SMS'ing in the USA! SMS'ing in the USA!

Over the last couple of months I've gotten to know Frank Levering over in Thailand. Frank is the Product Manager for the O2 XDA Atom with O2. For those of you who don't know, O2 is a leading OEM in Europe & Asia and they make some great, non-HTC devices.

Of the many discussions I've had with Frank, one that has been discussed several times is Short Message Service, or SMS. Most people here in the United States refer to this as Text Messaging. The discussions have been around the fact that most people here in the United States don't SMS. In fact, Frank was surprised when I told him that most cellular companies charge extra fees just to enable SMS on your calling plan!

So what is it? Why do most American's not use SMS?

First, I think it comes down to our culture. We are a culture that loves email and chatting on the phone and the idea of typing a message on a phone-enabled device instead of talking into it is foreign to us.

Second, it is a generational issue. The vast majority of people who text message in America are under 25 years of age. People in my age bracket - mid 30's - hardly touch it. Why? Mainly because it is a little more challenging to type on a phone pad the older you get!

Third, it is a technology issue. I've mentioned before, SMS on a phone pad is tougher the older you get. Thumboards, like that on the Treo 700w, are much easier but those form factors are few-and-far between. Typing on these or a SIP (Soft Input Panel) is considerably easier.

By-the-way, an alternative to this third problem when at home or in the office is Jeyo's Mobile Extender. Mobile Extender is an Outlook plug-in that allows you to type your SMS messages in Outlook and send them while your phone-enabled device is connected to your PC via ActiveSync. It a great application and at only $14.95, a great deal. You can get more information on it at http://www.jeyo.com/extender.asp. I'll have a review of it up on my site in a few weeks as well.

Finally, it is the carriers themselves here in the States. I am a Cingular customer. If I want to send someone an SMS on other carriers, some of them will not accept it. Why? Competition. All of the carriers want everyone on their network. The problem is there is no one carrier that covers all areas. Allowing SMS traffic between carriers would likely have an immediate improvement on the number of people using SMS.

The resolution to all of this, in my mind, is to make a simple process a bit simpler. It is pretty clear that cellular carriers and OEMs haven't done the greatest job of selling SMS and in order for it to take off, it has be promoted. Secondly, the barriers between carriers sending and receiving SMS traffic needs to be removed. Finally, the devices themselves have to make SMS more "Friendly" with better SIPs or Thumboards available.

So what do you think? Do you SMS? If so, why do you think it hasn't caught on in the USA?

If not, you get the same question! Why? What prevents you from SMS'ing?

Post your comments and feedback and let me know what you think!