SMS or Short Message Service is best for real-time, mobile activities. It is generally the fastest way to send a message to people (who use sms - and that means lots of people, at least in Europe where the service is cheap and effective.)Whilst entering the messages via a nine digit keypad may seem a severe limitation, many folks (especially youngsters) have become adept at entering text at prodigious rates - even giving rise to concern amongst the medical community that RSI (repetitive strain injury) may ensue!! The speed with which such messages can be prepared has been increased by the rich language of texting that has grown (eg R U OK to Spk = Are you free to take a call?) Whilst SMS was originally used mostly between people who already know each other well (those who have the most contextual information to understand what a short message means) - it has since been adopted by many organisations as a means of distributing informational messages and even advertising material. For example, some UK banks now send text advisories to their customers about impending overdraft situations and other service providers use it to remind customers of appointments, confirm reservations, etc..

We should include this (I will edit it) as, although it may not be big in the US and Canada, it is VERY big here in Europe. eg the banks use it to notify customers of their current balance and to warn them of impending overdrafft situations. My dental practice uses it to remind patients of upcoming appointments, etc, etc.

contributed by Peter Haine on Sep 10 12:53am