With Apple's iOS 8 now out and OS Yosemite set to be released sometime later this year, many users are excited about what Apple calls continuity or the ability to hand off phone calls and send and receive text messages on a Mac computer and iPad.
But what about those who use Android? While Google has not announced any of these features on its own, luckily we have PPLConnect.
Setting up PPLConnect
Creating an account on the app is extremely easy and allows the user to get started straight away. Once that account is created, users can install the app on their tablet and log in, or even log in on a web page using Chrome on their computer. Overall, the team at PPLConnect has made installation and setup of the service extremely easy.
Once everything is set up, the user essentially has a virtual phone online, from which users can make or take calls and send and receive text messages. In fact, the user's smartphone doesn't even have to be turned on for many of the features to work. If the phone is off, everything will be up to date as of the latest "sync," and once the phone is turned on again, regular SMS messages will be sent and received, bringing everything up to date.
Once logged in to PPLConnect, the interface is quite easy to navigate and it looks good. Not only that, but if the deep red is a little too much, users can change the background in their settings.
OK, so I have a virtual phone. What does that mean?
The user can now log in to their PPLConnect account from any computer or tablet, enabling them to send and receive texts and make phone calls straight from the computer. In fact, the user doesn't have to have their smartphone anywhere nearby for this to happen. Unfortunately users cannot yet receive calls on their tablet or computer, but they will get a notification of an incoming call.
"Typing on the computer is still infinitely faster and more convenient. It keeps me from getting distracted from other things on my phone," said PPLConnect user Brittanie Crain. "I can keep my phone in a completely different room and not have to worry about missing texts while at my computer."
One example given by PPLConnect is that of someone who is traveling and doesn't want to pay expensive roaming fees. They can leave their phone at home and use their computer as their phone.
Another example is if for someone forgets his or her phone at home when they are at work or at a friend's house.
"The situation I find PPLCpnnect best serves me is when I do leave my phone at home, I never have to worry about staying in contact with friends, family or loved ones," said PPLConnect user Mark Gabbitas in an email. "And they would never have to worry about staying in contact with me."
Beta Blues
It's important to note that PPLConnect is still in beta, so there will be a few kinks and bugs to be worked out.
One of those is that the service is sometimes slow, and users have to refresh to make sure they don't have any new messages.
"They've gotten tons better about this, but I used to feel like I always need to refresh the tab to reconnect with my phone after being gone from my computer for awhile," continued Crain.
While PPLConnect can make calls, they are currently not free. Calls are not charged by the user's carrier, but instead by PPLConnect because of the connection fee involved.
Conclusions
PPLConnect does have a few issues but it's also in beta and those issues are far outweighed by the positives of the service. The possibilities are endless: traveling, losing your phone, not wanting to leave the couch -- PPLConnect can help in all of those situations and more. There has long been a need for something like this and PPLConnect has finally filled that need.
