Mobliza 1.2 – answering machine for incoming texts on windows phone
Since cell phone carriers often include or offer unlimited SMS options for their plans, it’s natural for texting to be a big part of many people’s daily lives. Some people might even say that they text more than they talk when it comes to mobile communication. But what happens when you’re too busy to reply to a text message? Maybe you’re in a movie or at work with your boss breathing down your neck. Wouldn’t it be nice to set up an auto-reply for incoming texts when you know you’re going to be busy? Of course it would! Then people won’t think you’re brushing them off and you can keep them updated with what you’re doing, just as if you were using an instant messenger’s away message feature on your computer. These are some of the reasons why we’ve decided to take a look at Mobliza.
Mobliza is a handy app that plays the role of an auto-replying answering machine for your text messages. It will buy some time while you finish up whatever it is you’re doing at the time. It’s a tiny application and the interface is simple, but it has several useful features. There are basically three main features of Mobliza. These are labeled as “Mobliza,” “Auto,” and “Away.” The last feature is the most useful and probably the one you will be using the most, so let’s start with that.
Mobliza Away messages
When you launch Mobliza, it will start you off in the Away default screen. There’s a drop-down menu at the top which holds all of your saved away messages. There are 9 default messages available, but they can be deleted and custom messages can be added. Creating a message is easy. Simply think of a message, press the add button at the top of the screen, jot down the away message, and then press add again. Deleting messages is even easier because you simply press the minus button after highlighting one. After you select the message you want to use to auto-reply to incoming texts, you can check the box next to “away” to activate it. It’s that easy! So let’s say we choose an away message that says, “I’m in class until 10A.M.” When somebody texts you, it will log their message into a list on the default screen and then auto-reply with that away message. It’s all automatic and works perfectly, as long as you make sure to turn on the away feature. You can personalize auto-replies by including the date, time and sender name. All you have to do is add in a code for each (%d, %t, and %n). It uses the name that you have saved for that contact, so it could be a bad idea to use that last one if you’ve nicknamed some people some strange names for your enjoyment. I found this out the hard way when Mobliza called someone “SirTalksAlot”
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Mobliza Log
A subtle feature that I didn’t notice right away is that Mobliza will only reply once to each contact that sends you a text. That way they’re free to leave you as many messages as they want without having to get the same old auto-reply in return. Great thinking by the developer. Make sure to restart the app if you want all contacts to receive an auto-reply again though. The app will also allow you to reply manually from within the program using the “log” drop-down menu that’s located below your saved away messages. Simply select a contact that has sent you a message, fill out the message box below there, and then click “say.” It’s great having that feature for when you have a chance to squeeze in a quick reply.
Unfortunately, there are some downfalls of Mobliza. The other two tabs have potential, but they don’t work so well. The first, titled Mobliza, is like a game. You send it a message and it will try to converse with you with an auto-reply of its own. It reminds me of the auto-bots on instant messaging services, just not as advanced. I asked it to tell me a joke, which it did, but then it kept telling me the same joke over and over. Other times, it wouldn’t respond to a simple question. It needs some work, but it could be a fun addition once it’s overhauled.
The other disappointment is the “Auto” tab. This puts auto-replying to incoming texts in the hands of Mobliza. It will try to reply with its own message based on what texts it receives from our contacts. Again, I found that this didn’t work too well. The reply database seems like it needs to be enlarged. There also seems to be a bug where it would think it was getting a duplicate text each time a message arrived. And if someone sends the same message, the “smart” replying Mobliza will tell them to not to send the same message. There are some other bugs I noticed too. Mobliza has a notification sound that is set to on by default. If we’re using this app, chances are we’re busy and don’t want a loud sound to be played with each SMS. The bad news is that even if you set this to off, it will change back to on when you launch the app the next time. We expect this to be resolved with the next release.
Fortunately, the only feature most of us care about works nicely, which is setting up pre-defined away messages for incoming texts. It’s almost like have a personal secretary for text messages! There are even advanced features like white and blacklisting contacts. Simply add certain commands in the notes section of any contact and Mobliza will act accordingly. The interface of Mobliza is somewhat basic with no flashy graphics, but I’m not sure that’s important for its purpose. The design is spaced and big enough to use with your fingers, but we still hope it will be graphically improved in the future. It is a new year after all. All in all, Mobliza is a productive tool for anyone who loves text messaging. It replies quickly with automated messages to all your incoming texts and will log additional information for you to review when you’re finally available. With some small improvements, this app will go from good to great. It’s available on Windows Marketplace for Mobile and on the developer’s homepage for $1.99. We also want to point out that each purchase is good for life, regardless of how many times it gets updated.
Screenshot :
Tested on: HTC Touch Pro 2
Pros:
• Auto-replies to incoming texts quickly
• Can include contact name, date, and time with auto-reply
• Succeeds even when your device is put to sleep
• White and black listing features
• Low price
• Lifetime purchase
Cons:
• Works on WVGA, but seems to be formatted for VGA (unused space at bottom)
• Game and smart reply don’t work too well
• No trial
Possible Improvements:
• More modern interface would be nice even though it’s not important for an app like this
• Maybe an auto-timer for when to disable the auto-replying mechanism, like a scheduler
• X button closes the app for some devices, so an option to minimize in the sub-menu would be nice.
Windows Mobile App : Mobliza
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joshualouden
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PPCInformer
