SMS is coming

WAP

by MIKE DANO
Nov. 19, 2003 12:43 PM EST

Sprint PCS said it will launch a new text messaging service in the coming
weeks, a move that will allow users to fire off text messages without the
need of a WAP browser.

Critics have long disparaged Sprint's WAP-based text messaging service as
clunky and slow. Under the carrier's current messaging system, Sprint users
must first launch their WAP browser, then input the message as well as the
recipient's address to send a message. Sprint's new service will work much
like the text messaging services of other carriers, which allow users to
compose messages on their phones without a wireless Internet connection. RCR
Wireless News first reported on Sprint's plans in February.

Further, the new messaging service will allow Sprint users to send text
messages to short codes, a procedure that is not supported by Sprint's
WAP-based offering.

"We will introduce that service later this year," said Jenny Stevens, a
Sprint spokeswoman. "And all the phones going forward will have that
capability."

Sprint already has been seeding the market with phones that will support its
forthcoming text messaging system. The carrier's new Nokia Corp. phone, its
Treo 600 device and the new walkie-talkie Sanyo Corp. handsets will support
the service once it is officially launched. Older phones will not support
the new messaging system. Stevens declined to provide a more specific launch
date, as well as the specifics of the service.

Stevens said all of Sprint's future phones would support the new messaging
service. She said Sprint would continue to offer its browser-based messaging
service alongside its new text messaging service, and users would be able to
choose between the two.

"You'll have the option of doing it over the browser or doing it from phone
to phone without launching the browser," she said.

Although Sprint was included in the list of carriers that are supporting the
newly announced short-code initiative, the carrier's subscribers currently
cannot use the service. The short-code program allows movie studios, TV
stations and other companies to publish five-digit short codes, and
mobile-phone users can sign up to receive messages from the companies by
sending text messages to the published short code. Sprint customers cannot
register for short-code services by sending text messages to the code;
instead, Sprint users must log on to the carrier's wireless Web site to
access the short-code information.

Sprint said its new text messaging service will support short-code messages.

Sprint's moves come at a time of major growth in the U.S. text messaging
market. Last year the nation's major carriers signed interoperability
agreements, allowing mobile-phone users to send messages to subscribers of
rival carriers. Prior to the agreements, wireless users could only send text
messages to subscribers of the same carrier. And earlier this year, the
industry took another major step in the messaging market with the launch of
the short-code program. Such interoperability has been hindered partly by
business and competitive issues and partly by technology issues, as the U.S.
market is a melting pot of GSM, CDMA and iDEN network technologies.

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› See More: SMS is coming

Any older phones upgradeable for SMS ?

What about the Samsung I-500 which currently doesn't support SMS unless you
purchase a third party program (pdaapps.com) and use their server?


"Milton Searlis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Any older phones upgradeable for SMS ?

Phil the earless didn't read the sentence which said,
"Older phones will not support the new messaging system."
---JRC---

"Milton Searlis" <[email protected]> wrote in message =
news:[email protected]...
> Any older phones upgradeable for SMS ?

"John R. Copeland" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Phil the earless didn't read the sentence which said,
"Older phones will not support the new messaging system."
---JRC---

"Milton Searlis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Any older phones upgradeable for SMS ?

LMAO John ... nice word play off of ole Phillipe's email address ....

Bob

Rob Vargas has previously said firmware upgrades will be available for some
phones to do SMS. He was correct in telling us SMS would start in December, so
I presume he's correct on that too.

Steve Sobol on October 20 said:

"All you'd be likely to need is a firmware upgrade. "

Well guess what.. Sprint said NO it will not be available for older
handsets! Get over it phil, especially when your shown the word from the
hosres mouth.

"DSL GURU" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Rob Vargas has previously said firmware upgrades will be available for
some
> phones to do SMS. He was correct in telling us SMS would start in
December, so
> I presume he's correct on that too.

Alias for Smith wrote:
> Steve Sobol on October 20 said:
>
> "All you'd be likely to need is a firmware upgrade. "

Another Phylis alias to plonk. Anyway, Mr. Sobol was clearly making an
opinion that they could upgrade the phones to use SMS via software. He is
not a Sprint PCS spokesperson or decision maker, so he is not going to be
able to give a definitive answer. If we could point out all the times you
have been wrong or have lied, it would be a lot more than one simple
sentence (and a statement of opinion at that).

Get a grip Phylis.

Tom Veldhouse

Anyway, Mr. Sobol was clearly making an
opinion that they could upgrade the phones to use SMS via software. He is
not a Sprint PCS spokesperson or decision maker.


===========

And Veldhouse is, or wants to be?

Well guess what.. Sprint said NO it will not be available for older
handsets!

===========================

And the url for that is where?

In article <[email protected]>,=20
DSL [email protected] says...
> Rob Vargas has previously said firmware upgrades will be available for so=
me
> phones to do SMS.
>=20

No I didn't. I expressed an opinion, but STATED it as=20
such. Including the caveat that I hadn't seen anything=20
actually say it was so. Based on information since then,=20
no, previous phones will not upgrade to MO-SMS.

--=20
-+-
R=D8=DF
O/Siris
I work for SprintPCS
I *don't* speak for them.