Phone Messaging: Latest Wireless Trend Growing In Popularity

By (past articles)

03/11/2004

Become a Fan of Young Money

Follow Young Money on Twitter

Email This Article

Print This Article

It's the next big thing in wireless communications and it promises to be a hit from the boardroom to the game room.

It's two-way text messaging--the marriage of the cell phone and the pager. And, if its success in Europe and Asia is an indication of how Americans will take to text messaging, it's about to become wildly popular throughout the country.

The new service offers a super-fast, discreet way to keep in touch with colleagues, family and friends using a wireless phone. For example, Verizon Wireless describes its own version, called Mobile Messenger, as the perfect way to send and receive short, readable messages on a wireless phone when you need to reach someone, or a group of people, quickly and easily at meetings, restaurants, on trains and buses, or wherever they are.

Also, customers can exchange messages with other wireless carriers' customers, and whether it's RNG L8 or LUV U, the message is delivered in less than 30 seconds more than 90 percent of the time.

"Customers can stretch their monthly bucket of wireless minutes by using text messaging because messages don't use up airtime," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "For business customers, that's a cost-effective extra. Customers are seeing the value of using their wireless phone for both voice and text."

Hand said the service also appeals to consumers, especially teens and young adults who are among the 70 million people in the U.S. already familiar with messaging from their home computers. "For young people, this is 'instant messaging to go', which gives them the ability to stay in touch with friends wherever they are."

Text messaging has become immensely popular in Europe and Asia during the past few years. In England, for example, 38 million text messages are sent each day. In fact, one of the best selling books in the United Kingdom last year was a guidebook for texters explaining the abbreviated messages and symbols commonly used.

In Germany, text messaging provides a lifeline for hearing impaired people who now can enjoy the convenience and mobility wireless phones offer. Industry analysts predict that wireless messaging users will grow to 15 million by 2004, up from 1.4 million in last year.

Source: Verizon Wireless