texting

Beeper Mini app brings iMessage to Android, blue bubbles included

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Beeper Mini messaging app
Beeper Mini may be the first app to reliably make Android users' text appear in blue bubbles on iPhone.
Photo: Beeper

Believe it or not, a 16-year-old high school student may have been the first to fully reverse-engineer iMessage and turn green Android text bubbles blue on iPhones with the new Beeper Mini app, released Tuesday.

The text messaging world is buzzing over it, wondering how it may avoid security pitfalls like other recent attempts to merge the two texting worlds — and puzzling over whether Apple may put a stop to this incursion into its “walled garden.”

How sneaky kids use AirPods to ‘talk’ in class

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fake AirPods talk in class
Totally legit Apple AirPods.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

When I was a kid, we communicated in class by writing notes on pieces of paper, and passing them to other kids. It was called “passing notes,” and is now probably taught in schools as an artisanal pastime, along with “going outside” and conkers. In 2020, kids use insane workarounds to avoid actual writing.

Today we’ll see how to “pass notes” using nothing but two $700 iPhones and two $160 pairs of AirPods.

Apple software boss explains why you can’t schedule iMessages

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iphone
Do you wish you could draft texts to send out later?
Photo: Apple

One of the most-requested productivity features for iMessage probably won’t be added in an iOS update anytime soon.

A Reddit user recently posted an email exchange he had with Apple VP of software Craig Federighi asking for a scheduled iMessage feature for iPhone and iPad. Federighi revealed that Apple has actually considered and is still considering the feature. However, there are a couple of issues with how scheduled iMessages are received that has caused Apple to hold back on the idea for now.

Read Craig’s explanation of why it hasn’t been added yet:

Facebook could merge WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger by 2020

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Facebook messaging apps
Mark Zuckerberg was to integrate Facebook-owned, Instagram, WhatsApp and messenger.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook will merge its messaging apps, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, by 2020 under a new plan ordered by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Under the plan, the three apps will remain separate but integration would allow an Instagram user to directly chat with someone on Messenger.

Microsoft Your Phone app lets your PC and iPhone work better together

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Microsoft Your Phone
With Microsoft Your Phone, your iPhone's text messages and notifications can appear on your PC.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft unveiled an app today designed to allow Windows users to  show the text messages and notifications from their smartphone. Plus, Your Phone will make moving images between phone and PC easier.

Also at its Build 2018 developer conference, the company announced that the new Windows Timeline is coming to  iPhone and iPad.

Cameras might soon bust drivers who use iPhones

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Cameras look for distracted driving
Cameras will be looking for distracted driving in Australia. The U.S. can't be far behind.
Photo: NYPost

Cameras that automatically give tickets to speeders are old news. So are red-light cameras. Now Australia is exploring using cameras to ticket motorists who are on their cell phones while driving.

Australia might become the first country to legalize using photographic evidence alone to enforce distracted driving laws.

First mobile phone call made 45 years ago today

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First mobile phone call re-enacted
Martin Cooper uses a Motorola DynaTAC 8000x to re-enact the first cell phone call.
Photo: Wikipedia

A historic milestone occurred April 3, 1973: the very first call on a mobile phone. It was the phone equivalent of landing on the moon.

But that call wasn’t an inspirational message — some equivalent of “a giant leap for mankind.” Nope, Martin Cooper, who headed up Motorola’s team developing the cell phone, called Joel Engel, his equivalent at AT&T’s Bell Labs, to brag that his company had won the race to produce a working device.

Apple sued after driver gets hit by iPhone texter

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Messages iOS 10
Texting while driving caused a car crash.
Photo: Apple

Apple is being sued for something it didn’t do, by a car crash victim who claims Apple has the technology to stop iPhones working while drivers are behind the wheel — but fails to implement it.

The driver in question, Julio Ceja, was rear-ended by another motorist who was distracted while texting on their iPhone.

New iMessage hack lets you crash friends’ iPhones via text message

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iPhone
It's really easy to crash other people's iPhones.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A new nefarious text message has been discovered that has the power to completely crash iPhones, even those running the latest version of iOS 10.

Instead of using infected links or weird text like previous iMessage hacks, this new one allows attackers to disable a person’s Messages app by simply sending a large contact file. When iPhone users tap on the file, it’s so big and complicated that it overloads the CPU and crashes the app.

Watch the hack in action:

Lonely red balloon stars in Apple’s new iPhone 7 ad

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Meet the star of Apple's new ad.
Meet the star of Apple's new ad.
Photo: Apple

Apple has been quick to tout all of its amazing new hardware in its iPhone 7 ads, but the company’s latest spot is all about software. And balloons.

The new expressive messaging features of iOS 10 take the spotlight in Apple’s new ad that features a lonely red balloon drifting across the globe before meeting up with hundreds of its balloon friends to throw an iMessage party for one special person.

Check it out:

iMessage may be about to cross the Android divide

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Your Android friends may soon get blue chat bubbles too.
Your Android friends may soon get blue chat bubbles too.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s iMessage platform may soon be available on products that aren’t designed in Cupertino.

iMessage is set to get its first-ever app for Android, according to a new report citing a “source familiar with the company’s thinking.” If so, it sounds like it could spell trouble for Facebook Messenger and Google’s new messaging app, Allo.

Google says hello to Allo, goodbye to Hangouts

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"'Allo, guvna!" Google's new messaging app is obviously British.
Photo: Google

Watch out Facebook Messenger, Google is taking another stab at messaging with its newly revealed app called Allo.

Does the world really need another messaging app? Probably not. But Google is hoping that it has finally created the perfect mix of features that will make you ditch Snapchat and Facebook.

Microsoft’s one-handed iOS keyboard goes beta

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Word Flow iPhone
Word Flow for iPhone is no more.
Photo: Microsoft

Typing on your iPhone with one hand is about to get a whole lot easier thanks to good samaritans at Microsoft that have invented a custom keyboard for iOS.

Microsoft revealed today that its latest iOS app, Word Flow, just entered the beta testing phase. The new keyboard (which is different than the Hub keyboard introduced last week) brings some of Windows 10’s best typing to iOS users like the ability to swipe out words, and intelligent word prediction to go with its dead simple one-handed mode.

Take a look:

University adds dedicated texting lane for students on the move

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Don't stray into the wrong lane.
Don't stray into the wrong lane.
Photo: Inside Higher Ed

You know mobile devices have hit a certain critical mass when universities start adding walking lanes designed to stop texters from accidentally colliding with non-texters.

That’s exactly what happened to a staircase at Utah Valley University’s Student Life and Wellness Centre, with one staircase being home to dividing lines splitting students into “walking,” “running” and “texting” lanes.

Cloe is Siri with a human touch — and a life

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Cloe, a concierge service that  provides recommendations and answers to texted requests, is currently working her magic in two major cities. Photo: Meet Cloe
Cloe, a concierge service that provides recommendations and answers to texted requests, is currently working her magic in two major cities. Photo: Meet Cloe

New app Cloe is a dutiful concierge service you can text to request a good jazz club or microbrewery and get an informed, cheery response in a minute or less. Think of the mad research skills of Siri with the personality of Samantha, the AI operating system from the movie Her.

Need a tailor? Cloe may ask if you need a custom shirt made or just a button sewn on a jacket before she sends you a recommendation based on where you are standing at that very moment.

Bindle takes the suck out of group messaging

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New group-messaging app Bindle feels your pain. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
New group-messaging app Bindle tries to un-suck the group messaging experience. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Chris Toy was an Everquest geek in the early days, playing the addictive open-world video game somewhat obsessively.

It wasn’t slaying the monsters or leveling up that really motivated Toy, but the social aspects of the game.

“I was honestly pretty isolated,” the Hong Kong native told Cult of Mac by phone, “and talking to people via Everquest or World of Warcraft felt better than talking to real people.”

That’s when he realized that being able to text chat with other people wherever they were was the future of messaging, and perhaps even communication itself. Fast-forward to now, and Toy and a high-tech team living in San Francisco have created Bindle, a new group-messaging app designed to create this very same future.

Time-delay app buffers you against awkward texts

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New messaging app On Second Thought allows time to reconsider before a message reaches its destination. Screen grab: On Second Thought
New messaging app On Second Thought allows time to reconsider before a message reaches its destination. Screen grab: On Second Thought

Maci Peterson made a Christian man blush with a text message she sent to plan a first date.

“I wanted to know where to meet, D.C. or Maryland,” she told Cult of Mac. “So I typed, ‘Are you in DC or MD?’ and AutoCorrect changed it to, ‘Are you in D.C. or Me?’ I was so embarrassed.”

Peterson recovered and hopes she is on the verge of saving us all from stumbling fingers, drunken texts and the bewildering algorithms of AutoCorrect. Her new app, On Second Thought, launches this week for Android devices with a version for iPhone users due out early next year.

Dirty emoji make sexting simple (NSFW)

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Sexting made visual with the help of Flirtmoji. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Sexting gets visual with Flirtmoji. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With packages of dirty emoji filed under group headings like Teen Dream and Fetish 101, the artistically perverted designers at Flirtmoji are ready to help the masses up their sexting game.

Anatomically correct emoji, plus classic icons of the sexual revolution such as the rainbow flag and a banana wearing a condom, will make it easy for you to make yourself perfectly clear.

This fun app sends emoticons as big as your feelings

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Screenshots: Cult of Mac
I'm feeling a bit Rocky Horror, here. Screenshots: Gina Pell/LOLy

Tired of being stuck with tiny little Emojis?

Well, the developer for new app LOLy has the solution: huge, animated emoticons that you can send to friends via text message, Facebook, or email. You can also just copy them and send along to any other text-accepting app, like Twitter, Kik, or Whatsapp.

The images are cute and fun to send, and once you’ve used the images included with the free LOLy app, you’ll want to grab a couple more packs for $0.99 each.

“I primarily designed this app for women with a focus on the 30s-50s demographic,” says app developer Gina Pell. “I had a hunch that most emoji were geared towards teens and lacked the sophistication, style, or wit that my friends or I would find interesting.”

How to master Messages in iOS 8

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Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Tons of new features make iOS 8's Messages app more powerful than ever. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I’ve pretty much become a full-time texter these days, using Apple’s Messages app on my Mac and iPhone to send iMessages (to friends and contacts who use iOS or OS X) as well as regular text messages (to people outside the Apple ecosystem).

iOS 8 brings great new changes to the mobile version of the Messages app, some of which might not be immediately apparent. Here’s a look at the new features and how best to use them.

How To Replace Text Emoticons With Emoji [iOS Tips]

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shortcuts1

Sure, you use the Messages app to send along SMS and iMessages all day long. You know how to use Emoji’s, too, with a tap on the international keyboard button on your iPhone.

I bet you even use regular text emoticons, like semi-colon and parenthesis to create a wink, or colon and parenthesis to create a smile.

But have you ever tried to have your iPhone turn your text-based emoticon into an Emoji? I bet you haven’t.

React Messenger’s Zaniness Is Half FaceTime, Half iMessage [Daily Freebie]

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react-messenger-1

 

Sarcasm doesn’t travel well over text message — and I can say that through bitter experience. I’ve probably come close to being slapped, dumped, kicked in the crotch, fired, and/or run over by a riding mower because of some sarcastic text I’ve sent that was misconstrued as mean when it was supposed to be hilarious.

Or so I’ve imagined; I have no real gauge, because in each instance I couldn’t actually see the reaction on the face of the recipient. At least one of the developers behind React Messenger must have faced the same problem, because they’ve come up with a solution that snaps and sends a quick, expressive selfie along with each text.