SMS-Chat V1.16 Review!

Tim Hillebrand has previously posted some great reviews (see this, for example) of  the VITO chat application, SMS-Chat. His superb and honest feedback/input is probably why this is a really decent product now. Well, that, and the fact that some outstanding developer at VITO actually listened and tweaked it accordingly. I was asked to try out the latest incremental update to V1.16. One thing about VITO apps is, if you don't like something, wait a few days--there will probably be an update. A tight development cycle can be a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing in that they fix problems or add features quickly. Bad in that maybe the software doesn't spend enough time in the oven being tested/tweaked before release. SMS-Chat falls mostly on the good side!

Installation:

In this case, I simply downloaded a cab file to my device, and tapped it using my stylus (in File Explorer). You can get the cab version here, and the desktop (Active Sync) installer here. The desktop or A/S install method has the advantage of often (not always) saving a cab file copy on your desktop computer, depending how the installer was implemented. I simply have a CABFiles folder on an SD card that I keep them in, so I can always go back and re-install them later if need be. The trial is fully capable for 14-days. I forgot to update the date/time on my device after my last hard-reset. So it was set way in the past when I first installed SMS-Chat. I updated the date/time, and of course the SMS-Chat trial immediately timed out. The receive features: threading, notifications, filtering continued to function, except I simply could no longer send messages using SMS-Chat.

The main SMS-Chat Interface...you've got mail!

SMS-Chat Interface:

I like the unique graphical look-n-feel, and (more recently) the smooth and attractive animation of screens in VITO apps in general. The VITO iPhone/HTC Touch-like screens are large enough to use fingers on (even on my tiny VGA my i-mate 8150). There isn't as much of the flipping of screens and such in SMS-Chat, but multi-screen views (say, a really long chat thread) all have the trademark grab-n-sling, scrolling feature. In the main chat screen, new received messages are higlighted for quick identification, and the last message for the respctive chat threads are indicated along with the date of receipt. With my device font size set at the highest settings, the individual chat messages themselves in the list were still hard to select with only my finger. I had to revert to the stylus to select a specific message reliably (see below).

Using SMS-Chat:

If you use major chat programs like AIM, or Yahoo Messenger, then you pretty much know how to use the VITO app:

1. Enter phone contacts into your Windows Mobile touchscreen-capable phone. You can do this through the built-in Contacts program, or you can use a 3-rd party add-on like FunContact (also by VITO) which is simliar in look-n-feel to SMS-Chat.

2. Launch SMS-Chat, and tap the message icon in the lower left corner on the main screen. This will take you to your contact list to select the contacts you wish to chat with. The screen has the same handy scrolling/select cability that is very finger-friendly.

3. Select the contact to which you wish to send chat messages. I'm taking for granted that you have a WM Phone, a cellular provider, and messaging services. If you do not have this kind of service, please talk to your provider.

4. Start Chatting... A text box is presented at the bottom of the screen to enter your text. I use TouchPal (my personal fav soft keyboard), but you may have your own input prefs.  Tap the "mail" icon to send. I would like to see the "enter" key also be able to do this, but it will simply add another line to the chat box.

Your sent messages and replys'  will appear in the chat screen simlar to AIM/YIM.  If you tap on a message in the list, a menu will appear to allow you to either delete, resend, or forward to another contact.

Features:

You can go back to the main screen to start a new chat with another contact, and monitor multiple ongoing chat sessions. Selecting the menu options (upper right icon) in a Chat thread window will also reveal more useful items (see below). For example, you can add or change the recipient for your chat messages, even add multiple recipients--say you want to blast a message out to all your kids at once--call a contact, and access template messages (be right back, LOL, ";)"..etc.). Common chat symbol use is converted to the approriate smilies, etc. Web-site URLs are also preserved as links in the chat threads, and can be tapped on to launch PIE, pointed at the appropriate site. Contact numbers embedded in the chat can be phoned in a similar fashion. Lot's of good integration work is evident here.

Settings:

The main interface also has a settings menu (lower-right icon). The settings are still kind of limited, and I can see evidence of some of the suggestions Tim made brought to fruition, but still I have to be a bit nit-picky. The skins options are still limited to only 2. I would like to see VITO open up a skinning effort for their apps much like Wisbar did for their interface replacement app. Like Tim, I would have liked to tweak the message font settings, and could not find the option to do so. The notification option can now be toggled on and off. This service, which produces a pop-up message when messages are received (if you are outside of SMS-Chat), can be a bit annoying. There is also a feature to export chats to a text file. This works fine in Wordpad, or a Word processor that can read the formatted CRLF at the end of each message line. Notepad will mash them altogether. A tab, or comma-separated format might also be useful for import to a spreadsheet instead. You can also can get to the help documentation (which is pretty good) from settings.

Bottom-Line: Outside of my minor critiques above, I feel this is another solid mobile application by VITO, and give it my endorsement (not that my endorsement means much). I will freely admit to not being much of an SMS chatter, myself, but my testing of the application was quite satisfactory. My device did crash once while using SMS-Chat (ironically when chatting with someone at VITO), but that could have simply been a problem with WM or my imate, which wouldn't surprise me in the least. It hasn't exactly been the most reliable handheld I've ever owned. Still, you gotta love a VGA screen--even if I do have to get out my magnifying glass or a monacle to see it. If you like the other recent VITO products like GoodWin, FunContact, etc. (simply enter theses terms in our blog-search dialog to find reviews), I suspect you will like this one. It can be purchased for $14.95 alone, or in a bundle (with WInterface, FunContact, and ZoomBoard) for $39.95. A significant savings, so go check it out here!