SMS 411, or Communicating without speaking - 03-11-2009 08:02 AM
Post-surgery I could not talk or even make noises (now I have started to talk, but I am not very understandable because of the mucous that builds up in my mouth; not having a tongue to deal with the stuf, I wind up blowing bubbles instead of making noises).
CELL PHONE TO CELL PHONE
So, I stopped using the microphone on my cell phone and started using the keypad and the Short Messaging System (SMS, aka TXT) -- After a almost a month of paying TXT message by TXT message, I wised up and got one of Verizon's TXT plans -- I tried the one for $10 additional -- I think it was 500 TXT plus unlimited to other VZW subscribers, but reviewing my usage yesterday, I modified that to $5/month for 250 messages -- That seems to be enough for me -- YMMV!
Other carriers may have different plans; Sprint wants $5 for 300 and $15 for unlimited, for example.
CELL PHONE TO NON-CELL PHONE
I discovered that if I send a TXT message to a non-cell phone, Verizon's system will detect that it is a land-line and ask if I want the message left as a voice mail! That works on single private lines, but seems to be spotty on commercial systems and one gets no feedback as to success. Not having a land line myself, I still haven't listened to one of these. I don't know if other wireless carriers have similar services.
CELL PHONE TO EMAIL
I also did some research regarding sending TXT messages from my cell to email for other people and here's how to do that -- Just send address the message to an email address typed in the To: field or from addresses stored in your cell phone address book instead of to a telephone number.
EMAIL TO CELL PHONE
Here's how to send a TXT message to someone's cell phone from your computer -- You MUST know which wireless carrier they use and their cell number (You can go to www.whitepages.com and click "reverse phone" then type in the number. It should tell you the carrier) -- I give examples for Verizon, ATT and Sprint because that's where my friends/family are -- Note that SMS is limited to 140/160 total characters and my sending email details are part of that, as well as any signature and call-back info, so keep these messages short or they may be truncated!
Verizon:
<[email protected]>, where '1234567890' is their ten-digit cell number including area code.
ATT:
<[email protected]>
Sprint:
<[email protected]>
Here's more from Sprint on the subject:
http://www.sms411.net/2006/07/sprint-sms.html
Info for other carriers can be found there.
I added these formatted addresses to my EMail program's address book as alternate addresses for my chosen contacts. Initially, it was a bit of work to set up, but I now have the email addresses in my cell phone and the cell number addresses in my email docs.
CELL PHONE TO CELL PHONE
So, I stopped using the microphone on my cell phone and started using the keypad and the Short Messaging System (SMS, aka TXT) -- After a almost a month of paying TXT message by TXT message, I wised up and got one of Verizon's TXT plans -- I tried the one for $10 additional -- I think it was 500 TXT plus unlimited to other VZW subscribers, but reviewing my usage yesterday, I modified that to $5/month for 250 messages -- That seems to be enough for me -- YMMV!
Other carriers may have different plans; Sprint wants $5 for 300 and $15 for unlimited, for example.
CELL PHONE TO NON-CELL PHONE
I discovered that if I send a TXT message to a non-cell phone, Verizon's system will detect that it is a land-line and ask if I want the message left as a voice mail! That works on single private lines, but seems to be spotty on commercial systems and one gets no feedback as to success. Not having a land line myself, I still haven't listened to one of these. I don't know if other wireless carriers have similar services.
CELL PHONE TO EMAIL
I also did some research regarding sending TXT messages from my cell to email for other people and here's how to do that -- Just send address the message to an email address typed in the To: field or from addresses stored in your cell phone address book instead of to a telephone number.
EMAIL TO CELL PHONE
Here's how to send a TXT message to someone's cell phone from your computer -- You MUST know which wireless carrier they use and their cell number (You can go to www.whitepages.com and click "reverse phone" then type in the number. It should tell you the carrier) -- I give examples for Verizon, ATT and Sprint because that's where my friends/family are -- Note that SMS is limited to 140/160 total characters and my sending email details are part of that, as well as any signature and call-back info, so keep these messages short or they may be truncated!
Verizon:
<[email protected]>, where '1234567890' is their ten-digit cell number including area code.
ATT:
<[email protected]>
Sprint:
<[email protected]>
Here's more from Sprint on the subject:
http:/
Info for other carriers can be found there.
I added these formatted addresses to my EMail program's address book as alternate addresses for my chosen contacts. Initially, it was a bit of work to set up, but I now have the email addresses in my cell phone and the cell number addresses in my email docs.