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0 pointsbrk17y ago0 comments

20c texts are generally only for people who have NO text messaging plan. I have a BB (vzw) and iPhone (att obviously). Both have text messaging plans that for some trivial amount per month (like $5 or $10) I get more text message allotments than what I would ever reasonably use (a few hundred at least).

99% of the time, SMS messages arrive within 30 seconds of the sender hitting "Send". When you are going to be delayed by 5+ minutes, 30 seconds rounds down to "instant".

As for the inconvenient, I personally HATE getting a call when I am either in a very quiet business lobby, or very loud social event for someone to deliver an essentially 1-sided trivial message ("I am running 15 minutes late"). SMS's are PERFECT for this. They are, IMO, cheap quick and convenient.

Perhaps it is all in the eye of the beholder.

The "killer app" for this situation would be (IMO) to use a GPS-enabled phone with some rudimentary mapping capabilities that would auto-text SMS ETA messages once you are >5 minutes away from the meeting start time and your travel time is also >7 minutes (ie: when it predicts that you're going to be late by more than a couple of minutes). You would have an "app" on your phone that sent SMS messages to your co-attendees (they would NOT have to install, download or use any sort of application just to get this trivial text info). This would increase the viability and adoption rate, as suddenly your friends do not all need smartphones to get some benefit from the app.

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4 comments · 1 top-level

nuclear_eclipse17y ago· 3 in thread

Firstly, not everyone has smartphones, and not everyone text messages people enough to justify even $5/mo. Secondly, I said "slow" not because transmission is slow, but the typing of the message (or finding and selecting templates) is a rather slow process, especially for those of us who don't use smartphones. Thirdly, you can always set your phone to vibrate and/or let the voicemail take the message if you're in either situation...

brkOP17y ago

I'm not sure from your posts, but it seems that you're implying only smart phones have texting capabilities? If this is true, your definition of smartphone is very different than mine. If I'm wrong, I apologize for misinterpreting your statements.

In every group there are always outliers, and I see this in some cases with techies who for some reason or another simply REFUSE to acknowledge that their cellphone is anything more than a $20/mo voice communicator. You can't really solve for those situations.

Amongst all the people I've known/worked with, SMS-enabled cell phones and monthly service packages are the norm. Building an app or service on top of the premise that people can easily and cheaply send and receive SMS messages is not, to me, all that grand of an assumption.

My solution above also somewhat applies to your situation, as you would be the potential SMS recipient from someone with an app-enabled phone. Also assuming that the SMS messages is of the "I'm running late" variety, which would be most common for business meetings and social gatherings, the 20c surcharge would not seem to be something that adds up to a ridiculous monthly accrual. As a proportion of the cost (as in cost of a normal social gathering where timeliness is of some value), or value (as in the potential value of a business meeting), I think 20c is less than a rounding error.

nuclear_eclipse17y ago

I used smartphones as a point because most smartphone users have a data plan with unlimited text/instant messages, and because smartphones generally have full keyboards, or at least better data-input mechanisms. I have a Razr that I use for everyday communication, and the process of sending/receiving a text message is a royal pain in the ass. Sending a message is slow and laborious, because a number pad wasn't designed to send fulltext messages, and predictive typing still requires lots of manual corrections for common words (good vs home, in vs go, etc).

As for business meetings, SMS messages almost seem incredibly informal and curt, especially when money is on the line ("We're settling a business deal and you don't even have the courtesy to actually talk to me?").

I'm most certainly not saying that no one should be texting, just that to some people, a phone is a phone, and would prefer to hear someone and chat with them, rather than having short, expensive, impersonal messages flying about. Granted, 20c by itself isn't that much, but when us poor Americans get slapped with charges on both outgoung and incoming messages, it can add up pretty quickly.

boredguy817y ago

4 rings + VM intro + leave a message + call VM + listen to message > selecting a recipient and typing "I'm late" into a text message field.

If you don't use text messages, fine. But they definitely have their legitimate uses.

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