It's no secret that Android's stock messaging app is lackluster, both in terms of appearance and functionality. Major players like Handcent and ChompSMS have stepped up to the plate and do a fine job of addressing both of these shortcomings, but they're not without their own issues. Enter GO SMS, a new alternative that's already attracting a surprising amount of attention.

Despite having been on the Market for no more than a week, GO has already made it to the 10,000-50,000 download range, and with 384 ratings and a 4.09 star average, it seems to be doing quite well. The developers are keeping a close eye on user reviews, and have even created a thread on the XDA-Developers forums to get more input.  Thus far, the comments seem to be considerably positive, with most users commenting on how much snappier the app is than Handcent.

The app's official feature list:

GO SMS is an amazing SMS replacement app for Android, providing cool UI,fast,convenient SMS/MMS experience.
-Chat style
-Popup,quick reply
-Full MMS/SMS support
-Quick search
-Batch mode
-Faster and slimmer than handcent SMS or chompSMS

Recent changes:
1.New theme settings, with GO and Christmas themes
2.New share, feedback menu
3.Fix message out of order for Droid Droid2 and Droid X

Think it's worth a try? Hit up AppBrain or scan the QR code below.

[qr]com.jb.mms[/qr]