SMS Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Blogging with your voice: Siri, Blogger, and post-by-SMS

by Erica Sadun (Oct 21st, 2011)

As I mentioned on my earlier post, Steve Sande and I have been hard at work collaborating on "Talking to Siri," an ebook that will soon hit the Kindle store. One of the topics we're exploring is how to push Siri beyond its advertised limits. Take blogging, for example. Did you know that you ...

iOS 5 iPhones can now shop for alert/text tones

by Michael Rose (Oct 13th, 2011)

For some of us, the addition of fully customizable SMS/alert tones in iOS 5 is the biggest improvement in the feature list. (Well, maybe not the biggest, but certainly one of the biggest.) Since alerts can be linked directly to contacts for incoming iMessages or SMS receipts, having a larger ...

iOS 5 features: iMessage brings free texting to iPad, iPod touch

by Chris Rawson (Oct 12th, 2011)

Until now, the iPhone has had an exclusive on built-in texting via Apple's Messages app. That's changed in iOS 5, and now the iPad and iPod touch have joined the party. iMessage allows for free texting across all iOS devices running iOS 5 so long as they have internet access. If you've ...

Daily Update for August 29, 2011

by Steven Sande (Aug 29th, 2011)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline ...

Samsung getting in the mobile messaging business with ChatOn

by Michael Grothaus (Aug 29th, 2011)

Samsung today announced they are entering mobile messaging market. Like Facebook Messages, which hopes to kill off text messaging for good, Samsung's ChatOn is a cross-platform messaging service for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Samsung's own Bada OS that offers users the ability to send text, ...

AT&T to eliminate $10 text message option for new customers

by Chris Rawson (Aug 18th, 2011)

The company that's becoming increasingly famous for regularly shooting itself in the foot when it comes to customer relations just blew off another toe. Our sister site Engadget reports that AT&T is "streamlining" its text messaging plans for new customers; when translated from PR-speak, ...

Will iMessage kill wireless carriers' SMS revenues?

by Richard Gaywood (Jun 7th, 2011)

In accordance with Betteridge's Law of Headlines, I believe the answer is a resounding "no." The unusually virulent meme quickly spread around the Mac blogging world that iMessage will kill SMS as we know it and, going one stage further, to characterize iMessage as "an attack" on the ...

Yahoo! Messenger lets iPad 2 owners video chat with PCs

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 19th, 2011)

Yahoo! rolled out a new Messenger app for iOS that includes support for the iPad 2. The tablet-optimized app will let you make voice and video calls using the front-facing camera. Yahoo! Messenger has a wide install base, and you will be able to make video calls to any device with a camera and ...

VoxOx releases iPhone app

by Mike Schramm (Apr 29th, 2011)

I wrote about VoxOx earlier this year when I saw the Mac app at CES, and the company has now released an iPhone version that replicates the company's call back service -- they'll connect two different voice lines to each other over your phone. The app can even accept SMS messages, pull off a ...

iOS 4.3 spotlight: Message alerts options

by Chris Rawson (Mar 9th, 2011)

Aside from major features like Personal Hotspot and iTunes Home Sharing, iOS 4.3 also brings some subtle changes to the way message alerts work. The settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals, which will come in handy if you're ...

AT&T rumored to rework texting plan to counter Verizon iPhone

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 19th, 2011)

AT&T may enjoy inviting Verizon iPhone owners to life in the slow lane, but the latest rumor out of GearLive suggests that AT&T may be modifying some of its pricing plans to entice customers to stick with the GSM iPhone. The leaked Best Buy screen grab suggests AT&T will drop several ...

VoxOx combines all your contacts into one Mac client

by Mike Schramm (Jan 12th, 2011)

Since we're The Unofficial Apple Weblog, we kept it pretty Apple-oriented during last week's CES conference. There were plenty of interesting Windows apps and other smartphones and tablets around, but if it wasn't Apple-centric, we usually walked past it to find something more our style. But VoxOx ...

Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones

by Chris Rawson (Jan 9th, 2011)

Picture this: you're hanging out at a friend's house, and the familiar "doodle-dee!" of the iPhone's Tri-tone alert sound goes off. But four people simultaneously start reaching for their iPhones, because they're all using that sound for SMS/MMS alerts. Or how about this: you're on a bike ride and ...

SwirlySMS brings free SMS app to iPad 3G

by Erica Sadun (Oct 14th, 2010)

Released today, "SwirlySMS free for iPad 3G" offers a free SMS solution that allows you to send and receive messages from your iPad 3G. This is a jailbreak-only solution. Available from the Cydia store, the new app uses your iPad's SIM to introduce native texting without having to hack your way into ...

Apple patents content filter for outbound text messages

by Aron Trimble (Oct 13th, 2010)

Ever the kid-friendly outfit, Apple filed a patent in 2008 that aims to make text messaging safer for the children. TechCrunch reports that today, the US Patent and Trademark office awarded Apple a patent which puts a ban on sending obscene text messages sometimes called "sexting." The technology ...