MetroTalk: New Google Voice client is now available!

Mystictrust

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Loving this app! Just a few things to report that I've found. I am using Windows Phone 8 and the paid version of the app.

Possible bugs (or user error):

1) After entering the "call/text" section of MetroTalk, I chose "pin to start" and "pin to start (auto dialpad)". Each option pinned a separate tile labeled "call/text" to my start screen, but each of them leads straight to the inbox when tapped. I really would LOVE being able to go directly to my contacts rather than the inbox at startup.

2) When choosing the "offline" calling option, the system prompts me to a call with a long string of numbers, but the only number I am connected to is my voicemail. It didn't prompt for my pin so it couldn't have been that. Am I supposed to wait a few seconds for it to send the appropriate numbers or is this not working the way it should?

Feature suggestions/requests:

I would LOVE the option to select a contact from the "call/text" area and have it call them directly, instead of the app auto-populating a text screen and needing an additional press for a call.

Another thing - when I press on a contact it auto-populates their name in the text field, but whether I continue to make a call or not (and don't text), if I go directly to another contact to text them from the contact boxes, both names are then auto-populated in the "To" field. It's a minor inconvenience, I know, because I can just tap to remove, but it'd be nice if that could be reworked somehow.
 

apoelin

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Possible bugs (or user error):

1) After entering the "call/text" section of MetroTalk, I chose "pin to start" and "pin to start (auto dialpad)". Each option pinned a separate tile labeled "call/text" to my start screen, but each of them leads straight to the inbox when tapped. I really would LOVE being able to go directly to my contacts rather than the inbox at startup.

2) When choosing the "offline" calling option, the system prompts me to a call with a long string of numbers, but the only number I am connected to is my voicemail. It didn't prompt for my pin so it couldn't have been that. Am I supposed to wait a few seconds for it to send the appropriate numbers or is this not working the way it should?

Both of these are bugs introduced by running the WP7 app on WP8. I hope that an update will hit the marketplace by the end of this week. Give me a few more days :)

Feature suggestions/requests:

I would LOVE the option to select a contact from the "call/text" area and have it call them directly, instead of the app auto-populating a text screen and needing an additional press for a call.

I will try to squeeze this in, in this week's update. It's easy to implement, but implementing fast-resume is giving me a bit of a hard time. Reason being that navigation becomes slightly complicated, the more secondary tiles the user can pin on his/her start screen (implementing fast-resume for just the main tile is easy). If it doesn't make it in this update, it's definitely coming in the one after that.

Feature suggestions/requests:

Another thing - when I press on a contact it auto-populates their name in the text field, but whether I continue to make a call or not (and don't text), if I go directly to another contact to text them from the contact boxes, both names are then auto-populated in the "To" field. It's a minor inconvenience, I know, because I can just tap to remove, but it'd be nice if that could be reworked somehow.

If I understand this correctly, you would like the already existing recipients to be removed, when tapping on a "favorites" tile? And only have that contact selected? If so, then it makes sense to me to have it work that way. If it was something different, please let me know :)
 

Mystictrust

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If I understand this correctly, you would like the already existing recipients to be removed, when tapping on a "favorites" tile? And only have that contact selected? If so, then it makes sense to me to have it work that way. If it was something different, please let me know :)
You got it!

Thanks so much for your commitment to MetroTalk updates and continuing to ensure it works great while still adding more functionality. It's all very appreciated.

implementing fast-resume is giving me a bit of a hard time. Reason being that navigation becomes slightly complicated, the more secondary tiles the user can pin on his/her start screen (implementing fast-resume for just the main tile is easy).
I never thought about fast resume and how it's implemented with secondary tiles. I suppose my assumption was just put the fast resume code somewhere and the entire program would just magically auto resume from wherever it has been entered. Interesting. Good luck!
 

Jianyu Chen

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do we have any updates on the updates? :winktongue:

small feature request is when you place a call with metrotalk, can we have the option to NOT prompt if i want to call via google voice? (because at that point im sure i do)
also, is it possible to do a dial-pad/contact list for calling? or have the call/text area list the contacts with the option to call/text?
 

Mystictrust

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do we have any updates on the updates? :winktongue:

small feature request is when you place a call with metrotalk, can we have the option to NOT prompt if i want to call via google voice? (because at that point im sure i do)
also, is it possible to do a dial-pad/contact list for calling? or have the call/text area list the contacts with the option to call/text?
Do you mean the prompt at the top of the screen that says "Dial <contact name + number> at <google voice access number>?" with the option to call or not call? If you do, I believe that is a Windows Phone 8 thing that can't be changed... each and every calling app, contact app, quick dialer, etc does this exact same thing for me - and I doubt Microsoft would get rid of that since they don't want apps to be doing malicious things in the background like making calls to premium numbers that charge your bill (which has happened on Android). I think that's also why an app can't send a text for you (from your cell number), it can only prepopulate a text message or open up a text box. Obviously, though, MetroTalk uses your google voice number so the text message limitation wouldn't apply.
 

apoelin

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do we have any updates on the updates? :winktongue:

small feature request is when you place a call with metrotalk, can we have the option to NOT prompt if i want to call via google voice? (because at that point im sure i do)
also, is it possible to do a dial-pad/contact list for calling? or have the call/text area list the contacts with the option to call/text?
The update is indeed long overdue! I actually finally submitted it to Microsoft for approval at the start of this week. The bad news is that right after submitting, I discovered that I need to apply a minor update to it before releasing. So now I have to wait for Microsoft to respond, and then send them the update. I really hope it will hit the marketplace next week.

Regarding the auto-dialing, I assume you mean the screen where you select the calling method? If so, if you go to the settings of the app, you can select the preferred calling method. When that is set, then the dialing happens automatically. Like Mystictrust mentioned, prompts that come from the OS itself and not from the app, cannot be skipped.

If you go to Call/Text, you can select a contact from the auto-complete list (or click the + button to go to the contact picker), and then hit the call button. If you have a default calling method selected, then the calling will happen with just that single tap. Did you have something different in mind?
 

JoeMullin

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Hi Apoelin,
I'm a new WP8 user with a Lumia 920. I installed the MetroTalk app and setup my google voice account. App looks great - I like the colors and design. And I'm thankful for the google voice functionality on WP8.

I do have a question/problem though. When I get a new text message, I can do the quick reply without a problem. However, if I don't do the quick reply and just open the MetroTalk app to look at my messages, it says "Looking for new messages" at the top for about 2 to 5 minutes, then it finally shows the new text messages that already popped up during the pop-up notification earlier. Question is, why does it take 2 to 5 minutes when I open MetroTalk to check for new messages since it gets messages as push notifications? Shouldn't those messages already be retrieved? I have the Refresh on Start option turned off. I am currently running the MetroTalk Free edition, but of course I'll get the full version once I get this figured out (I didn't realize the two difference until I started reading this thread). Am I missing something here? Doing something wrong?

Also, it looks like I have to open MetroTalk for the first time (after phone turns on) so it will get push notifications. Is that right? Is there a way to make it auto-run when the phone starts? Or is that against WP8 design? Once in the app, if I hit the back button, it stays running in the background and gets new notifications once again. If I go back into the app, I have to refresh and let it search for new messages and wait that 2 to 5 minutes for it to look for new messages.

I appreciate the help, thanks!

-Joe
 

apoelin

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I do have a question/problem though. When I get a new text message, I can do the quick reply without a problem. However, if I don't do the quick reply and just open the MetroTalk app to look at my messages, it says "Looking for new messages" at the top for about 2 to 5 minutes, then it finally shows the new text messages that already popped up during the pop-up notification earlier. Question is, why does it take 2 to 5 minutes when I open MetroTalk to check for new messages since it gets messages as push notifications? Shouldn't those messages already be retrieved? I have the Refresh on Start option turned off. I am currently running the MetroTalk Free edition, but of course I'll get the full version once I get this figured out (I didn't realize the two difference until I started reading this thread). Am I missing something here? Doing something wrong?

I don't want to sound like looking for excuses, but unfortunately that's a limitation of WP. When a notification is received, the app knows nothing about it, since the app is not actually running. If you tap on the notification, the app associated with it is launched (which means MetroTalk), and the contents of the notification are made available by the operating system. That's how MetroTalk instantly displays the text in this case. If the notification is missed though, then it is gone forever. As far as the app goes, nothing has ever happened.

When you actually launch the app, then it needs to do a full folder refresh to show you any new messages. Even if the live tile says there are unread messages, the app can't know that! I know it sounds stupid, and in my opinion, it is! By default, a full folder refresh is triggered automatically if 30 minutes have passed since the last time a refresh happened. If that timer hasn't expired, and if you don't have "refresh on start" enabled, then you need to manually hit refresh. On my phone, on either WiFi or LTE, a full folder refresh takes anywhere from 5 to maybe 15 seconds if I have a bad connection. Your times of 2 to 5 mins definitely doesn't sound normal. Are you sure it wasn't just a super-weak cellular connection that was causing this?

I've been trying to find the best way to address this, and there is no clear best solution. I'll continue looking into it, but unless Microsoft does something in regards to how they handle push notifications, then any solution I pick will have its limitations.

Also, it looks like I have to open MetroTalk for the first time (after phone turns on) so it will get push notifications. Is that right? Is there a way to make it auto-run when the phone starts? Or is that against WP8 design? Once in the app, if I hit the back button, it stays running in the background and gets new notifications once again. If I go back into the app, I have to refresh and let it search for new messages and wait that 2 to 5 minutes for it to look for new messages.

That shouldn't be necessary. Like I said before, the app is not running anyway, at any given point that is not actually open. The only thing you need to do is occasionally launch the app, to make sure it verifies that the connection it maintains with the push notification server is valid. But for that, something like once per week should be more than enough. As long as notifications have been configured properly and enabled before, the phone should be able to receive them after rebooting, without any need for an action by you.

I hope this helps. I know my answers are not ideal, but we are doing the best we can with what we have available. MetroTalk will continue getting updates, as more things become possible, either by Microsoft or Google.
 

JoeMullin

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Thanks for the quick reply. Thanks for explaining how WP8 works - I always like to know how the OS operates and behaves behind the scenes. I've been doing these tests on wifi and have a good network speed. I tried uninstalling the MetroTalk free and bought the paid version, hoping that might work better. However, it still takes time to log in - it is a little faster. I timed the login, and it takes right around 55 seconds from when I open MetroTalk to when it says it is done checking for messages. Whether I had a new message or not did not seem to affect that time. I also went into my Google Voice account and removed the second phone number I had on there (to simplify things) and tried to find any settings that might cause this. But nothing changed the login time. I've looked over all the settings in MetroTalk and can't find anything that would cause this I think. Then, as a comparison test, I installed GoVoice (but didn't configure the notifications). When I open GoVoice, it connects to my Google Voice account and checks for messages in less than 5 seconds. Can you think of any other ideas why it is taking longer in MetroTalk to connect to my account? 55 seconds to connect is just too long to wait. Thanks :)
 

apoelin

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Thanks for the quick reply. Thanks for explaining how WP8 works - I always like to know how the OS operates and behaves behind the scenes. I've been doing these tests on wifi and have a good network speed. I tried uninstalling the MetroTalk free and bought the paid version, hoping that might work better. However, it still takes time to log in - it is a little faster. I timed the login, and it takes right around 55 seconds from when I open MetroTalk to when it says it is done checking for messages. Whether I had a new message or not did not seem to affect that time. I also went into my Google Voice account and removed the second phone number I had on there (to simplify things) and tried to find any settings that might cause this. But nothing changed the login time. I've looked over all the settings in MetroTalk and can't find anything that would cause this I think. Then, as a comparison test, I installed GoVoice (but didn't configure the notifications). When I open GoVoice, it connects to my Google Voice account and checks for messages in less than 5 seconds. Can you think of any other ideas why it is taking longer in MetroTalk to connect to my account? 55 seconds to connect is just too long to wait. Thanks :)
Do you mind sending me the email address you use on the WP store, at support AT metrotalk-windowsphone DOT com? I would like you to try the WP8 version, before going further with this.
 

joshingyou

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Hello apoelin,

First of all I just want to say great job!! I didn't know much about GV until I switched to WP8 and your app helps me a lot. So a big thank you!!

I just have a quick suggestion. Sometimes I would be at somewhere I don't have data connection (still have regular cellular signal, just no data). And as we all know WiFi will not stay on when screen is locked (I have a Lumia 920). So in that case I will not be able to get push notifications for SMS. Do you think you can implement a way that either

a) let me toggle "Receive text messages on this phone", as seen under (GV web app) "Settings" -> "Phone".
or
b) detect if the push notification actually arrives or not. If, say, the server doesn't get a delivery confirmation after 30 minutes, send out a real text message instead.

Again I have absolutely no idea how hard or easy this is gonna be, but I think it would be awesome to see these features.

Thanks a lot!! :)
 

eallan

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I don't know if I'm just dumb or what, but I definitely don't have any type of live tile action going on with my Lumia 920.
 

apoelin

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Hello apoelin,

First of all I just want to say great job!! I didn't know much about GV until I switched to WP8 and your app helps me a lot. So a big thank you!!

I just have a quick suggestion. Sometimes I would be at somewhere I don't have data connection (still have regular cellular signal, just no data). And as we all know WiFi will not stay on when screen is locked (I have a Lumia 920). So in that case I will not be able to get push notifications for SMS. Do you think you can implement a way that either

a) let me toggle "Receive text messages on this phone", as seen under (GV web app) "Settings" -> "Phone".
or
b) detect if the push notification actually arrives or not. If, say, the server doesn't get a delivery confirmation after 30 minutes, send out a real text message instead.

Again I have absolutely no idea how hard or easy this is gonna be, but I think it would be awesome to see these features.

Thanks a lot!! :)

I will be honest and say that I think it is unlikely to have an implementation, that allows MetroTalk to send out regular SMS over the cellular network. There are quite a few reasons for this; one of them being that WiFi keep-alive is coming soon to WP8, so that can hopefully help with your problem (I actually have the same problem when I am at work!). Having said that, allowing to toggle the GV setting that you mention in {a} should be doable; let me look into that.
 

apoelin

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Is there a way to allow voicemails to play via the earpiece instead of the speaker?

This was actually a limitation with WP7, and there was no way around it. WP8 addresses this issue, but implementing it is not straightforward. It is on my todo list, but it will probably take at least a couple of weeks, before getting it ready. In the meantime, your best solution is to use headphones when in a public setting. I apologize for the inconvenience; I know it can be a frustrating limitation! People actually give bad reviews about it too :)
 

philpeeps

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This was actually a limitation with WP7, and there was no way around it. WP8 addresses this issue, but implementing it is not straightforward. It is on my todo list, but it will probably take at least a couple of weeks, before getting it ready. In the meantime, your best solution is to use headphones when in a public setting. I apologize for the inconvenience; I know it can be a frustrating limitation! People actually give bad reviews about it too :)
Thanks for the reply. We use a GVoice account as our home phone through an ObiTalk box so our only use for it is voicemail. It is nice to hear that you are working on implementing this for WP8 and can rely on MetroTalk for listening to voicemails privately in the future instead of relying on speech to text emails of voicemails that are largely inaccurate.

2 purchases coming your way when that feature is implemented.
 

apoelin

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I don't know if I'm just dumb or what, but I definitely don't have any type of live tile action going on with my Lumia 920.

Not dumb :) First, what may not be clear, is that only the main app tile is live (long-tap on MetroTalk in the app list, choose "pin to start"). Any of the secondary tiles pinned from within the app (such as folders), are not. This may ultimately change but for now, it doesn't seem it's worth the extra work.

The live tile, can be updated through 2 ways:
(a) If you are already successfully receiving push notifications, then an unread counter on the live tile should also be updated, whenever a new notifications is received. If you need help enabling this functionality, please let me know. You can find this in settings -> push notifications; this can also be useful: Push Notifications ? MetroTalk.
(b) Through a background agent, that runs every 30mins, and checks for new messages. This option can be found under settings -> updating -> live tile sync.
 

eallan

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Not dumb :) First, what may not be clear, is that only the main app tile is live (long-tap on MetroTalk in the app list, choose "pin to start"). Any of the secondary tiles pinned from within the app (such as folders), are not. This may ultimately change but for now, it doesn't seem it's worth the extra work.

The live tile, can be updated through 2 ways:
(a) If you are already successfully receiving push notifications, then an unread counter on the live tile should also be updated, whenever a new notifications is received. If you need help enabling this functionality, please let me know. You can find this in settings -> push notifications; this can also be useful: Push Notifications ? MetroTalk.
(b) Through a background agent, that runs every 30mins, and checks for new messages. This option can be found under settings -> updating -> live tile sync.
Got it, I must've somehow pinned another section as a tile or something!

Thanks.

(Now make another great app for Google talk!)
 

jollydogg

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First time poster. Let me just say your app is amazing. It lets me avoid the $20 dollar unlimited text messaging per month fee with AT&T. Brilliant. I purchased the paid version for the Lumia 920. Is there a way to put notifications in the lock screen? I go to the lockscreen settings, and when I choose one of the blank spots, Metrotalk doesn't show up in the application selection.
 

apoelin

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First time poster. Let me just say your app is amazing. It lets me avoid the $20 dollar unlimited text messaging per month fee with AT&T. Brilliant. I purchased the paid version for the Lumia 920. Is there a way to put notifications in the lock screen? I go to the lockscreen settings, and when I choose one of the blank spots, Metrotalk doesn't show up in the application selection.

Thanks for the support :) That functionality is not there yet, but give it a couple of more days, and things will change :) Here's the full changelog actually for the upcoming release:

- New: Windows Phone 8 support
- New: Fast resume
- New: Multi-size tile support
- New: Lock-screen unread counter
- New: Text-to-speech
- New: Added ability to auto-dial a contact directly from the start screen (a new pin-to-start menu has been introduced in Call/Text)
- New: Additional folder pages can now be downloaded using a scroll-up gesture
- New: Option for enabling private mode, which hides any sender or content info for new notifications
- New: Option to disable vibrating on new messages
- Update: Added new icon for the Call/Text secondary tile
- Update: The account PIN is now hidden in settings
- Bug fix: Secondary tiles are working now on WP8
 

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