June 22, 2011

Texty Rebrands as MightyText, Adds Call Info to Chrome

In late March, I introduced you to a great Chrome add-on that interfaces with Android to let you send and receive texts from the Web browser. I use it constantly, sending messages to friends and family from my computer without having to pick up the phone. It's extremely convenient. Today, the extension added some great new features, expanding from texting to call information, and has rebranded as MightyText.

If you don't remember, the initial attraction to Texty was getting instant notification of incoming texts on the computer, and getting the option to respond from the desktop interface, including viewing text history and integration with Google contacts to reveal true names of senders instead of phone numbers. There are some similarities to Google Voice in this regard, but the extension works for users regardless of their status with Google Voice, and is always at the forefront, assuming you have Chrome open. Of course, performance on ChromeOS is great as well.

A recent text conversation via the browser using MightyText.

Today the company moves beyond just text, with two major features - first being a live "Calling Now" notification, which gives you a popup notification on the desktop showing who is calling and the timestamp. You can respond from the desktop via SMS to say "call me back later" or dismiss the notification and pick up the phone. The second addition is missed call notifications, where popup notifications will immediately display on the desktop showing who the missed call was from and the timestamp, again with the option to follow up by SMS.

For those who like to put their phones to the side and work on their desktops without interruption or switching to a different device, MightyText's duplication of phone functionality is very useful. Since launch, the extension reports more than 12,000 users, and a 4 1/2 star rating on the Chrome store. It's one of my must-have extensions on all computers.