SMS Chat 1.25 - Much needed upgrade to SMS app in Windows Phone | Best Windows Mobile Games / Windows Phone Apps Review

Dec 30, 2009 Posted by Bishnoo in App Store, Communication | 4 comments

SMS Chat 1.25 – Much needed upgrade to SMS app in Windows Phone

Developer : VITO Technology

More Apps from this Developer : Click Here

iWindowsMobile Communication Suite Goodie Bag : Take a seat folks, ‘cuz this is in fact a review series of many products not one. A Mobile Shell UI, a contact manager, an SMS application, an SIP and throw in a weather manager for good measure – WHEW quite the mouthful.

VITO SMS Chat 1.25 – Threaded SMS, Group SMS and more

SMSChat

As new versions of the windows mobile OS keeps coming out we have see quite some changes like threaded sms, backup to cloud ( via myPhone ) etc but there are some app like the VITO SMS Chat which offers this features to the older versions of the OS like WM 5 with added features like smiley support, group / multiple SMS, templates etc. Read the full review to see if this app is worth the purchase.

The SMS chat app is another product bundled into the mobile communication suite that replaces the native sms application of WM. There are few upgrades over the base functionality that are pretty neat.

Upgrades
One of the primary upgrades is the ability to skin which goes with the overall theme of the communications suite set of products. We have the dark, bright and clear skins bundled with the app which make for pretty good viewing. Other than this we have multi-language support, templates and notifications support (that overrides WM notifications when the screen is locked with Winterface).

This also maintains a very good chat thread when compared to the native WM sms chat which sometimes tends to mess up the chat (especially if you have restored using PIM backup). We also noticed that when we tried to send an SMS to a contact from the contact manager it happily pulled in all the previous sms chats with that contact – this is well appreciated. WM typically displays a new sms window when we do this operation. The other function we liked a lot is the ability to backup messages from within the app without having to rely on an external app (well this IS one but that’s technicality!). This can be done through the options menu to backup and restore messages. It doesn’t give one the flexibility to save the file wherever we want but I’m sure that’s coming in the next version ( at least I hope they do )

Functions
This app functions pretty much the same as WM sms. Just that it provides a neat interface to do so. We have the list of sms chats in a separate window that drills into the individual chat conversation. Within the main window we can choose the skins and the option to display notifications (strangely this isn’t an option on FunContact – wonder why). The templates are quite limited as compared to WM but there is the option to add to the list as we like.

The other functions include adding recipients to messages, calling back senders, viewing and inserting contacts and inserting preset messages. All of this is laid out in a very finger friendly menu system with limited need to scroll – this we liked a lot. Smiley support is a welcome addition too. ( Plz note that the receiver will not see the graphical representation of the Smiley unless their phone is capable of parsing the smiley data , but you get to see the graphical representation of the smiley on your device using VITO SMS Chat )

Screenshot :

Pros

Finger friendly UI with good menu system
Simple operations very similar to WM
Quite a few upgrades over WM sms
Clear view of sms chat history
Skinning options
Loads faster than the previous version
Group SMS
Backup / Restore

Cons

Slow while loading as compared to native WM. Be sure to minimize the app if you use it frequently as loading takes lots of time
Menu system may take some getting used to
A bit Pricey

Possible Improvements

Faster Loading
Display of contact photos while displaying sms
As long as we are wishing .. how about emoji support ?
We would love to have the option to bring up menus by clicking and holding a contact/ call detail. Always having to go to the menu is a little bit of a drag especially since this functionality is already available on WM.

Tested On :

HTC Hermes

Windows Mobile App : SMS Chat

Price : 14.95

Version Under Review : 1.25

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Overall Rating:

SMS Chat comes with a price tag of $14.95 but the iWindowsMobile Communication Suite is only $24.95 and offer a lot more including the VITO SMS Chat app

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