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This was sadly predictable. And according to the article, Google is making another app, a service that will not only depend on Google, but on carrier buy-in to

by so33 8y ago

This was sadly predictable. And according to the article, Google is making another app, a service that will not only depend on Google, but on carrier buy-in to a standard called "Rich Communication Services" as well. (https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-m...) From the article: > We can’t do it without these [carrier and OEM] partners. We don’t believe in taking the approach that Apple does. We are fundamentally an open ecosystem. I think I heard the same spiel for Google Talk nearly a decade ago. Am I a cynic for thinking Android Messages will suffer the same fate? Also - I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that Duo (the video messaging app) is fairly successful, according to Google's own metrics. I always did like Hangouts video chat; it was good at what it did.

mathw 8y ago
This is quite different, because Google Talk was a pure data thing, while RCS is something the carriers are going to be keen on. They're particularly keen to be able to sell RCS messaging access to businesses, lest those businesses who are currently buying SMS for things like notifying you when your parcel delivery is due or reminding you of your eye test appointment skip straight over the carriers and start sending people WhatsApp or Facebook messages instead. It could all fall over, and Apple don't seem to be giving any hints about if they'll be supporting it, but so far things are looking pretty promising for this technology. Disclaimer: I work for a company which is a Google partner developing business RCS services for exactly this kind of use case.