One of my early blog entries in April 2004 was about a company called Teleflip that allows you to send an SMS message via e-mail. Ok so you are thinking this is no big deal but it is because in many instances you don’t know the address for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. For example for Verizon you can use 2033331212@vtext.com. But are we expected to commit these extensions to memory?But what happens if you don’t even know the carrier? In this case you don’t know where to send the SMS message at all. Sure there are services like FoneFinder but LNP makes the accuracy of the database problematic. For example my number is listed incorrectly in this database as it was ported.
Enter Teleflip a service that allows you to enter 2033331212@teleflip.com and have your e-mail sent as an SMS to the correct phone address regardless of carrier.
This service has helped me out over the years and now it is going up market by allowing you to map your e-mail address to a cell phone and have e-mails sent to your phone via SMS messages. The service allows you to filter messages so you aren’t deluged with spam messages about Viagra while you are on the go.
Expect controls allowing time and dates to be considered before sending a message. In other words you can have messages sent to the phone during work hours only if you like. In addition there will be calendar syncing allowing you to be notified of appointments and reminders.
The company is looking to make the word “flip” synonymous with “e-mail” or even to replace the latter term with the former. Certainly Skype has had some success in this regard so this may not be out of the realm of possibility.
Teleflip hopes to generate revenue from a paid corporate edition and an ad-supported version
Is this a useful service? Absolutely and you must consider it if you can’t afford pricey devices and data plans but need access to e-mail on the go. It should be noted that many carriers themselves offer similar services so you will have to figure out what service makes the most sense based on features and price.
What is so exciting about these sorts of tools is that consumers will be able to boost their productivity without expensive data plans and specialized devices. This is great news for many who cannot justify these high-end features but who want to be as productive as possible.
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