Windows Mobile Professional’s built-in support for text messaging is very minimalistic: you get some basic options that will suit your basic needs. Windows Mobile 6.1 introduced threaded display of text messages, displaying them as conversations but as far as functionality is concerned, still no improvements. Read on for a way to possibly improve your text messaging experience with a program called A.SMS.
INTRODUCTION
JGUI’s A.SMS is more like a separate messaging application rather than an expansion patch or an add-on to Windows Mobile’s stock messaging through Pocket Outlook. It centers mainly on text messaging addressing users with heavy SMS activity. The application is available for both Windows Mobile Professional (Touchscreen devices) and Windows Mobile Standard (non Touchscreen devices) and it comes with a 5 day, “no functionality limit” free trial. The full version of the application costs $22.22.
INTRODUCING A.SMS
Note: Following section is focusing on using A.SMS on a Windows Mobile Professional (Touchscreen) device. While this application works on Windows Mobile Standard (non Touchscreen) devices, some functionality might differ and may not apply.
FEATURES
A.SMS comes with four improved features over the default Windows Mobile messaging application (referring to reviewing, reading and writing messages plus an additional soft menu button) and introduces an additional two extra functions (schedule messages for sending in the future and message encryption) plus a Settings section.
MAIN SCREEN
Launching A.SMS will take you to the Main screen, which will show the text messages you have received and which are stored on your device. Comparing to the default Windows Mobile Professional messaging main screen, A.SMS has the option of grouping messages by received time and sender name or simply displaying only the subject/text of messages. Cycling through the various display modes can be achieved by selecting one from Menu>Order by. In order to switch over to sent messages display, you need to select Sent Items from Menu>Folder. Also, while here, you will notice the total number of messages in each folder being displayed in brackets.
REVIEWING MESSAGES
In order to read a text message in Pocket Outlook, the default Windows Mobile messaging application, you need to tap it and it will automatically open in a new window which eventually you will need to close after you have read the respective message. With A.SMS, reading messages is done via the Main Screen: tapping a message will automatically expand that message in the message list and will display the header with the time the message has been received, the name or number of the person that sent it (depending on whether you have a name associated to the number in you contacts or not) and the whole message text. Reading another message is just one tap away, no need to close any windows like with Pocket Outlook.
COMPOSING A NEW TEXT MESSAGE
You might find yourself in some occasions when you don’t want to send the message as soon as you’ve typed it and you don’t want to save it as a draft either, or you’re simply affraid you’d forget sending it. A.SMS allows you to schedule a message for later delivery, by selecting the precise date and time for that certain message to be sent. In case you scheduled for later sending and you’ve changed your mind, you have the option of tapping “now” and it will be immediately sent. This is a useful additional feature over Windows Mobile’s default messaging application. You can also Add a new Recipient or a Group to send the specific text message to, so there’s the option of sending Group SMS. While still at the Composing stage, you can easily insert your signature (if defined) or a Quick Text from the Menu. This is the place to select message encryption and delivery receipt request too.
Though JGUI, makers of A.SMS, find the Menu soft button enhanced, I found it pretty much the same, the only difference being that you will have the Menu soft button displayed after opening a message in a new window for reading in Pocket Outlook while with A.SMS, the Menu soft button is available in the Main screen, no need for tapping a message to open it and select an action from the menu.
THE MENU SOFT BUTTON
MESSAGE ENCRYPTION
A.SMS has the option to encrypt messages sent to others, by using one of the four encryption methods: RC4 (default), DES, 3DES and 3DES-112. After selecting the option to encrypt messages from the Menu, A.SMS will ask you to tap in a password. In order to read the encrypted message, the other party needs to use A.SMS too and also must know the password you used to encrypt the message. With reference to message encryption, there’s a red note on A.SMS website that states: “Note: encrypting text messages may restricted or prohibited in some countries. You can use such function in exclusively own responsibility.”
Why would you use SMS Encryption? Well, it’s a tricky one, encrypting messages prevent them from unauthorized reading. I can only see a couple of scenarios why someone would use SMS encryption: first one would be protecting a text message in case it is accidentally sent to another number (mistyping the recipient?), second would be making encrypted text messages impossible to read on a shared device (this one can be also applied when you don’t want anyone of your friends or relative playing around with your device read some certain sensitive information you have there). Other than that, I don’t see anyone intercepting your text messages except if you live in a country where legislation would prescribe that the authorities keep track of text messages, in this case maybe it would be illegal to encrypt them and now we understand the warning issued by application’s author regarding encrypted SMS.
SETTINGS
Having two settings sets, A.SMS is a very easy application to configure. The Main settings you can access via the Menu soft button while in the Main screen. Here you have the option to choose the way A.SMS displays the messages: you can have it highlight the selected message, you can choose a font size (“smallest”, “smaller”, “default”, “larger”, “more larger”, “super larger”, “extra larger”, “hiper larger” and “largest”), set Reply text length in character count, set picture display size in pixels for displaying contact pictures (95×95, 85×85, 75×75, 65×65, 55×55, 45×45, 35×35 and 25×25) and choose to Hide decrypted message after a certain period of time. In addition, there’s an option to “Always delete message finally” which will permanently delete selected messages.
Settings you can access from the New message screen, while composing a text message, refer to the option to “Save the last recipient” for a certain amount of time and always requesting delivery report, always encrypting messages and always warning before sending empty messages.
I must say that I really wish A.SMS would be somewhat cheaper. For some, the price of $22.22 may not be justified, but for those that do a lot of communication via SMS, it could be well worth the price.
BUGS AND WISHES
A.SMS can be had for $22.22 from PocketGear.com. The free trial is time limited.
PURCHASING
PROS
Easier reading of SMS
Delayed sending of messages
Multiple recipients/group messages
Encryption for security
CONS
Pricey
Encryption works only while running the same application on both ends
| Value |  |
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Overall |
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Overall, A.SMS is easy to install, use and configure. It definitely has various additional features as opposed to the very basic functionalities of Pocket Outlook. On the downside, the application is a bit pricey in my opinion for the functionalities it offers from which, in my opinion, an average user would only find really useful the scheduled later sending of messages and multiple recipients/Group messages (but there are other, cheaper alternatives to this last one, even free ones). A downside to sending encrypted messages is that both parties need to use the software (which can again get expensive) and another con in my opinion is the inability to send a message to multiple recipients. The bottom line: expensive to the average user but definitely an option to consider for the heavy text messenger.
CONCLUSION
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