Information On Text Messages
Text messages have become a popular method for communication today. Though they are usually associated with mobile phones, text messages can also be sent and received by numerous other electronic devices. Text messages have become very popular among young people living in large cities. This is due in part to their low prices. Sending a message in Australia will typically cost the user between 20 to 25 cents, which is low compared to the $2 a minute it would cost them to send out a voice call.
This service, while cheap for the consumer, has brought a tremendous amount of revenues to the companies which offer the service. Because the signals can be sent at such as fast rate, it isn't uncommon to have at least 350 messages sent in one minute, the time it takes to send out once voice call. Though the cost is small, multiplying this by hundreds of messages will yield fantastic profits within a short period of time. The cost for sending messages is even cheaper in places like Singapore.
Sending out hundreds of text messages each month in Singapore could cost a user only 0.07 SGD for each message sent. The same structure is used in the Philippines, which in 2003 had average users sending out over 2,200 messages, making it one of the largest markets for text messaging in the world. In Southeast Asian countries, text messaging plays an important part of the advertising and entertainment received by the users. Many online companies in the region completely utilize short messages.
After Asia, Europe has one of the largest markets for these services. About 16 billion messages were sent each month in 2003. Germany, Italy, and England where among the largest users of text messages in Europe. The cost of sending out messages in these countries is also very cheap. France is one of the few European countries which has not embraced message services. Though the country has the same access to GSM which other nations have, the reason of the lack of growth is probably due to the lack of competition in the French market.
France is not known for being a fast paced country, and this may be another factor which has caused the halt of the message service industry. The nation with the lowest use of text messaging services is the United States. Even though the cost of sending out a message is about 5 cents, the average American user in 2003 only sent out 13 messages. There are a number of reasons for this. Many people in the US already have an unlimited amount of minutes on their mobile phones. The technology for message services has only recently been made available.
The use of sending messages on popular shows such as American Idol has brought this technology to the attention of many Americans, and the use of sending messages via mobile phones is increasing. Using messaging services to vote has become very popular in Europe. SMS chat has become popular in places like Finland, where text messages are sent and displayed on television channels. Games and puzzles are also played, and harmful material is screened from being shown on the channels. The first interactive channel was created in Finland using text messaging.
Though text messages are popular in Japan, they are known by different names. Email is also a method used for sending out messages. Contests have been held to determine whether or not text messages are faster than Morse codes. The results of these competitions have revealed that Morse codes are faster, and many companies are considering using Morse code when designing mobile phones. The Morse code will be translated into text so that the data can be sent to phones which utilize messaging services.
Spam has become a problem among those using cell phones to send out messages, and many providers have taken measures to stop spammers before the problem becomes larger. Though there have not been any major incidents since 2003, many groups warn that spam is a trend which may grow on mobile phone networks. Because the length of the messages sent are so small, a new phenomenon has arose called text speak.
People who use text speak will exchange numbers for letters. For example, the number 4 will be used for the word "for." Vowels may also be removed, and words like msg will stand for message or txt will stand for text. Because of the length of the words used in many Eastern European languages, many have begun using Latin when sending out messages on their mobile phones. Text speak also evolved from the language used in chatrooms on the internet. Words would be shortened so that users could type much faster. A similar technique has been used by speakers of Mandarin Chinese.
Websites have been developed which allow users to create a standard structure for text speak. Visitors are allowed to add translations and take credit for their work using their identification. Some of these websites have become popular worldwide, and simple translations can be made by the users. The use of text messages has led to dramatic changes in society. Many students have been caught cheating on tests by using their mobile phones to read the answers.
Text messaging has also been used by criminals to incite riots. While there are many benefits to using the technology, there are also some problems. Fraud and spam are issues which have caused many headaches for those using mobile phones. Despite this, they have also had an impact on politics. Their ability to allow people around the world to communicate quickly has given them a very popular appeal. Text messaging was a popular way of campaigning for candidates during the 2004 election in the Philippines.
Messaging services play an important role in global communications. They are similar to the internet in the sense that they can allow people in remote locations to communicate and spread ideas quickly. Their impact on society is quite large, and it is expected that they will play a larger role in global communications in the future.