Cola, the App that Simplifies Text, Now in Beta

Text chains are a drag. A simple question like “when do you want to meet up?” or “What do we need to get done today?” quickly turns into an unwieldy 40-message chain of “what abouts…” and “I dunnos…” — not to mention the long pauses. For better or worse, this is 2015, so simply calling someone isn’t really an option unless it’s a real emergency. Mobile app developers have been seeing opportunity in this pain-point for years, yet while chat apps like WhatsApp solve some of the problem, they still leave your phone’s native, normal SMS functionality lacking any upgrade.

The New York-based iphone app development team at Cola has created a bold new alternative to chat apps: an app that consolidates your text messages in self-contained “bubbles,” allowing users to cut down on back-and-forth while simultaneously organizing their messages according to goal. Sound exciting? It’s currently in beta.

Taking a look at the beta UI on their landing page, the app looks pretty promising and highly original. The ability to send native checklists, a/b multiple choice options, and full calendar integrations has the potential to be a serious time-saver for users.

The app is currently iOS-only, but is compatible with Android devices for sending bubbles. Android users are able to receive the bubbles and interact with them normally.

Cola app developers currently offers “bubbles” for a range of occasions from scheduling meetings to sharing grocery and to-do lists. Whether the app takes off as a day-to-day solution for iPhone users remains to be seen, but either way it’s encouraging to see more apps integrating with native iOS systems to deliver more streamlined, personalized versions of existing technologies rather than reinventing the wheel.