If you’re the kind of texter who types something in, thinks better of it, and deletes it to start again, or cringes if a spelling mistake slips by unnoticed until you hit “send,” Android’s new texting app may be your worst nightmare.
Beam Messenger is a free real-time texting app that allows the recipient to see everything you’re typing (or deleting), and vice versa. It’s described as the closest a messaging app can get to a verbal conversation.
“Unlike the current methods of text-based communication, that happen in turn-based fashion, our app allows people to chat the way they would in person – in real time, coming in at any point in the conversation and without waiting for the other person to hit ‘send,’” Beam’s website says.
BuzzFeed calls it “terrifyingly transparent.”
While the effect produced by Beam certainly turns texting into a different and potentially more informative kind of conversation, the implications are sort of terrifying. People already go crazy staring at the standard “now typing” ellipsis. Imagine Beam in the hands of people after a first date! Or worried parents! Or drunks!
According to The Huffington Post, the app also arranges messages consistent with the order they were sent.
“If your friend is typing a sentence and you text them while they’re still typing, the app will cut them off and display your message in the middle of their sentence, sort of approximating what it’s like to blurt something out while your friend’s talking in a conversation,” HuffPo said.
Beam is available only on Android right now. But the app’s website said an iOS version is coming soon.
I rarely type my texts. I usually voice them, then quickly review the text and correct the inevitable mistakes my iPhone makes when trying to interpret and type in my words. (I swear, my iPhone has a mind of its own.)
But when I do type my texts, I often find myself deleting sentences and starting anew. I would hate this app. If I wanted to have a more verbal-like conversation, I would call someone or talk to them face to face. In my opinion, that’s one of the beauties of texting: the ability to revise your words before hitting “send.”
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