Nexus S, Nexus One receive SMS redirection bug fix builds

he users who have long suffered with a random SMS addressing bug that has gathered a lot of attention lately may soon see fixes. Both the recently introduced Samsung Nexus S on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and the HTC Nexus One on Android 2.2 (Froyo) have seen minor updates this weekend that reportedly fix the bug.

The Nexus One gets an update from Android 2.2.1 (FRG83D) to Android 2.2.2 (FRG83G). Meanwhile, the Nexus S receives an update to 2.3.2. Both updates are bug fix updates, and both fix the SMS redirection bug.

Of course, those on other devices will still be affected, until a similar patch rolls to their device. It's unclear if this patch will break the ability to root a patched device.

AT&T to launch new SMS plans, raise activation fees

AT&T is about to change its messaging plans, though it's unclear why.  It could be about Verizon, especially with competition with that carrier's iPhone. It could also be a response to free text messaging rivals which are intrude on carriers' cash cows. Whatever the reason, it's coming.

The new plans were shown off in a leaked Best Buy image obtained by GearLive on Jan. 19. The two new plans will run $10 for 1,500 or $20 for unlimited. Going extinct after Jan. 23, except for those grandfathered in, are the $5 / 200 message plan and the $15 / 1500 message plan. On that day, AT&T will also be raising its activation fees to $36.

Of course, SMS messages piggyback on top of the control channel, so it actually costs carriers nothing. Despite this, text messages are their cash cow. If people get too used to using some IM service, or even Google Voice to avoid paying SMS fees, it will really hurt their bottom lines.

On the other hand, it's a lot easier to use the regular SMS app on your phone than to use an IM app (which your best friends may not use, anyway).

Google raises 'misaddressed SMS' bug priority to critical

Obviously not an Android phone ...

Google has raised the priority of the SMS bug we wrote about earlier from medium to critical, likely because of all the recent publicity. The bug, in which an SMS is sent to a random contact instead of the currently selected one, was first reported in June.

The bug is reportedly not that easy to reproduce. An unscientific survey by ZDNet shows that 26 percent of respondents have seen the issue; a couple of days ago the results showed 10 percent.

At least one site has already called foul on the report, going so far as to assert "The “Android SMS Bug” Does Not Exist." The author compares the issue to a case of unintended acceleration in his past, when he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes. In other words, he attributes it to user error.

To be honest, we use, test, and develop software for Android devices, and over a variety of handsets (over 30 at the time of this writing), we have never seen this issue, once. One thing we have seen, while using Flyscreen (a 3rd party app we use as our lock screen) is that when trying to send an email from one of their Widgets, we often see the addressing autofill lag, so that it would be easy to misaddress an email (to be clear: the UI is custom UI to Flyscreen). Could this be the same issue with the SMS bug?

Most people say it happens randomly, and infrequently, if at all. Those are the bugs that are hardest to fix. It's obviously not as common as the iPhone 4 "death grip issue," as a search for a YouTube video for the issue brings up nothing obvious.

Our view is that there probably is a bug, but very hard to reproduce or requires other applications to be installed or settings to be set to create the "perfect storm" on the device.

One commenter at Android Guys says he can reproduce the issue on approximately 1 out of 5 texts. Another has asked if he can upload a video of the issue, to end the naysayers' rants. If that happens, this conjecture about "bug or not a bug" can end.

Months-old SMS bug still plaguing Android users

This bug should really hurt sales of Android phones to teens now that it's being publicized. It appears that Google has been unable to fix a months-old SMS bug, that randomly sends SMS messages to the wrong contact in your Address Book.

Tiger Woods should probably stay away from Android phones too. Can you imagine if the bug sent an SMS meant for Rachel Uchitel to Elin Nordegren instead (although in the long run, she found out anyway).

At any rate, ZDNet notes that the bug was first noted in June of this year. The bug is only given a priority of Medium, which would seem to be too low, considering how people use SMS messages nowadays.

It seems to be more prevalent if users have Facebook and/or Twitter SMS notifications enabled. The bug even exists on custom ROMs from Cyanogen and other unofficial sources, meaning it's a core Android bug.

One commenter in the bug thread said:

To list this issue as “medium” is a gross understatement. This is much worse than iphone’s drop call problem.

It's much worse than the iPhone's dropped call problem, to many, because SMS has become more used than voice calling to communicate between mobile phone users.

Another comment:

I have always been a big fan of Google Android phones. Sure the user interface may not be as polished as the iPhone. I admit the Exchange support might not be as tightly integrated as it is on the Blackberry. But, I’m a geek and I’m willing to put up with some annoyances as a trade-off for speed and flexibility and customization. And I’m not alone. Market researchers Canalys and NPD Group both recently published reports stating Android was running on > 40% of all smart phones in the United States. It would seem Android is destined for dominance.

Except somewhere along the way, Google seems to have forgotten first and foremost Android phones need to be phones. And that is why I’m seriously considering making the move to Blackberry or Windows Phone 7.

We have not experienced the issue ourselves, but the only 100 percent sure workaround for those who are seeing the issue would be to use some IM client, and one that works across multiple IM platforms. Some have changed their usage away from SMS and to IM, anyway, as there's no extra charge for IM.

However, although Google has been trying to fix this since June, it still persists, even with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). According to a ZDNet poll, only 10 percent of respondents have been affected by the bug, but that's at least 10 percent too many.