ThreadSMS - 3rd Edition Beta
I’ve had the pleasure of beta testing Ehandysoft’s ThreadSMS solution for S60v3 devices. ThreadSMS displays your SMS and MMS in a threaded, IM-like format, making it easier to keep up with conversations. It’s something that Darla Mack and Stefan have requested before, and I think is a great idea.
I want to point out that this is a beta version of the software. There’s still some fixes to implement, and room for feedback, so it’s far from final. My mini-review, with screenshots, follows….
**Update** I just received an email from the developer containing an updated version. I’ll play for a few days and post any findings. I’ll say this: even if you don’t have a rock solid product yet, being so accessible and dedicated makes up for it, in my book. I love developers that love their product.
**Update** You can now get your own copy of ThreadSMS. There’s a trial and a full version, which is only $15. From what I have seen so far, there will be more updates to this app, so you don’t have to worry about paying once and then never getting an update.
First off, I’ll say that the app doesn’t replace (or attempt to) the default inbox. You may like or dislike this. I’m still on the fence on it. I went ahead and changed my left softkey, which is normally "Messaging" to ThreadSMS, so that it would become my default view. 
However, when you receive a message, you’ll still get the OS-level message, and that still opens the default messaging app.
So here’s the rundown. For what the app is for, it does well. It’s a little heavy in the memory department (I have yet to run it at the same time as another app). When you view your messages, it will show you the timestamp (in military time, no option for am/pm) as well as an arrow indicating whether it was incoming or outgoing. Received messages are also shown in black font, with your sent messages showing in red font, so it’s really easy to read the chat conversation.
Longer messages are truncated after 2 lines on the main screen, and shown with a "…" at the end, to let you know there’s more. You can scroll up and down through the conversation, and clicking on a message shows you its entirety.
In the options menu, there are several cool things you can do. The first is sending the app to someone else. This is done with an sms link, and did not work in my trials. Another option is creating a new SMS to someone. 
With the trial version of this app, you do not have access to your internal phone book. Registration removes this restriction, and you can go through your phonebook and select your recipients, just as you would with the built-in SMS creation. You cannot create an MMS with this app, only SMS.
There is also an option to send a FlashSMS. This is a feature available with purchase of CoolSMS+, available from the same developer. More information can be found here.
And now for the negatives (most of which can easily be fixed):
1. Memory HOG
2. There’s nothing that I can see to designate new messages. You have the OS-level indicator, but when I pull up ThreadSMS, I can’t figure out who just sent me the message. There should be some sort of indicator as to the contact that just sent me the message.
3. Once a message is sent, that same message is in the editing box when you go to send another, ala S40. Once a message is sent, you should get a clear box to send another message from. Can confirm that this has been fixed in the most recent version.
4. Would be ideal if it could take over the system app, much like Handy Taskman does with the task manager.
Verdict: Great for a beta, too soon to tell on the final version. A big plus is that the trial is fully functional for testing. The only limits are that it tags every message with "Sent from CoolSMS" and that you can’t pull up the phonebook. No clue as to a release date for the final version, but rest assured I’ll let you know.
The developer could do far worse than simply duplicate the Palm Treo SMS application. That’s one killer app; they totally nailed usability as far receiving, reading and sending SMS are concerned.
Wheres the trial version???
Kriegspiel is right, having changed from a Treo 600 to the Nokia N95 I am really missing the Palm OS app, it feels like going backwards 10 years using the N95 for TXT in comparison. But yes… Where is the trial version???
Same here…going from Treo 650 to N95 and i’m really missing the SMS app. The SMS os app doesn’t even have Most Recent contacts. Very dissapointing. I’m willing to try this app if for nothing else then to have the Recent Contacts.
Thanks
It would also be nice if you can select and forward entire thread messages. Something you can do with the Treo.
Thanks.
how do you get the chat thread to show the name of the txter instead of the number?