Sure, I understand the point, but I just don't think it's any kind of better solution. It's different, and has pros and cons. I don't want to install multiple apps just to have cross-platform compatibility. And I have that already with Apple's solution -- sure, iMessage itself is not compatible with Android, but I can still message people on Android phones without pre-arranging a platform to communicate on. Messaging works regardless, no matter who I'm talking to, it just works a little bit better if they happen to be on an iPhone.

To me that's the ideal solution, or at least the basis for one. Would I like everyone to have iMessage capabilities (or equivalent, like Google's proprietary RCS)? You bet. Let's try for that reality. Get Google to release their upgrades to RCS so everyone can use it, make that a standard, make every phone OS support it.