What does SMS mean?

SMS (Short Message Service) is a service that allows exchange of textual information by a mobile handset. Customers with an activated text messaging service can use their mobiles to send or receive both voice and text messages.

Short text messages can be sent from a mobile phone as well as via the Internet.

MagtiCom has offered one more pleasant surprise to its customers before the end of 2001: SMS – the system of short text messaging is yet another gift from the Company to its numerous subscribers.

This new service is mainly aimed for the younger customers. SMS is already hugely popular among European teenagers, for whom it has become a special medium of communication. However, the SMS-based services have made the short message service necessary for all categories of customers.

SMS is an analogue of Paging that enjoyed great popularity with us just a few years ago, with the only difference being that the owner of a mobile handset can send a message from his own terminal, with no need of an operator’s help. In addition, text messages can be sent from most of the cellular phone models available on the market. All you need to do is to type the message onto the keypad of your mobile phone, dial the phone number of the addressee and the number of the server to process your demand. SMS is quite an efficient means to transfer information: if the phone of the called party is turned off, the message will be received after the phone is turned on again.

The history of short text messaging dates back to 1991. The ETSI (European Telecommunications Standard Institute) proposed the idea of exchanging text messages for phase one of GSM. In December 1992, the first short message was sent to the British company Vodafone from a PC. The system has since gained increasing popularity and statistics show that its popularity will continue to grow during the next few years. According to the GSM Association, the number of short messages sent worldwide last year was four times more than in the previous year. The growing popularity of short text messaging is largely due to the increase of the young segment of mobile-users. Of no less importance, however, are the new SMS-based services.

In many countries, commonly understood abbreviations have been established, making the use of SMS easier. Such a system allows subscribers to avoid the necessity of typing a great number of symbols on their mobile keyboards, thus making the SMS more convenient. Lately, the system of abbreviations has become so popular that in some countries even special booklets have been published listing the SMS abbreviations.

There is one obstacle in the implementation of the SMS in Georgia caused by the absence of a Georgian font in mobile handsets (Georgian menus are available in some models, however, this does not allow sending short messages in Georgian). Despite this, practice shows that this is not a serious hinderance in using the SMS in Georgia.

A piece of advice for SMS fans: if you find sending messages rather boring in spite of abbreviations, yet you must do so, you can use the so-called "Chat board" – a special device of a mobile handset size, which looks like a PC keyboard. "Chat board" is connected to a mobile phone and allows easier dialing.

Motorola offers a new phone model to SMS fans which allows easy dialing of text messages on a mobile keyboard. The device looks a bit awkward for those who use mobiles for voice exchange only, but the SMS fans and those wishing to access the Internet will undoubtedly find the Motorola v100 Personal Communicator very interesting. As for business people, they will perhaps be more interested in the Motorola Accompli TM™ 008, with a personal Organizer together with the SMS and WAP allowing high-speed data transfer in GPRS networks.

Besides mobile terminals, short messages can be sent via the Internet which is often much more convenient.