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A Texting App That May Have You Questioning Your Brand Loyalty

texting app

I’ll be the first to admit that I love my iPhone, but sometimes, I find an app that’s only available for Android—like Yappy—that makes me consider switching camps. Founded in 2013, the texting app was originally called EndlessJabber SMS, and it allows you to send SMS/text messages via your current Android phone number from any browser on your desktop, laptop, or tablet.

 

YappyHow

 

The initial set-up takes a few minutes, but they make it easy. First, you install the Yappy app on your phone; follow the set-up prompts. After that, you simply log-in on the website using your Google account, and you can send texts from your browser which are then transmitted via your mobile network (standard rates apply). There’s also an extension for Chrome and an add-on for Firefox, to make integration even smoother.

 

Why It’s Killer

 

This probably dates me, but I miss the days of T-9 predictive texting, when you could type without looking and not have to worry about falling victim to the infamous autocorrect. Needing to look down every other second has made it a lot harder keep your texting under the radar. With Yappy, you can use your laptop or tablet to take notes (or “take notes”) at meetings or in class, and be able to text without anyone being the wiser. Not that I’m condoning that….

 

I know this also seems obvious, but I’m going to point it out anyway: trying to have an actual conversation via text sucks. Being able to use a keyboard puts texting at the same level of functionality as a messenger system, making it way easier to carry on a real conversation. Plus: no switching back and forth between devices or getting distracted by game notifications on your phone, conserving phone battery, instant notifications, and a secure back-up of your texts for 30 days?

 

If I had an Android, I’d be all over this.

 

Going Pro with Yappy

 

If you spring for the $1.99/month pro subscription (hey, big spender!), Yappy offers a host of other cool features, such as Yappy Mode, which enables you to instantly send and receive SMS messages by creating a persistent connection to the servers, and the option to integrate with chat clients such as Pidgin and Trillian.

 

The analytics feature—where you can gain insight into your texting habits—is nifty, but I’d go Pro for the search function (no more scrolling through years of texts) and the scheduler function, which lets you schedule text messages in advance.

 

As a small team not backed by venture capital, they rely on the Pro version—and a bit of Kickstarter fundraising, to the tune of 71 backers and $2,556 in 2014—to keep the lights on and the bills paid.

 

With all the features Yappy offers, I may just have to start shopping around for my next phone.

 

Photo Credits

Yappy | sean hobson/flickr.com

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