- Text
Messages can be Sent and Received by Most New Cell Phones
- To
be able to send and receive text messages, you should first check
with your cellular service provider to make sure that they provide
this service. Make sure you check the pricing plan, most companies
charge.
- You
usually have to add this feature to your account for a small fee
per month. In bulk, the messages are 1-2 cents each. If you opt
to be charged for each message, received messages are usually 2
cents and sent messages (from your phone) are 10 cents.
- Messages
are usually limited to 100-200 characters. Longer
messages are cutoff at the limit.
- Contact
your internet provider--they can help you setup the forwarding of
your e-mail to your phone
- Three
Methods to Send a Text Message
- Method
1: Use Your Email Client (Outlook, Outlook Express, etc).
If your phone number is (703) 555-1212, then your phone's e-mail
address would be:
- SprintPCS
- 7035551212@messaging.sprintpcs.com
- Nextel
- 7035551212@messaging.nextel.com
- Verizon
- 7035551212@vtext.com
- Qwest
Wireless - 7035551212@qwestp.com
- AT&T
Wireless -7035551212@mobile.att.net
- T-Mobile
- 703551212@t-mobile.com
- Cingular
– 7035551212@mobile.mycingular.com
- Method
2 -- Use a Messaging Gateway.
Messaging gateways are websites for sending message to cell phones.
Each cell phone vendor has a gateway. Their use is free and unrestricted
for the sender. Here are selected gateways:
- Method
3: Use Your Cell Phone.
- Most
cell phone operators now provide SMS interoperability.
- You
can simply send a Text Message to a particular cell phone number
(for example, 7035551212). The gateway for each vendor will
pass the message onto the appropriate vendor’s gateway. Your
cell phone must support two-way messaging to send a text message.
- Text
messaging can be added
to some older phones with a free firmware upgrade. Check with
your wireless provided for more information.
- Learn
the Texting Lingo
- Text
messaging has its own language. Since messages are limited to 120
to 160 characters and the phone keyboard is awkward, users have
developed a messaging shorthand. Here are a few good links to help
you master text messaging.
- Text
Message Pricing
- In
the beginning, send and receiving text messages was free, even you
only had a pre-paid phone account. Many used texting to save money.
Now, unfortunately, texting is not free
- You
can buy text messaging in bulk. For instance, Verizon charges a
monthly fee of $6.95 for 600 messages for $2.95 for 100 messages.
- You
can also pay by the message without any recurring monthly charge.
For instance, Verizon charges 2 cents for each received message
and 10 cents for each message sent from a cell phone. Clearly, if
you use texting on a regular basis, the bulk plan is best.
- Messages
sent from gateways are free. However, the recipient still pays.
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