messaging

Enable swipe-to-delete in Gmail 4.2 on Android

One feature Android users have been asking for in the Gmail app has been the ability to swipe and delete or archive a message. With the release of Gmail 4.2, that's now possible.

By default, the swipe gesture is set to archive or delete a message, depending on whether the message has already been archived. Should you want to change it to always delete (or disable the feature altogether), you'll need to dive into the settings.

To enable swipe-to-delete, make sure you have the latest version of Gmail running on your Android device. After you've updated, … Read more

Facebook hopes new Messenger app will outpace SMS

PARIS -- Facebook revamped its Facebook Messenger service today in an attempt to get people to dump mobile-phone text messaging in favor of something more sophisticated.

Facebook Messenger today is essentially an instant-messaging network, complete with separate apps to use the service. But with the new incarnation, people need only a phone number, and no Facebook account, said Peter Deng, Facebook's director of communications product management, at the LeWeb show here.

The service is available initially in South Africa, India, Australia, Argentina, and Venezuela, he said, and in India's case in partnership with a carrier. Many young people … Read more

The 404 1,176: Where where Brian admits he has a problem (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Justin wanted to like the modern take on The Rockettes at Friday's showing, didn't.

- Father of SMS reflects on 20th anniversary of first text.

- News Corp shuts down The Daily.

- These companies hate your guts.

- StickNFind Bluetooth stickers are the best idea you didn't think of.

- Apple trying to patent wireless charging.… Read more

Cunning fox grabs smartphone, sends text

The text message may be celebrating its 20th birthday today, but as far as we know, only one SMS has been sent by a fox in all those years. (And by fox, of course, we mean the mammal belonging to the Canidae family, not the mammal belonging to the hot-humans-with-phones family).

The text reads like so: "jlv l øi\a0ab 34348tu åaugjoi zølbmosdji jsøg ijio sjiw," which, as the multilingual among you may have already ascertained, is Norwegian fox speak. … Read more

Cops to Congress: We need logs of Americans' text messages

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to record and store information about Americans' private text messages for at least two years, according to a proposal that police have submitted to the U.S. Congress.

CNET has learned a constellation of law enforcement groups has asked the U.S. Senate to require that wireless companies retain that information, warning that the lack of a current federal requirement "can hinder law enforcement investigations."

They want an SMS retention requirement to be "considered" during congressional discussions over updating a 1986 privacy law … Read more

Father of SMS reflects on 20th anniversary of first text message

TxtN trns 20 2day. Hw willya celebr8?

The so-called father of SMS commemorated the occasion via a rare interview that appropriately enough was conducted via text messages.

Chatting with the BBC yesterday, Matti Makkonen took credit for conceiving and fleshing out SMS, or short message service. But he lived up to his title as its "reluctant father" by making it clear that others actually developed the technology.

"I did not consider sms as personal achievement but as result of joint effort to collect ideas and write the specifications of the services based on them," he told the BBC.… Read more

Messaging app Kik, now at 30M users, adds slick way to share

At a time when mobile instant messaging is available in so many ways -- standard SMS, for free via through Facebook Messenger and through Apple's iMessage for iOS users -- you might think that a free messaging app wouldn't stand a chance as a standalone business.

Ted Livingston, a 25-year-old mobile wunderkind based in Waterloo, Ontario, is out to prove doubters wrong.

His app, Kik, became a viral sensation when it launched in the fall of 2010 -- it added 2 million users in 22 days -- and now claims more than 30 million registered users. More impressive … Read more

Skype updates iOS app to let you log in with a Microsoft account

Skype has updated its iOS app to give it some of the same features as its full client software.

Released today, the latest version lets you log into Skype with your Microsoft account and chat with contacts on Messenger, Hotmail, or Outlook.com.

Users new to Skype can create an account directly from the app. You can now tap and hold down an instant message to edit it. You can also edit your saved phone numbers directly from the dial pad.

Those of you who like to spruce up your instant messages with emoticons can choose one when typing a … Read more

Get to know Instagram friends with InstaMessage

InstaMessage is a free social app that lets you privately chat with members of the popular Instagram image-sharing service in a text-message-style format. Its simple-to-use interface will have you getting to know the people behind the pictures in no time.

To begin with, you sign in to InstaMessage using your Instagram log-in information. There are four menu options, giving the choices to explore other user profiles, invite friends to chat using InstaMessage, access friends' Instagrams, and access your profile. We found a friend by exploring profiles that were in our location. After tapping the Chat button on his profile, we … Read more