How Nexus Became Premium And Hangouts Got MMS

 Cost and Reaction

Nexus 6

    I was surprised to learn, recently, that the Nexus 6 would start at $650.  In fact, I received some criticism from others when I posted about it on Google+.  Truth is, I was expecting a lower price, ranging between $450 to $500.  The reasons being, well... because it was a Nexus, and because the two prior models were below $400.  From what I gathered while reading various threads about it online, I wasn't alone in being a bit shocked at the price tag.  By the way, the Nexus 9, which is a 9" tablet that was announced the same day actually costs less.  Go figure...  

    The main reason I've seen thrown up in most of the threads is due to it's being larger and higher specs.  Ok.  I get it, but I don't think that's the all there is to it.  I've had some time to think about it and I've realized that there are several things in play here that are worth mentioning and I'll explain how I believe they are all related.

Juggling Act 

    1-3.  If you've used Google Voice in the past, you know that you couldn't use MMS with it on most carriers.  To my knowledge, Sprint was the only carrier that supported it.  Then Google launched a new messaging service called Hangouts that was intended to merge all of their various services into one.  And up until recently, everything worked except for MMS.  The carriers just wouldn't budge on that.  This meant that if you used Hangouts as your primary messaging app and someone sent you an MMS, you didn't receive it.  But in the latest update, Hangouts (Google Voice) finally received MMS support from all but one of the carriers (Verizon).

Hangouts and MMS

    4.  Next up, Moto X.  The Moto X currently costs about $500 unlocked, from MotoMaker.  The Nexus 6, being inspired by the Moto X, would be directly competing with it and wouldn't make sense to undercut the Moto X.  

motomaker.com

    
5.  Android One is Google's newest project focused on high quality, lower cost devices, with long term OS version support, much like a Nexus.  Although currently only available in India, as it just rolled out, I believe it will soon be Google's entry level tier.  If you, like myself, are interested in low cost devices in the sub $400 range, then this will be right up your alley.

Android One

  
  6.  And finally, we have the artist formerly known as Android Silver.  Android Silver was a program that was basically designed to head off the upcoming, cheaper competition by making the Nexus line a premium brand.  That's it, in a nutshell.  However, according to several reports, the program was dead or had been put on hold.  I don't think it is.  Regardless of the name of the program, the Nexus name will continue. I believe what we're seeing with the new Nexus 6 is this program coming to fruition, which isn't a bad thing at all.  

    So how are all these things related?  Some concessions/deals were made, which is what Google is particularly good at.   Basically, I think the carriers haven't been too interested in Nexus devices in the past because they weren't exactly known as premium and were considered "developer" models.  When Google introduced Android One as its entry level tier and Nexus as its premium tier, the carriers now have a reason to get on board.  As part of the deal, it seems likely that they agreed to allow MMS in Hangouts since now Google can be viewed more as a partner rather than a competitor.  

    So in conclusion it looks like Nexus got bumped up to premium status, which explains the $650 price tag, there's now a bigger arena for future devices to be released by Google in the Android One category, none of the devices are competing directly with each other, and now we finally get MMS in Hangouts to round out a true all-in-one messaging app.  Sounds good to me.  What do you think?  

    

    

  

[Tip] Receive All Messages In One App | Hangouts, Google Voice, SMS, MMS

  

+  SMS, MMS

    Hangouts, Google's answer to unifying all of their various messaging services/apps has been updated recently.  To date, it merges Google Talk and G+ Messenger into one app.  It's a great beginning to what will most probably become the defacto messaging app across multiple platforms including, but not limited to Android, Chrome, and Apple's iOS.  

    Although it doesn't support SMS at the moment, there is a workaround to receive Hangouts messages as SMS when idle.  Below are instructions for setting this up as well as how to route your Google Voice messages to the same app as well, if you are one of the many Google Voice users like me.

How To Route All Messages To One Place

1. On your device, open the Google Voice app > Settings > Sync and Notifications > Receive text messages: (choose Messaging App).
2. Next, go HERE 
3. Look for SMS for Hangouts > Edit Settings > Enter your standard carrier phone # and hit SAVE.  (Don't worry about the country drop-down box above the phone number field; it doesn't show USA, but it works regardless.)
4. On your device, you should be able to receive all your text messages from carrier number, Google Voice number, and Hangouts as well as MMS from both carrier # and Hangouts.  Remember, Google Voice still doesn't support MMS at this time (5/17/2013) unless you're on Sprint.
5. (Optional)  Add the Messaging widget to one of your homescreens.  From here, you'll be able to view your messages at a glance, scroll through them, place a phone call, and even attach a file.

This is confirmed to work, although messages sent from the Messaging app on Android didn't always appear correctly on the iOS Hangouts app.  Not sure why, but be aware of this glitch up front.  

Be sure to comment and +1 this post.  Thanks guys!

Edit:  Don't want to route Hangouts messages to the Messaging app?  Simply substitute your carrier number with your Google Voice number in Step 3.  Be advised, by doing this, you will not be able to send MMS, as GV doesn't currently support MMS unless you are on Sprint.
Also, remember that this is merely a workaround until Google fully implements everything.  So do the above at your own risk or sit tight & wait it out.  Either way, at least they're working on it now;-)
-Dan

UPDATE:  As Google has integrated SMS into Hangouts, the link in Step 2 no longer available.  It links to a page that cannot be found.  
This is a good thing, however, as it means this work around is no longer needed=D