Hands-on with Sliding Messaging – A better way to text message [VIDEO]
If there’s one complaint you can make with Android, it’s that it can occasionally be inconsistent. Take Google Talk and the stock messaging app. 2 different apps that essentially do the same thing. Only one accesses manages your SMS messages, while the other handles your instant messages. But why do they behave so differently? Both have a list view to access conversations, but when inside a convo, I love the way Talk allows you to quickly swipe between conversations without having to go back to revisit the main list view. It may sound small — but why can’t the SMS perform in the same way? Well, now it does with Sliding Messaging.
The app is new to the Play Store and adds a new way of interacting with a messaging application more consistent with other Android apps. The UI follows Google’s design guidelines and looks almost no different from the stock Android messaging application.
The real difference lays in the way Sliding Messaging behaves. While in a conversation, you can slide between conversations with the swipe of a finger, same as on Google Talk. Nothing revolutionary, but messaging multiple friends and family has never been easier.
To get to your full list of conversations you wont have to deal with Android’s inconsistent back button. Simply swipe from the left edge of the screen and you’ll be presented with a full list of your convo’s. Grab the right side of the screen, and you can quickly compose a new text message. It’s glorious.
The app features a plethora of settings, to tailor the app to your tastes including a handy popup, for quickly answering SMS messages without exiting your current application and opening the messaging app. My only complaint is the app can be a little slow to load, whether it’s still in RAM or completely closed out. Keep in mind the app is still in its early stages, so there’s still room for improvement. The free version of Sliding Messaging wont give you access to MMS (picture) messages, that’s only provided in the $1 Pro version (same price as a Value Menu McDouble).
[Sliding Messaging on Google Play]