iSMSControl - App Review

 

Apple, who are masters of the GUI (Graphical User Interface) seem to have had an unusually lackadaisical approach when they developed the Messaging application for the iPhone. It has been consistently poor for so long, we can only assume that they have a long term plan, or that too few users have made representations... possibly because we were all convinced that it would be 'fixed' in the next release.

 

The resident App allows one to choose the recipient of a text and a tiny letterbox to enter a message, with the rest of the real estate left as wasteland.

 

iSMSControl addresses this shortcoming by using the available space for you to see the message you are writing. An additional feature is the ability to keep track of the number of SMS sent in your billing period. If you have 100 'included' (or however many) messages in your monthly mobile plan then, it is easy to ensure that you do not accidentally go over the pre-set limit.

 

Now for the ACIDS test:

Aesthetics
The huge plus is that the available space is dedicated to entering the text of your message. Apart from that, it's not pretty but, it works. The method for 'cheating' the SMS counter is also a little crude but again, it is effective. There is also a warning each time you 'send' a message that "Apple allows SMS sending only from the 'standard' dialog"; you need to 'OK' this message before proceeding.

Cost
This is a nominal cost App. If it stops you going over your monthly allowance a couple of times, it will have paid for itself.

Indispensability
It's really a question of how much you accept a silly little letter box to enter SMS.

Dependability
iSMSControl has never let me down, so no complaints on this score.

Security
There are no security issues with this App; it uses the Apple provided messaging system.



ACIDS Test Rating:

Very good App but slightly flawed

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

 

You can get the iPhone App here.