December 14, 2003
2003: Some outstanding SMS Services
This is the fifth post for Textually 2003 - The Year in Review, a series of entries rounding up the most interesting mobile news (best and worst) reported this year.
2003: Some outstanding SMS services
Of the many SMS services available, allowing mobile users to sign up to receive headline news, weather reports and sports results on the go, some services this year stuck out for being life-saving (SARS outbreak, terror alerts) or by being so unusual, they had to make you smile, such as the Philippines "report-a-mistress" SMS campaing conducted by governement officials, in an effort to fight corruption.
This is textually's short list of this years most outstanding or useful SMS services:
-- This year, atronomers were notified by SMS of changes in the universe. For instance when a supernova goes off, one of the most energetic explosive events known which occur at the end of a star's lifetime.
-- Countries around the world set up SMS Terrror alerts to provide instant notification of terrorist attacks, or are considering like in Israel, the launch of an I'm OK alert for families, to ease the 15 minutes of panic Israelis feel after each bomb.
-- A Hong Kong mobile operator offered it's subscribers SMS text alerts enabling them to locate infected SARS areas; buildings or neighbourhoods where people were known to be infected with SARS.
-- In schools around the world, SMS services have been set up to fight truancy, informing parents of their child's absence, and for students, lecture alerts and exam scores by SMS.
-- Government and private agencies around the world woke up to text messaging as a useful and effective way for collecting outstanding debts, by sending reminders by SMS for overdue rent, fines, payments and tuition.
-- And increasingly, the airline and travel business have been getting into text messaging, to provide their customers with services to track their luggage, check out flight information in real time or informing hotel guests of incoming calls and messages.
-- A favorite service, Lingophone allows mobile users to translate English text into numerous European languages while on the go. To use the service, you simply create a text message such as "I would like a glass of wine" then send it off to a given number. The translation comes in by SMS: "J'aimerai un verre de vin s'il vous plait"
-- And unusual, an anti-corruption watchdog in the Philippines set up a "Report-a-Mistress" SMS alert service, for report of any "extramarital affairs" conducted by governement officials, soldiers and policemen, that may result in corruption.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2003/12/002587.htm
