. It’s either on or off depending on the global setting.
Overall, this is better than TW, handcent, gosms and VZ messages, in my opinion.
Performance is pretty bad on the RAZR HD compared to a Nexus. Some glitches too but overall great app!
I really hate that this developer sucked everyone in on the paid version, promising working MMS, and then instead half-asses it, and waits to release it later. Now it still barely works (even after setting it up on Verizon), and the app takes 5 sec to load each time on my Droid DNA. A phone this powerful should have no trouble with any app. He has been promising performance increases for quite some time now, and still has not delivered. Now, introduces a “card” like ui, that honestly is wasted on a text app. Cards are meant to hold larger amounts of info (a la Google Now) not a list of text.
I feel it’s just a shame that I bought it, and bought into a great idea with unfortunately, a guy that cannot back up that wonderful idea.
he delivers for my phone (Nexus) . Since you make it sound so easy, why don’t YOU try developing the app? I’m sure it is hard to make performance equal and stable on EVERY phone and he does release timely updates. Patience is key and MMS is very stable for me as well
The problem is though the developer keeps neglecting trying to improve performance and instead adds an entirely new UI to the app which for most slows their phone down instead. Any good developer knows to fix a problem before you move onto another thing. Otherwise, the problem you had when you started in the beginning is still there and sometimes requires developers to re-code everything to fix the problem they neglected.
Group MMS works flawlessly for me…
I agree. This app is awful. I finally ponied up and paid for it about 2 days ago thinking that the paid version would “work” better than the free version. I can’t get MMS to work (SGS3), it’s still super laggy (had to clear out my texts to get it to load in a decent amount of time), and half the time, no matter how many times I open and read a conversation, it still shows up as unread (highlighted) when I close the app and go back in. Too many bugs…the interface is nice and there aren’t any other holo-ish texting apps out there right now (which just blows me away) but there are still too many bugs to be usable on a daily basis…I’d be willing to pay even $2 or $3 for a good holo-looking sms app that works like the stock Android SMS app.
Has anyone seen the new google layout for their search for desktops? the one removing the black bar and adding the little cube on the right hand side?
(not this one:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSIMpFfNLEA )
I don’t txt enough to justify buying an app……just give me GTalk
Kinda busy looking, too many cards…
Lags to hell on the S3! Absolutely no speed problems on the classic view.
I like the new Card layout though I can’t use it until it’s more stable & fixes a few problems:
-Exiting Settings expands the keyboard
-Text-entry field in the Main Menu is useless
-I’d like the swipe functionality from “Classic” layout
Until then I’ll stick with “Classic” layout. Love it & MMS (Pics & Group Messaging) works great using the paid version.
really love this, just wish it wasn’t so buggy. MMS has to be the most stable app on the planet for me anyway. so far nothing beats stock aosp.
You said ‘major’ three times in one post. Subsequently, you have been pulled over by the adjective police.
Po po ain’t got nuthin on me
Lags on my S3. I like the idea, but can’t handle the lag.
It takes 3-4 secs to start, Please dev if you are reading, just do something about it!!
What device?
Galaxy R
To answer everyone’s questions.
Yes, it can do Group Messaging as an MMS
Yes, it can send/receive/save traditional MMS (pics/vids)
Running it on my GNex and the cards load up fine enough, but they kinda ruin the whole point of “sliding” messaging, as swiping thru just gets you to different conversations now instead of a far left swipe bringing a list of all convos. So while it’s nice to look at, i went back to the classic style, since that was the reason i started using it in the first place.
If you want to get to the list of convos, click on the arrow in the lower left hand corner.
defeats the purpose of “sliding”
Do you really get MMS pictures? I just get a really long box with no image or anything in it that if I click it, it opens the gallery to show it to me. I’ve always thought this was the “work in process” part of it until I saw the screenshots above.
I’ve seen this on the stock rom as well as some others (AOKP and some others).
Does is support MMS/group text yet?
Yes
Pro does, yes.
Tried the update on my Note 2 and its laggy with the cards. Love the app but the lag makes kills it for me.
Can it do group messaging yet? The kind where the entire conversation is in one thread?
You mean like it shows in the picture?
The Pro version can.
I would like to know this too. I had to dump the native Samsung S3 sms app for Verizon Messages. I love the way Verizon Messsages does group messaging and was hoping this app did it the same way. None of the example photos or video on the Play store show the app doing true group messaging.
Yes, it works as well as VZ messages.
Yes.
I do love the new look but I just wish he would keep the look and features and really focus on the bugs and other performance issues. It even lags on my quad core DNA! I am not a dev though so I can only complain so much, regardless it is a fantastic app and I’m excited where it’s going.
I tried this out for awhile when you first posted it here. It had a decent amount of bugs then. But I still liked it. Removed at some point during an restore of my phone and haven’t put it back on. Are most the bugs from say 4-5 months ago gone?
I keep revisiting the app, but have problems with it each time. Three days ago, I was in a thread that had my conversation with friend B, didn’t notice the title bar said friend A, and so thinking I was texting B it actually sent it to A. I just cannot have that in a messaging app.
If you’re running a Sense 5 rom on the HTC DNA, I wouldn’t bother. Unusable with the amount of lag. Unfortunate, cause I love this app!
Love the app, and its amazing to think this is coming from a college student!
Amazing