text messaging

Will iPhone Innovations Curb High Texting Profits?

Lindsy Embree — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:06:45 -0400

Full article: Philadelphia Inquirer
Jeff Gelles
Could the latest iPhone software sound the death knell for one of the wireless industry's favorite cash cows, text messaging?

iMessage May Help You Choose a Carrier, Save Money

Lindsy Embree — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:07:24 -0400

Full article: Christian Science Monitor
Chris Richardson
iMessage is Apple's new text message app that could reduce your text message bill to $0.00 -- something you may want to think about before signing a new two-year cellphone contract.

Free Texts Pose Threat to Carriers

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:38:27 -0400

Full article: New York Times
Jenna Wortham
There are now a growing number of ways to bypass text-message charges using an Internet connection -- much as Skype allows people to make calls without relying on a traditional telephone line. If these services catch on in a big way, analysts say, they could take a big bite out of the profits that text messages generate for wireless carriers.

Americans and Text Messaging

Lindsy Embree — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:30:14 -0400

Full article: Pew Research Center
Aaron Smith
Some 83 percent of American adults own cellphones and three-quarters of them -- 73 percent -- send and receive text messages. The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project asked those texters in a survey how they prefer to be contacted on their cellphone and 31 percent said they preferred texts to talking on the phone, while 53 percent said they preferred a voice call to a text message.

Text Messages Aren't Enough When Natural Disasters Strike

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:53:56 -0400

Full article: Fast Company
Neal Ungerleider
Just in time for Hurricane Irene's arrival, a new survey from the Red Cross claims that social media is increasingly being used by Americans seeking information on natural disasters. A reliance on social media and text messages during emergencies has hidden dangers.

Free Alternatives May Cut into Text-Messaging Profits

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:56:52 -0400

Full article: Los Angeles Times
Salvador Rodriguez
Text messaging has been a huge profit center for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, but that money could trickle away as free alternatives gain popularity.

AT&T Tries to Wring Every Last Cent from SMS

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:21:18 -0400

Full article: GigaOM
Ryan Kim
AT&T is doing away with its monthly $10/1,000-text plan for new customers, making it a choice between a $20 unlimited plan or 20 cents per text message. AT&T said it's an effort to "streamline" its text-messaging plans, and that it won't affect existing customers, even those who switch handsets. While the plan won't affect many customers, it's hard not to see this as an effort to wring more revenue out of text messages, which are slowing down in growth.

AT&T's New Text Plan Overcharges You by 10,000,000 Percent -- Literally

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:50:17 -0400

Full article: Gizmodo
Sam Biddle
AT&T's killing its monthly $10/1,000-text plan. Now you'll have to choose between $20 for an unlimited plan, or forgo a plan and pay $0.20 per message. AT&T calls this "streamlining." We call it what it is: an outrageous, gigantic scam. Texting messages are as costly to AT&T as blowing bubbles, but they sell them to you like they're vomiting molten gold.

How to Unlock a Car with a Text Message

Lindsy Embree — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:27:48 -0400

Full article: CNN
John D. Sutter
Don Bailey says he can unlock thousands of cars across the United States simply by sending a few texts from his Android phone. And that's not even the scary part.

FCC Learns that Ignoring Problems Don't Make Them Go Away

Stevie Converse — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:27:49 -0400

Full article: Public Knowledge
Michael Weinberg
Over three years ago, the FCC was alerted that unchecked carrier control of text messaging was starting to get out of control. In the years since, texting has experienced a massive growth in popularity and applications. As the uses have expanded, so have the problems. All the while, the FCC has watched, hoping the problems would work themselves out. But now the Universal Service Fund is forcing the FCC's hand.