Cyber Imprints

I just discovered that I can send text messages to cellular phones through Gmail. I made this discovery after my brother sent me a SMS using his Gmail account. This new functionality of Gmail is cool because it will enable me to send urgent messages to anyone on my contact list in case that they are not available online.

The text messaging service of Gmail reminds me of Chikka, which I used when I was a college student. Chikka is a software that can be downloaded and installed on computers for free. Chikka enabled people to send few text messages from their computers. People replying to Chikka from their cellular phones are charged at a rate higher than what is charged on phone to phone text messaging. Chikka is useful back then but it seems like that the app did not become popular, possibly because of the limitations and the expensive charge of their services. I don't know if Gmail text messaging system will gain popularity amongst cellular phone users or Gmail users. But one thing is sure, the text messaging is a useful functionality of Gmail.

Using Gmail text messaging service is easy. All you have to do is to type the phone number on the space located below the “Send SMS” label on the left side of the Gmail window.
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Press “Enter” after typing the phone number. This window will show on your computer screen:
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Type-in the name of your contact and press “Save.” A window will pop up at the lower right of the screen. You can now send SMS to your friend from your Gmail. All you have to do is to type in your message on the pop-up window and press “Enter.” This is as easy as sending message when you are chatting online.

The text messaging service of Gmail gives Gmail users 50 free text message for each day. The recipients of your message will be charged with the usual fees when they reply to your message.

I am glad that Gmail thought of this new service. This will be very useful during emergency situations when I need to send text messages but I have zero balance for my cellular phone load.

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