Mobile phone technology has advanced rapidly in the last few years, and many people have become reliant on cellular devices for daily communication. Along with mobile phones, personal computers are also widely used; it is helpful to have ways for users of these two different types of devices to communicate directly. With SMS messages being a popular communication method, the ability to send texts from a computer can be very valuable.The ability to send texts from a computer is helpful in a number of situations; reasons to do this include:• The ease of use that comes with a full-size keyboard; these are much easier to use than the small screen of a mobile device or a small physical keyboard on a standard mobile phone.• Mobile phone users can easily go over the monthly text message limit dictated by their plan; sending from a PC is an affordable alternative to the overage fees charged by many mobile providers.• Sending texts from a PC can be effective for marketing since surveys have shown that users are more likely to read their texts than they are to open and read emails.• The process of sending a text message from a PC is user-friendly. If an individual is already familiar with email, then the process is relatively simple; for example, they can email the text message to the recipient's phone.Emailing Text MessagesFor this process to work, the email will have to be limited to fewer than 160 characters; in other words, just like a standard text message. The sender simply opens up their email client and puts in the recipient's phone number followed by the @ symbol and a gateway address. The gateway address will differ based on the carrier. All major carriers have one and a couple of quick online searches will show both the carrier and the carrier's gateway address.SoftwareThere are a number of programs that offer users the ability to send out text messages right from their computer. They have the option of sending out bulk messages (one message to multiple recipients) and to send long messages. Messages that are longer than the 160 character limit automatically get reduced to several small messages in order to fit the SMS limitation. These programs often allow the user to group their contacts so that they can send the same message to a specific subset.PC-to-SMS Web SitesThere are a number of online services that allow users to send text messages. These sites have the benefit of being accessible from any computer that has a browser and an Internet connection. This method has the benefit of allowing texts to be sent from any computer, not just one with special software installed. Many of these services offer the same ability to group contacts that is found in software that is installed on a local computer. An alternative to these services may be found by opening an email account. Some email providers allow users to send text messages from their account free of charge.Note: It is important that those using software or online services test these services before paying for them as they do not all operate to the same standards. Some may deliver a text message quickly while others may take several hours to do it.
