Free Messaging For The iPhone
July 23, 2008
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...If there is one thing that I don’t like about the iPhone (and there are actually a few minor things I don’t like) it is the expensive text messaging. Texting was included with my first iPhone plan but is no longer included with the iPhone 3G plans. So, I’ve started looking for alternatives.
Here are a few options - that actually worked when we tested them (there were a few others that were either too confusing, didn’t work, or required too much set up). Keep in mind that in all of these cases, the party you are texting will need to pay the SMS rate in their cellular plan to respond to you - unless they also opt to use one of these services when they reply to you. However, chat programs are generally free. So if you can convince your friends to stay logged in to chat all day on AIM or Facebook you can both save a lot of money (see below).
The first option is to install the AOL application from the iPhone App Store. Then set up your friends as contacts, using their cellular numbers as their contact name. AOL will send the message to your friend as an SMS on their phone. The nice thing about this app is that it is tied into your AOL Instant Messenger account (AIM). So any changes that you make will show up on both the iPhone version of the app and on your desktop version. Of course, you could simply use the AOL chat feature to communicate back and forth with your buddies instead of sending the message as a text. That would save your buddy the expense of texting back to you.
If chat is an acceptable solution instead of texting, you might also consider the Facebook app. Facebook also allows you to communicate back and forth with your friends, and for a certain set of people who are constantly logged in to Facebook, a convenient way to reach them.
Another interesting option is to send a text from the web site dynadel.com using your iPhone internet browser. You simply enter the phone number and carrier of the person you are trying to reach and it sends the SMS for free.
A similar option is the DurgleSender which works just like the Dynadel.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to save money, so if you’ve got a text workaround that really works, please list it below.
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[...] web wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIf there is one thing that I don’t like about the iPhone (and there are actually a few minor things I don’t like) it is the expensive text messaging. Texting was included with my first iPhone plan but is no longer included with the … [...]