Smozzy (for Android/T-Mobile)
Consumer and social
mobile web browsing
SHOW HN2011
How HN took it
14 positive, 20 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 11 critical, out of 46 comments about the project. Thread score +0.07.
Idea: 11 for, 6 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 2 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clever and creative use of SMS and MMS
From 4 comments
Cute and clever. Browsing the web at 140 characters at a time.
teyc on HNMan, you are clever. Check this. If this is based on SMS/MMS, then I should be able to text you an address and have you return the pages as MMS.
rokhayakebe on HNYou really can't think outside of the box any more than that. This is so impressive.
mikerice on HNThat's even more horribly wonderful than I expected! I suspect you'd get a 4.0 if you went for a degree in Southern Engineering.
calebmpeterson on HN
Useful for travelers or emergencies without data
From 2 comments
You sir, are a genius. This definitely helps a lot for tourists that can get unlimited text plans without data. I'll get you a few beta-testers.
stefanobernardi on HNBeautiful and really impressive use of technology. There are times when I'm outside the data network range of T-Mobile, I would make use of this. The app crashed while attempting…
marquis on HN
Objections
Carriers will likely shut it down or block it
From 3 comments
This is gonna get shut down so fast...
mattbillenstein on HN> so that's how I do that. Probably not for long!
dabeeeenster on HNThis is a cool idea, but it sounds like something that will be shut down pretty quickly. If not directly, then by carriers who decide that your unlimited texting plan actually…
eogas on HN
Too slow for day-to-day use, 15 seconds to a minute per page
From 2 comments
Not sufficient for day-to-day use, probably between 15 seconds and a minute to get a page. But if you don't have a data plan, it's possibly better than nothing...
FaceKicker on HNIt's definitely not fast, but it's not quite as bad as you might think. While I was testing it, the whole pipeline, from pressing the "go" button to the page being fully rendered…
FaceKicker on HN
No JavaScript, Ajax, streaming or HTTPS support
From 2 comments
None of those things work right now (and honestly probably never will). This only has very basic HTTP functionality. One of the most annoying ones is when sites have Javascript…
FaceKicker on HNHow does this work for sites that use Ajax / Javascript that requires server connections? What about streaming audio / video, and how about cross-site stuff? Does all that get…
rexreed on HN
Security concern: passwords and sensitive data sent via proxy unencrypted
From 2 comments
Nice. I hope the app has a "don't send passwords" warning in there ;) Also, how do you (do you?) handle SSL operations, specially POSTs?
psychotik on HNWhat User-Agent string are you using? It's a clever hack, but I can't allow my users to access sensitive information via your proxy. It sounds like you might be changing or…
qjz on HN
Requests
Work with SMS/MMS apps like Texty or DeskSMS
From 1 comment
Any chance we can get it to work with things like Texty or DeskSMS? It seems that these apps grab the MMS messages and the app never receives the page, I think.
srcasm on HN
Expand beyond US and T-Mobile
From 2 comments
Wow, that's actually a really cool idea. When do you guys plan to expand outside the US?
ltamake on HNWhy is it T-Mobile only?
LukeShu on HN
Questions
Why is it T-Mobile only
From 2 comments
Very interesting hack. I've been trying to access the voice settings to modem-dial for a while, but I didn't think to (ab)use SMS this way. Why T-Mobile only, though? In theory,…
e1ven on HNWhy is it T-Mobile only?
LukeShu on HN
Who pays for the MMS responses
From 1 comment
Who pays for the MMS you send back? You or the recipient? (Or is it free?)
bambax on HN
How does it handle JavaScript and SSL POSTs
From 2 comments
Nice. I hope the app has a "don't send passwords" warning in there ;) Also, how do you (do you?) handle SSL operations, specially POSTs?
psychotik on HNHow does this work for sites that use Ajax / Javascript that requires server connections? What about streaming audio / video, and how about cross-site stuff? Does all that get…
rexreed on HN
Alternatives named
SiteonMobile by HP Labs India
From 1 comment
HP Labs India has created similar (same?) technology called SiteonMobile some time before. http://www.siteonmobile.com/…
Garbage on HN
Receive web pages by email service
From 1 comment
Reminds me of a similar service that would email you a pdf of a site. edit: http://www.labnol.org/internet/receive-web-pages-by-email/18117/
wingerlang on HN
JSON over SMS by PPK
From 1 comment
PPK came up with JSON over SMS, which would be a great way for people to use apps with phones (or in countries) that don't support data (including MMS). I guess this is a much…
dave1010uk on HN