Pinboard (guardiantech)

Google axed SMS Search thinking people wouldn't notice >> Gizmodo

guardiantech — 2013-05-13T17:19:42+00:00

Google created SMS Search as a way for users with limited or no data on their phones to access search information. You could text a search query to 466453 and receive an SMS reply containing only text, no links. It was useful to a lot of people back in the day, but it's not surprising that the service has been losing popularity.

Wouldn't it still be useful in Africa and other places where data access is limited? For those who are counting - it was killed after 1,409 days. Of 96 Google services that have been killed off, the mean lifetime is 1,459 days. Mean lifetime of 93 Google services still operating: 1,776 days. (Thanks @HotSoup for the link.)

Text Messaging – the phoenix of the digital age? >> OpenSignal Blog

guardiantech — 2012-12-05T11:16:02+00:00

For the first time since text messaging entered general use there has been a fall in the number of texts sent in the UK. Following two quarterly declines the number of text messages sent this year has fallen to 38.5 billion in Q2 2012 from a high of 39.7 billion in Q4 last year. This phenomenon is not simply UK based, with the United States showing a similar decline and the Finnish carrier Sonera showing a fall of over 20% in the number of text messages sent on Christmas Eve 2011 when compared with Christmas Eve 2010. What is clear is that alternative forms of electronic communication are slowly chipping away at the dominant position that text messaging has occupied in the lives of mobile users over the last 20 years.

In general, if a headline ends with a questionmark, it can be answered "no".

Apple warns customers to be cautious of SMS after 'flaw' cited >> PCWorld

guardiantech — 2012-08-21T16:07:49+00:00

"Apple takes security very seriously," the company says in its statement. "When using iMessage instead of SMS, addresses are verified which protects against these kinds of spoofing attacks."
"One of the limitations of SMS is that it allows messages to be sent with spoofed addresses to any phone, so we urge customers to be extremely careful if they're directed to an unknown website or address over SMS," it adds.
Pod2g explains that the SMS flaw allows the sender of the message to enter an address on its reply line that's different from the address that appears on its "from" line.

Aren't there SMS gateways that allow such spoofing that have been around for ages?

Social messaging apps 'lost networks $13.9bn in 2011' >> BBC News

guardiantech — 2012-02-21T22:40:45+00:00

Social messaging applications cost mobile network operators $13.9bn (£8.8bn) in lost SMS revenue last year, a report has claimed. Analysis firm Ovum studied global use of popular services like Whatsapp, Blackberry Messenger and Facebook chat. It concluded that mobile operators must "work together to face the challenge from major internet players".

Get popcorn. You already know how it's going to end.