iPhone 4 vs SMS Gateways – Is Text Messaging in Trouble

Will the release of FaceTime on the new iPhone 4 prove detrimental to messaging through SMS gateways?

With the release of the new iPhone 4 comes FaceTime, an addition to iPhone’s software suite that allows for face to face communication on the Smartphone’s screen. It is based on Wi-Fi and therefore won’t deplete a user’s available minutes, which is probably something many are looking forward to; it’s free communication. There are, however, some that believe it may herald the death of text messaging. Can it replace text messaging through SMS gateways?

It’s technology somewhat reminiscent of Star Trek and a number of the other futuristic television shows we all know, and wished we had at some stage. But whether it will make it as the de facto method of communication over text messaging via SMS gateways remains to be seen.

What does text messaging offer users that video can’t?

Privacy. For millions of individuals across the globe this is a big plus where text messaging is concerned. We live in the era where privacy has become even more scarce, and therefore more valuable. Where video calling has the potential to disclose the location of the participants in a conversation, text messaging has the capacity to afford the necessary privacy. SMS gateways provide communication on a medium that can be read any time, any place.

Immediacy. Text messaging saves time. It’s only 160 characters and can be opened and read in less than a minute. How long does it take to answer a voice/video call and go through all the initial formalities?

Reach. New technologies like the iPhone 4, that are unique in the features they provide, are often limited to same make and model devices (as is the case currently). In contrast, a text message sent through SMS gateways can be delivered to any mobile phone currently in use (excluding some of the initial models that may be found in museums nowadays).

While I am also eagerly awaiting the release of the iPhone 4 packed with all those exciting new features, one has to keep in mind that the best method of communication is not necessarily the newest, but the most prevalent. Applications like FaceTime still have a long way to go in terms of application and adaption before it will become as ubiquitous as text messaging through SMS gateways. And until such time, just remember that the iPhone 4 and all other phone models still have the ability to send and receive SMS text messages.

For more information about the technologies you can use to connect to your customers through text messaging, just go to our SMS gateways page.

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Tags: FaceTime, future of text messaging, iphone 4, SMS gateway, SMS Gateways