With all the hype about MMS finally coming to the iPhone, I finally have to rant…

I’m sure most of you are familiar with SMS, a technology that allows you to send 160 characters at a time, that was first introduced in 1992.  MMS was the next evolutionary step, that allowed people to send not only text, but also pictures and/or audio, and is generally limited to 100-300 KB’s.  Email, on the other hand, allows you to send messages FAR GREATER in size and content.  Typically limited to 20-30 MB’s!

So why is it that people are so into TXT’ing and sending MMS’s?  Can you all see you are playing into the pocket books of the carriers?  They charge on both ends of the messages, sending and receiving.  SMS is typically 20 cents and MMS is typically 50 cents.  That means carriers get 40 cents per SMS and $1 for each MMS!  Outrageous!  Yet everyone can’t wait to be able to send them.

Whats even worse, are “smart phone” users who have unlimited data and email access, who STILL send SMS and MMS message!

I don’t think most people realize they CAN do email on their phone without a data plan.  Just about every carrier has what is known as a SMS or MMS to email gateway.  This means you can send a SMS to an email address, or receive email to your SMS capable device.  Here is a list of addresses to do this on the major carriers in the USA (number = your 10 digit mobile number):

AT&T:
SMS:  [email protected]
MMS:  [email protected]

Verizon:
SMS:  [email protected]
MMS:  [email protected]

T-Mobile:
SMS:  [email protected]

Sprint PCS:
SMS:  [email protected]
MMS:  [email protected]

Sprint Nextel:
SMS:  [email protected]
MMS:  [email protected]

A comprehensive list can be found here.