Motorola Xoom™: Companion

Texting and Instant Messaging Contacts

Texting and instant messaging are two different things, so before you start, here's a little refresher. When you instant message someone, you hold a text conversation using a program both you and the recipient have open, such as Google Talk, AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and the like. You hold instant messaging conversations when you need and expect some back-and-forth conversation between you and your contact. The Xoom comes with Google Talk for this purpose; but you may need additional messaging programs to communicate with all your contacts (specifically those who don't use Google Talk).

Texting is a different communication method. Texting is what you do when you send a short message to someone, such as one you'd send from one cell phone to another. (Texting is technically a Short Message Service [SMS].) You do not open a program and hope to hold an ongoing conversation; much of the time a simple text is just a note to say, “I'm on my way” or “I love you.” Texting is a universal technology, and one that is mostly associated with cell phones. Unfortunately, the Xoom does not come with an app that handles texting, so if you want to send texts to cell phones, you need to find an app to help you.

CHOOSING AN INSTANT MESSAGING APP

You can use Google Talk, already on your Xoom, to hold instant messaging conversations with others you know that also use Google Talk. You can send messages to any of those contacts that are online, or send messages ...