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[Official] Let's discuss the new Hangouts App!

Digital Controller

Digital Controller

The Real Bass Creator
Hey guys, I wanted to start a thread about the new hangouts app!

It's pretty awesome and works, well should work, on every device :)

You can download the new APK here: Download: Hangouts 2.0.012 With SMS Integration – Droid Life

I have been using it now for most of the day and I have to say I love the integration and the app much more reminds me of the smoothness of the Android operating system. Not like the typical messaging app.

I love how this also can give me options to switch between SMS texting through my carrier, and also wifi texting with hangouts. I really think Google made a smart decision here.

Tell me what you guys think of the app :)

Pics:
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Screenshot_2013-10-31-17-24-59.png
 
It would be interesting if it was integrated with Google Voice but that is supposedly coming next year. VOIP is also next year :-(.
 
My problem is that on the stock android messenger, i have the font size set to full so i can see it without glasses. Cant do that on Hangouts.
Its a pity because id love the intigration.... like when i used to get my fb msgs sent to sms :D
 
fdbryant3 said:
It would be interesting if it was integrated with Google Voice but that is supposedly coming next year. VOIP is also next year :-(.
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Oh man, that is such an awesome idea and would be stoked to see that come to android. :)

Everything in one place, that is probably what google wants to achieve.

funkylogik said:
My problem is that on the stock android messenger, i have the font size set to full so i can see it without glasses. Cant do that on Hangouts.
Its a pity because id love the intigration.... like when i used to get my fb msgs sent to sms :D
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If you go into your display settings can't you change the text to large? That should change the hangouts text size as well.
 
I like the concept of having all my messages in one app, but it's a shame that sms messages & hangout messages aren't integrated into a common thread.
 
nicka3200 said:
I like the concept of having all my messages in one app, but it's a shame that sms messages & hangout messages aren't integrated into a common thread.
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Yeah this is the only thing that I think they need to incorporate, so that you can have seamless conversation whether you are using your SMS through your carrier or Hangouts wifi.
 
funkylogik said:
My problem is that on the stock android messenger, i have the font size set to full so i can see it without glasses. Cant do that on Hangouts.
Its a pity because id love the intigration.... like when i used to get my fb msgs sent to sms :D
Click to expand...

Load up Paranoid or any other ROM that allows for in app DPI changes?
 
I'm having an issue and wondered if anyone else is too - contact names and pictures don't show up on SMS threads in Hangouts for me unless I tweak the format of the contact details.

I can hit the + at the top right of the main Hangouts screen to find a contact, then I can type their name and see their contact picture appear alongside their phone number, so I know all the info is there, but when I hit their mobile number (with the SMS speech bubble icon next to it) to start texting them, all evidence of having a photo and a name vanishes. They're only identified by their phone number.

Workaround: When I tap their phone number at the top of the new-SMS input screen I'm given the option of adding the number to my contacts (IKR?). When I do this, and locate whoever I want to attach it to in my address book, the default input format of the duplicate number that I'm adding changes from local to the international dialling version with the +country code at the start. Thereafter Hangouts seems to associate the name and picture info with an SMS thread.

Anyone else having the issue? It seems doubly ridiculous since the way I *found* the person in the first place was by selecting them from my address book while inside Hangouts. I don't want to have to change the 0 at the start of everyone's phone number to a +44 individually...

Thanks in advance for anyone with any insight!
 
I love the sms integration but have a few things that I would like to see incorporated. 1) pop up messages. This would be extremely handy as it is much easier to quick reply from a pop up rather than having to go into the app. 2) as far as I can tell, there is no groups in the contacts. On other sms apps, I could create groups, for instance, my son's baseball team contacts and use that to contact all in the group with one message. 3) scheduling messages. Another option I use a lot with other sms apps. Very handy.

If these features are available and I am missing them, then anyone's help would be appreciated as I have started using hangouts exclusively. Only keeping the messaging app handy for scheduling texts and group contacts.
 
What would be really cool is for the app to recognise who is online & who isn't. Then automatically send the message via data or gsm sms accordingly.
 
Scottwramsay said:
I'm having an issue and wondered if anyone else is too - contact names and pictures don't show up on SMS threads in Hangouts for me unless I tweak the format of the contact details.

I can hit the + at the top right of the main Hangouts screen to find a contact, then I can type their name and see their contact picture appear alongside their phone number, so I know all the info is there, but when I hit their mobile number (with the SMS speech bubble icon next to it) to start texting them, all evidence of having a photo and a name vanishes. They're only identified by their phone number.

Workaround: When I tap their phone number at the top of the new-SMS input screen I'm given the option of adding the number to my contacts (IKR?). When I do this, and locate whoever I want to attach it to in my address book, the default input format of the duplicate number that I'm adding changes from local to the international dialling version with the +country code at the start. Thereafter Hangouts seems to associate the name and picture info with an SMS thread.

Anyone else having the issue? It seems doubly ridiculous since the way I *found* the person in the first place was by selecting them from my address book while inside Hangouts. I don't want to have to change the 0 at the start of everyone's phone number to a +44 individually...

Thanks in advance for anyone with any insight!
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This is very strange. Do you have the N5 or did you side load the APK? If you side loaded it you might want to try and do it again and then restart the device.

Bloomy6 said:
I love the sms integration but have a few things that I would like to see incorporated. 1) pop up messages. This would be extremely handy as it is much easier to quick reply from a pop up rather than having to go into the app. 2) as far as I can tell, there is no groups in the contacts. On other sms apps, I could create groups, for instance, my son's baseball team contacts and use that to contact all in the group with one message. 3) scheduling messages. Another option I use a lot with other sms apps. Very handy.

If these features are available and I am missing them, then anyone's help would be appreciated as I have started using hangouts exclusively. Only keeping the messaging app handy for scheduling texts and group contacts.
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Yeah I think Google just kind of wanted to see the response from users putting these two application together and creating a kind of seamless integration. There are definitely a few things that they could work on.

nicka3200 said:
What would be really cool is for the app to recognise who is online & who isn't. Then automatically send the message via data or gsm sms accordingly.
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You mean via your carrier or hangouts wifi?

That would be really cool and all but I think it would be very difficult for Google to incorporate this feature.
 
I'm not thrilled with it. They're planning on removing the Messaging app so that we will be forced to either use Hangouts for messaging, or download another sms app from Google Play. :mad:

I'm perfectly happy with the lightweight Messaging app without all of the unnecessary bloat and ads.
 
Digital Controller said:
You mean via your carrier or hangouts wifi?

That would be really cool and all but I think it would be very difficult for Google to incorporate this feature.
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You're probably right. I travel throughout Europe with my work & when I have WiFi I can message for free using hangouts, but if I don't have WiFi I'd rather SMS. I would be delighted to see the conversation in one thread though. Perhaps a send by data/sms option in the out going message field.
 
nicka3200 said:
I would be delighted to see the conversation in one thread though. Perhaps a send by data/sms option in the out going message field.
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That would be the ideal way to do it, at least in my opinion. I bet it'll be updated to work this way eventually.
 
Having a similar problem as Scottwramsay, but it appears I only have it for one contact. My daughter is in my contact list with her name and her telephone (mobile number). I added it in a second format, so it is now in there as +1xxxxxxxxxx and as (xxx)xxx-xxxx. Regardless, when I rec'v an SMS from her - or I send one, it only displays xxx-xxxx as the Contact, and (xxx)xxx-xxxx as the number. Any ideas?
 
Digital Controller said:
This is very strange. Do you have the N5 or did you side load the APK? If you side loaded it you might want to try and do it again and then restart the device.
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I'm using an N5 so it should all be legit.

I have a friend with an N5 who doesn't always get the option to send an SMS when he types in a contact's name - just the option to start a Hangout.

It all seems very bitty and no-one can figure out what the common factors in the problems are.
 
Even though your contacts would typically be associated to both a phone number and (hopefully) and Hangouts-enabled email address, integrating the 2 ways to converse into one thread and having the device auto-select the method of delivery may be a bit of a challenge.

What I would like to see is lock-screen integration, so I can preview incoming messages on my lock screen.

Also, had a bug the other night. Texted someone, they replied a little bit later but I didn't see the messages until I opened the Hangouts app. Also, it double-sent a message to someone else and the phone never really registered that the message sent (the bouncing dots never stopped). Of course, this is on my TB, hoping to replace it with a 32 GB Moto X this week.

One other thing I'd like to see is to have integration across devices, so if someone texts me I see it on my tablet (like Messages does on iPad and iPhone).
 
honestly? I hate it.

It's clunky and they took away features when they "upgraded" Talk to Hangouts. They tried fixing it, but they really didn't.
 
Is version 2.0 available on the USA Play Store yet for the Nexus 4? I can't see it.

I ask because I'm on 1.2.018, and have been having a horrible time getting that version to work reliably for a group chat of two Nexus 4 and one iPhone 5. Interestingly, it's not the iPhone that is having the problem, it's the Nexus 4 - it almost always doesn't get messages that my Nexus 4 or mydaughter's iPhone 5 send to the group.

We're hoping that Hangouts will become reliable before the end of the year, as my daughter will be on an extended overseas trip and Hangouts was looking like the best option (short of switching out our Nexi for iPhones, which I won't do).

Version 1.2 of Hangouts feels like another half-baked Google product. I'm curious whether 2.0 continues to bake the same recipe, or if they threw everything out and started again (and if so, is it simply a different half-baked product or an improvement).

Mike
 
x2 Who wants Google involved in their SMS messaging?!?


Petrah said:
I'm not thrilled with it. They're planning on removing the Messaging app so that we will be forced to either use Hangouts for messaging, or download another sms app from Google Play. :mad:

I'm perfectly happy with the lightweight Messaging app without all of the unnecessary bloat and ads.
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OstrichSaK said:
Like what?
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Well, instead of only showing the contacts I've actually authorized to contact me, like with Google Talk, it shows everyone I've ever had contact with, even on Google +. So to find the person I want to talk to, I have to scroll through a huge list of people to find them. And then, it's difficult to tell if that person is even online.
 
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