Exclusive: Chat is Google’s next big fix for Android’s messaging mess - The Verge

Check the full article for more details and an index of several of Google's earlier Android messaging apps; also see Meet Chat, another new Google messaging service that’s still not as good as Apple’s iMessage (BGR)

"Now, the company is doing something different. Instead of bringing a better app to the table, it’s trying to change the rules of the texting game, on a global scale. Google has been quietly corralling every major cellphone carrier on the planet into adopting technology to replace SMS. It’s going to be called “Chat,” and it’s based on a standard called the “Universal Profile for Rich Communication Services.” SMS is the default that everybody has to fall back to, and so Google’s goal is to make that default texting experience on an Android phone as good as other modern messaging apps.

As part of that effort, Google says it’s “pausing” work on its most recent entry into the messaging space, Allo. It’s the sort of “pause” that involves transferring almost the entire team off the project and putting all its resources into another app, Android Messages."

Exclusive: Chat is Google’s next big fix for Android’s messaging mess - The Verge