Recently Gupshup went mobile and launched it’s in house android application. The app brings almost the entire web functionality to mobile phone without much fuss. I am not a great fan of Gupshup but all those who do indeed use their services, this is a must have installation in your device.
Starting from very beginning, Gupshup requires you to register your phone with mobile number, to which a verification sms is sent, much similar to what Whatsapp, Hike, Viber verification mechanism. Thus essentials ties your app to a fixed number and prevents misuses. Once verified and logged in, you are greeted with a home-screen with options to view Public feed (of people/groups you follow), Private feed, Activity, Explore (lists down people/groups, you can follow them).
Posting to your own group is as easy as keying in the message and tapping your avatar (acts as send button)! No complications. Just type and you are good to go…! Apart from keeping up with latest updated from your group and followings, GupShup android app also allows you to send free sms to anyone in India! This, however comes with a catch. At a time, you can send a maximum of 4 free text messages after which the recipient needs to reply at-least once. Don’t expect a 160by2 or Way2Sms sort of free sms service, it isn’t.
Barring the “free sms” disclaimer, gupshup android app also lags a bit. I gave it a test run on my Samsung Galaxy S II and the scroll down to refresh feed lagged a lot, sometimes the app took a good amount of time to redraw the screen (sorry for being wee-bit technical). Coming with “Beta” tag, this sort of errant behavior is expected.
Gupshup android application is available for free in Google Play Store. You can download the app by following the image link given below.