4 ms·

From 5 minutes of reading it seems that it's huge in overseas markets where people want to avoid the cost per SMS message fee, am I correct? If you have a stan

From 5 minutes of reading it seems that it's huge in overseas markets where people want to avoid the cost per SMS message fee, am I correct? If you have a standard plan with the phone giants in the US, all calls and texts are generally unlimited, but you pay for data now. Is that why it's not as big in the US?

jeremy_k 13y ago
Exactly, Europe is an inverse of the US when it comes to SMS and data prices.
rwissmann 13y ago
Not that alone. Here in the UK SMS is often unlimited. People still prefer to use Whatsapp. I and most of my friends have virtually stopped using SMS. Another advantage are international SMS. Again more relevant for say Europeans than for Americans.
- mverwijs 13y ago
  Plus: groupchat. And sending images.
- sjg007 13y ago
  Also SMS is effectively broken. SMS was a useful for the non-smart phone crowd. Twitter initially was a way to get global free status updates via SMS. Now it has reversed.
- d23 13y ago
  I guess I still don't get it. I can send images and group chat via SMS. Does this really do anything any different? I'm not asking just to be contrarian -- I'm just wondering if I should try it out and try to convince my friends to do the same.
  - ma2rten 13y ago
    - Unlimited SMS plans are less common than unlimited data plans in Europe. - You can not do group chat via SMS. You send a SMS to multiple people, but they will only see your number and can't reply to the group (unless I am missing something). I feels more like chat room for your friend group or family. - In Europe mobile phone providers have historically tried to rip off people with MMS, which may be a reason why they are unpopular.
    - exhilaration 13y ago
      Both the iPhone and recent Android phones support group SMS. The package is actually sent as an MMS containing the message and list of recipients, that allows you to "reply to all" via SMS.

jeremy_k 13y ago

Exactly, Europe is an inverse of the US when it comes to SMS and data prices.

rwissmann 13y ago

Not that alone. Here in the UK SMS is often unlimited. People still prefer to use Whatsapp. I and most of my friends have virtually stopped using SMS. Another advantage are international SMS. Again more relevant for say Europeans than for Americans.

mverwijs 13y ago
Plus: groupchat. And sending images.
sjg007 13y ago
Also SMS is effectively broken. SMS was a useful for the non-smart phone crowd. Twitter initially was a way to get global free status updates via SMS. Now it has reversed.
d23 13y ago
I guess I still don't get it. I can send images and group chat via SMS. Does this really do anything any different? I'm not asking just to be contrarian -- I'm just wondering if I should try it out and try to convince my friends to do the same.
- ma2rten 13y ago
  - Unlimited SMS plans are less common than unlimited data plans in Europe. - You can not do group chat via SMS. You send a SMS to multiple people, but they will only see your number and can't reply to the group (unless I am missing something). I feels more like chat room for your friend group or family. - In Europe mobile phone providers have historically tried to rip off people with MMS, which may be a reason why they are unpopular.
  - exhilaration 13y ago
    Both the iPhone and recent Android phones support group SMS. The package is actually sent as an MMS containing the message and list of recipients, that allows you to "reply to all" via SMS.