A report recently came out that says parents and teachers are not communicating. Parents blame their busy schedules for not being able to meet with teachers.The report also said that parents know more about their bank accounts then they do about their kid’s report card. The reason for this is simple. The information about your bank account is readily available online and via text messaging. → Read More
Tatango, the ad-supported group SMS service previously known as networkText, spent the last few months in a private beta following a functional and visual overhaul and a round of funding by Bellingham Angel Organization. Now everyone is free to get in on the group texting good times; they’ve opened the doors to the public. The service is dead simple to use, as it should be. I made the jump from… → Read More
Some people out there are under the impression that they’re the only ones using text messages in the US. Turns out it’s become more popular than you might think, with 301 billion texts forecasted total for 2008. But the SMS’s time in the sun might be over before the zenith, as mobile IM is set to overtake it, or so the analysts say. I don’t think that’s going to happen this year, and you… → Read More
Some people out there are under the impression that they’re the only ones using text messages in the US. Turns out it’s become more popular than you might think, with 301 billion texts forecasted total for 2008. But the SMS’s time in the sun might be over before the zenith, as mobile IM is set to overtake it, or so the analysts say. I don’t think that’s going to… → Read More
In what’s sure to be recognized as one of the greatest inventions of 2008 (by me, at least), here’s a shelf that can be bent every which way, thanks to the miracle of “elastomer” AND displays your favorite RSS feeds and any incoming text messages. → Read More
Need something immediately? Want to check on a price? Text your search term to 262966 (“AMAZON”) and Amazon will hunt down a few items from its online store. Reply and Amazon will call you to confirm your order. The usage model is fairly compelling: you’re in a store, and you see something you want. You simply text Amazon to confirm that it’s cheaper online and then spit in… → Read More
I was spoiled. The first phone that I had when this whole “texting” (as the kids call it) craze hit was a T-Mobile Sidekick, which included unlimited SMS messages with the data plan. Then somewhere along the lines, I fell off the wagon and switched to Sprint in order to get my hands on a Treo 650. Imagine my surprise when I got my first bill and found out I’d all of a sudden been… → Read More
Yep, that’s right, folks. Starting March 30, 2008, your standard SMS rate will now be 20 cents and MMS rates will be 30 cents. If you’re on an all-you-can-eat plan then it doesn’t matter, but for those of you on an ala carte plan, you might want to consider switching plans. AT&T Raising SMS Rates [Phone News] → Read More
In June, the city of Boston set up an anonymous text-a-tip line for its police department, allowing people to send text messages reporting suspicious behavior and crimes-in-progress. Now the neighboring city of Cambridge is developing a similar system for its own police department but will add an outgoing alert option that allows the city’s residents to subscribe to alerts issued by the… → Read More
saRAH STFU ALL OF UZZ….IM REALY CONFUSEDDDDD RYT NAW SUM OF U SAY VAGUR IZ GOOD ND SUM SAY IPHONE ROCKZ….OMGG!!!! FUK U IM GTN IPHONE! This is a perfect example of how a pubescent teen spells these days. Hell, saRAH is probably a 20-something. What are you even trying to say? I’m so confused. Sure, this sort of exchange is fine over SMS, but when it crosses into the classroom… → Read More
http://cellfish.com/static/swf/player8.swf?Id=241751 This looks like it’s easy to use. Plus, the video is both funny AND informative. It basically allows you to send videos to your phone via text message. Available videos are on Cellfish’s own web site but developers can play around with the API or use the "Add-to-Phone" widget to offer content from their own sites. You can… → Read More
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a sucker for food-related convenience and, as such, I’ve been using Papa John’s excellent online ordering system since it was first introduced back in 2001. The pizza chain has just introduced an order-by-text-message feature similar to the Domino’s text messaging system we told you about a few months ago. Same basic premise… → Read More
Texting while driving is a sure fire way to get a ticket or get in an accident. Just being back in California this last week makes me wonder why and how I ever used my phone while driving. It’s ridiculously stupid and unsafe, but I still do it. Heh. But things may change thanks to some fancy speech solutions from Nuance. Oh, yeah, DWT means driving while texting. Watch the video and see how easy… → Read More
TEXTING + DRIVING = DEAD MOOSE Driving while talking on your cellphone may have risks involved, but it’s still possible to do it safely via one way or another. However, when it comes to texting and driving, that’s just a bad mix no matter how you look at it. My roommate texts and drives all the time, even when he’s doing 80MPH down the BQE. It kind of freaks me out and I just… → Read More
Research firm Gartner is predicting that SMS will become obsolete or at the very least become insignificant by 2010. Duh. The report may only apply in Australia, but it isn’t very hard to see the correlation here in the U.S. Mobile e-mail is becoming more prevalent every day with Joe Shmoe picking up a BlackBerry or some other smartphone with e-mail capabilities. You may be led to believe… → Read More
Our paranoid UK readers who rock 128-bit encryption on every file will be happy to know that Vodafone UK will be bringing encryption to text messages. The company recently announced plans to bring an encrypted SMS service to customers. Partnering with Broca, Vodafone will use Broca’s SAMS technology to ensure that all messages are encrypted. No word yet on what kind of encryption will be… → Read More
While NJ may have been one of the first states to ban driving and talking on a cellphone, Washington is smart enough to realize that plenty of people still text while they drive. Now in an effort to curb accidents and careless driving, Washington has made it illegal to operate a cellphone while driving. However, it’s a secondary offense, meaning the po’ can only give you a ticket if… → Read More
Do you use Skype? Do you SMS people with Skype? No? Didn’t think so. Well, now there’s a bit more reason to give it a go. From May 2 to May 8 — which is the week of Saint Erasmus, the martyred patron saint of digital communications popular in Asia and Europe but not so popular in the United States — SMSes through Skype will be 50% off. What does that translate into big… → Read More
Before you get all excited about paying your taxes with your cellphone so you can get back to eating Cheese Doodles and watching World Series Poker, note that this is only happening in the Philippines currently. The country’s Internal Revenue Bureau has struck a deal with major telecom and banking groups that will allow personal income taxes to be paid via SMS. Unfortunately, this new PAYBIR… → Read More
Qantas, the official airline of Australia, has announced they will begin a three month public trial on one of Boeing 767s in the fleet for domestic flights. Emirates and Ryanair have also announced intentions to have such trials. Unfortunately, the US won’t be experiencing such trials anytime soon. I, for one, am happy about that. I hate people who talk very LOUD on the bus, and I’m liable to… → Read More
Are you down and out? Are you on the street? Does evening fall so hard that you’d like Paul Simon to comfort you? Fear not, brave soul. Moka has some content for you. Moka is an odd SMS service that condenses and sends the key thoughts from many popular self-help books (Louise Hay’s “You Can Heal Your Life,” Wayne Dyers “Inspiration,” God’s “The… → Read More
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