I’m reasonably clear on the concept, but I don’t get the mechanics. I see blurbs on TV (ESPN wants viewers to vote via text on burning issues of the day, such as, “was Plaxico Burress an idiot for carrying a concealed weapon into a Manhattan nightclub?”*), and they give you a numbered address to send your reply to.
Well, what key sequence would I use to enter that address? I can find the “compose message” section in my phone (a Motorola W370), but then what?
And further, how do I figure out what numbered address a family member’s cellphone might be assigned?
This is an academic question, as I’ve felt no need to text anything to anyone in the two years or so I’ve had a cellphone, but I’m curious.
*Fictitious question. Not sponsored by ESPN or any other Disney entity. All restrictions apply.
For the most part, SMS or texting is phone number based. So, you send a text message to 8085551234 to reach the person at (808) 555-1234.
However, carriers support “short codes,” which are sorta like the same way the DNS system changes “yahoo.com” to 68.180.206.104 — for convenience’s sake, CNN might pay to have “52525” as its shortcode. Twitter pays a pretty penny to receive messages at “40404.”
Whether you text I suspect depends on who you try to communicate with. My neighbor has a son who is a freshman in college. He ignores email for days; he doesn’t answer his cellphone if she calls him; but if she texts him, he phones back within minutes. Bizarre.
Like you, I don’t text. Just showing my age, I guess.
It probably also depends on your phone. Mine doesn’t have a full QWERTY keyboard, so if I want to type a “y” I have to hit the 9 key three times in quick succession. Not fun and not conducive to speed. 😉