160 Character Limit on Texts

If what you have to say is more than 160 characters, you can either do it using MMS like I did with my blackberry or send an email.


MICP1480

asilver said:

handscent plus swype....fuhgettaboutit.

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what is swype? i cant find it on the market

baka said:

what is swype? i cant find it on the market

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Not in the market.

google "swype motorola droid intomobile"

Mods don't like links being posted

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I switched back to handcent from chomp because I couldn't find an option for chomp to time tag messages. Also handcent has the option to split messages greater then 160.
I tried sending my wifes Eris a long message with my Droid and had the same problem. Had to split it up to send it. Thats Verizon to Verizon too.

greg72 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I switched back to handcent from chomp because I couldn't find an option for chomp to time tag messages. Also handcent has the option to split messages greater then 160.
I tried sending my wifes Eris a long message with my Droid and had the same problem. Had to split it up to send it. Thats Verizon to Verizon too.

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Well think about it. You are using handcent( I love this app),you have it checked to split messages automatically. So no matter who you send it to handcent will split it as you requested. Now it is handcent not verizon. Uncheck the split in handcent,then try to send verizon to verizon.

inssane said:

Handcent has the widget
Very nice app and seemless integration as well as a seemingly endless set of things to tweak on the UI.
On another note, just send an email - texts are supposed to be a sentence or two.

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Yeah, the widget is the only thing I miss - however, I enabled an Orange LED in Chomp and I am good - I don't really need to know *how* many I have waiting, so much as the fact that I actually have one or more waiting.

It's a tradeoff to me, but a workable tradeoff.

ikithme said:

I love how people think the 160 char limit is because of verizon or whomever carrier they are using...

It's actually a standard... Twitter char max = 160 because you can text in tweets and recieve them by text. Myspace status updates = 160 because you can text in updates and recieve them by text.

Now when texting from verizon to verizon it seems that limit is gone because its handeled by verizon and they know what THEIR max is however when not texting from verizon to verizon they limit it to the standard so they don't have to worry about the other carrier etc.

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Uh, no. Twitter maxLength = 140, not 160, tyvm. Twitter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Twitter Support :: Frequently Asked Questions (for anyone who argues that WikiPaedia can be edited, I linked the actual Twitter FAQ. So there. )

crankerchick said:

Happen to have a link to the thread handy?

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here ya go - http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/36753-issue-texting.html#post277380

ivanpk said:

Sorry for the confusion - I knew about the 160 char limit. I did not think Verizon was making this. I liked how with ATT, it would break up your message into as many 160 char messages as it took to send the whole thing, and att to att got the whole message in one. Verizon however only sends the first 160 characters of a message to non-verizon. This is what I was upset about.

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It also has to do with the network that you're on and if the feature is implemented in the phone OS or not. I was with BellSouth / Cingular / AT&T for a *long* time but it was only after I got a Nokia 3360 series phone that SMS allowed me to exceed 160 chars and it would chop them up.

Then I moved to VZW and all of a sudden I could not exceed 160 with my Alias. However, after a year all of a sudden I noticed that I was getting SMS back stating that part of the msg may not have been delivered b/c of the receiver being on a different carrier, blah blah blah....but they really weren't getting the rest of the message from me.

Now, I just installed Chomp, and the software itself has the ability to chop the SMS into smaller chunks @ 160 chars a pop. I also see that Handcent has this option (but I don't remember it being there when I first installed and started using Handcent).

Therefore, the phone / OS, also, IMO, have a good deal to do with multi-split SMS (I think I'll coin that term - multi-split SMS - whatchya think?)

ivanpk said:

Yes, I understand this. Sorry I know you are trying to help. Just trying to clear up confusion about what I was saying.
I know the limit is 160 for all SMS.

The thing is with ATT, I would send a text like this:

'long long long long long ....... over 160 char" and it would be sent like this:

1st message: "long long long" <-- first 160 char.
2nd message "...over 160 char" <--remainder of characters

Meanwhile, with VZW, it only sent the first 160 to my friend. I asked them if they got the full message or multiple messages and they said they only got the first 160 and it cut off. That is what I was upset about!

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See me reply to the last quotation....

GrandMasterB said:

Chomp minus swype....fuhgettaboutit

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+5

droidosis said:

Did anyone actually test this and go over 160, I could swear the stock app broke my msg up and sent a barrage of sms's.

And what the other poster said, if you add a subject it becomes an mms and you can txt a book. (Menu, add subject)

-droidosis-

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PM me over the weekend and I can take some time out to test the default SMS app, ChompSMS and Handcent to see if it is truly software implemented (or, if it is perhaps a new feature we got through 2.0.1)....

micp1480 said:

If what you have to say is more than 160 characters, you can either do it using MMS like I did with my blackberry or send an email.


MICP1480

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Problem with MMS / Email is that some folks, and particularly those without smartphones of their own, may not be able to receive either / both of those - then what?

For example, with my Alias, to avoide data charges, I disabled everything except SMS - no MMS, no Web, no email.

greg72 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I switched back to handcent from chomp because I couldn't find an option for chomp to time tag messages. Also handcent has the option to split messages greater then 160.
I tried sending my wifes Eris a long message with my Droid and had the same problem. Had to split it up to send it. Thats Verizon to Verizon too.

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Chomps can split - but as for time, well, I think we can always ask the dev to add that feature - I'd like that as well.

Doug,
I did have split off to begin with had to turn on split for it to send after the initial try.

ah thanks for the link, i found that thread when i searched, i just thought maybe you were referencing a thread with more replies, thorough discussion, etc. i really want to use chomp instead of handcent, but i hate them damn bubbles so chomp is out. i'm just back to using the default app and watching what i type. Handcent has everything I want, but I fear it losing my messages and I'm not sure if it is responsible for my messages being delayed or never delivered (and never notifying me either).

has anyone noticed that in the stock app, it does give a character limit (it comes up when you are within 10 characters of the limit) but that limit seems to be at 145, not 160? How annoying. It's nice to be warned, but damn, warn me at the right limit!

greg72 said:

Doug,
I did have split off to begin with had to turn on split for it to send after the initial try.

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What is nice about Handcent is after the 3rd split handcent turns the sms into a mms which is like 1000 characters and all sent in one message.
Sometimes I just add a pic or icon to get the mms instead of a distorted split message.

crankerchick said:

ah thanks for the link, i found that thread when i searched, i just thought maybe you were referencing a thread with more replies, thorough discussion, etc. i really want to use chomp instead of handcent, but i hate them damn bubbles so chomp is out. i'm just back to using the default app and watching what i type. Handcent has everything I want, but I fear it losing my messages and I'm not sure if it is responsible for my messages being delayed or never delivered (and never notifying me either).

has anyone noticed that in the stock app, it does give a character limit (it comes up when you are within 10 characters of the limit) but that limit seems to be at 145, not 160? How annoying. It's nice to be warned, but damn, warn me at the right limit!

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Sorry, was not around for the last several days.

Chickie (no offense meant) is it perhaps the fact that you hav a signature line set for SMS?

dougwilson2000 said:

What is nice about Handcent is after the 3rd split handcent turns the sms into a mms which is like 1000 characters and all sent in one message.
Sometimes I just add a pic or icon to get the mms instead of a distorted split message.

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Did not know that - however, I cannot remember one time that I wanted to send that much text at one time via SMS in the first place....

*****

As soon as sending SMS through GV becomes stable I am probably going to switch to that, but in the meantime, I am paying for my 500 SMS bank per month.

Chomp > Handcent


And if it's that long of the message, call the person. Me personally, I don't like reading novels.

ccousinsjr said:

Chomp > Handcent


And if it's that long of the message, call the person. Me personally, I don't like reading novels.

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With Handcent you do not have to read. Just press text to speech option.
I sometimes go over 160 and that is when I toss in a pic . It keeps the message together without any distortions and nobody gets the double charge.
Giving directions is a prime reason for over 160 text.

I had to use chompSMS for a couple of weeks because Handcent was FCing on me. But I did miss it. They are VERY similar apps, but Handcent just has a few more options that I missed. When the update came out that fixed Handcent for me, I didn't hesitate for a second to reinstall. It's been several days, and not one glitch with Handcent yet.

But if someone wants to use chomp and tout it, good on them. It don't suck either.

I would love to use either of these apps but it seems if I have either installed then I lose all network connection and have to restart my phone to get my emails/txts to start coming in again

johnlgalt said:

Chickie (no offense meant) is it perhaps the fact that you hav a signature line set for SMS?

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Nope, no sig. I can't believe no one else has noticed this in the stock app. of course, i've seen people post that the stock app doesn't even have a counter, which i have found to be not true.

SinfulDragon said:

I would love to use either of these apps but it seems if I have either installed then I lose all network connection and have to restart my phone to get my emails/txts to start coming in again

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Is your DROID as "special" as that school you attended?

crankerchick said:

Nope, no sig. I can't believe no one else has noticed this in the stock app. of course, i've seen people post that the stock app doesn't even have a counter, which i have found to be not true.

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I did notice the 145 character number ... so I tested it. When you get to ZERO, if you tap backwards, you'll find that it is actually 160 characters. I dunno... Just another reason I use Handcent.

messenger13 said:

Is your DROID as "special" as that school you attended?

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LMFAO!! it must be because when I put those apps on it just goes stupid on me. Maybe I'll try handcent again... I do like that app

ccousinsjr said:

Chomp > Handcent


And if it's that long of the message, call the person. Me personally, I don't like reading novels.

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Agreed. If it really needs to be that long, send me a friggin email and be done with it.

dougwilson2000 said:

With Handcent you do not have to read. Just press text to speech option.
I sometimes go over 160 and that is when I toss in a pic . It keeps the message together without any distortions and nobody gets the double charge.
Giving directions is a prime reason for over 160 text.

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Hard to use TTS when you're reading msgs in a place that requires you to be quiet (i.e. Library, in class, etc. - not that I read SMS in class or anything, I'm just saying )

messenger13 said:

I had to use chompSMS for a couple of weeks because Handcent was FCing on me. But I did miss it. They are VERY similar apps, but Handcent just has a few more options that I missed. When the update came out that fixed Handcent for me, I didn't hesitate for a second to reinstall. It's been several days, and not one glitch with Handcent yet.

But if someone wants to use chomp and tout it, good on them. It don't suck either.

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Is this a very recent update? If so, does Handcent allow for main screen font / color customization? I have found that setting my main SMS view with the colors I want trumps any feature I could find in Handcent, even the home screen widget....

crankerchick said:

Nope, no sig. I can't believe no one else has noticed this in the stock app. of course, i've seen people post that the stock app doesn't even have a counter, which i have found to be not true.

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I don't see a counter, but it may be b/c I have 3 different SMS handlers (the default app, Chomp and GV). I created an SMS by going to contacts, selecting one, selecting SMS icon and then picking the Messaging app - but when I was typing I saw no notification of # chars left anywhere.

messenger13 said:

I did notice the 145 character number ... so I tested it. When you get to ZERO, if you tap backwards, you'll find that it is actually 160 characters. I dunno... Just another reason I use Handcent.

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Interesting - so the count is off initially speaking....or does it start at 145 and not update until you have typed 15 characters? I am guessing not, though, as you all would have noticed that already....

SinfulDragon said:

LMFAO!! it must be because when I put those apps on it just goes stupid on me. Maybe I'll try handcent again... I do like that app

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Good luck trying it!

______________________

One thing I noticed (and this is a good thing) - regardless of whether I send using the default Messaging app or Chomp, both see all the SMS sent - IOW, Chomp sees Messaging's sent msgs and Messaging sees Chomp's - nice to know.

In retrospect, this seems a bit trivial, as I suppose we would all expect this behavior - but having worked with many sorts of 'replacement' apps thus far, I have found that it is not always the case.

I also sent a test via GV to my buddy - if there is not a major delay, I may start using GV for SMS permanently - and start requesting the authors of Chomp / Handcent if they can provide an interface to manage GV SMS in their programs, giving me the flexibility of the interface with the free-ness of GV....


Oops- I did not realize that the reply would not come to GV but to my normal SMS inbox lol. now I'll have to add this number, and get used to using GV as SMS...maybe.

Sending text through GV is free but receiving may not be. If you choose to have a sms sent to your phone then it costs, if you choose to have it sent to gmail then it is free.

Didnt see this in here, but Verizon is now splitting messages automatically for non vzw customers, and they have since replaced the text message that used to be sent, saying this.

I downloaded handcent app and love it, except now I am receiving messages from both handcent and factory messaging app. Any way to make handcent the default and turn the other off?

just go into the stock app and un-check notifications.

Yeah that works but is there a way to disable it altogether so no texts go to it?

I don't know of a way to disable it. I wouldn't worry about it though as long as you get them in the app your useing.