SMS: The global craze

SMS mania has gripped out world, causing teenagers and adults alike to flex their fingers at least a couple of times a day. The SMS, which stands for short messaging service, is more than fifteen years old. The first ever short SMS sent was on December 3, 1992 when an engineer, Neil Papworth was sending an SMS to his colleagues in England.

That short SMS just contained the wish, 'Merry Christmas', a message that started it all. However, it took a few more years for the SMS service to gain popularity among cell phone users. It was somewhere in 1999 when the mobile phone industry has found a market for the short SMS facet of their service. Teenagers, the highest demographic during that time, quickly picked up on this 'sending SMS' fad and brought and prepaid cell phones sales went through the roof.

Nowadays, there are dozens of services which give really low prices in sending SMS. These promotions are usually given to new and old users alike. The former to entice them into using the service and the latter to make them keep using the service.

The promotions are many and diverse. There are some who'll give you free SMS when after you top-up a certain amount to your prepaid account. For example, service X will give you 10 free SMS if you buy a $20 prepaid card. This deal is both popular and profitable among service operators, because it will seem as though they are losing money by allowing users to send free SMS, but they actually aren't. The amount you pay has given them enough profit to allow a few free SMS to slip through the net. In actuality, they're just cutting down on their profit.

There also services on the Internet where you can send free SMS. These services are true to their word and really allow you to send free SMS without paying one cent. But the terms and conditions are a bit rigid. Most websites only allow you to send free SMS to users who have already signed up to the same service. This can prove to be troublesome since not all users know about such services.

In the popularity boom of the SMS, other languages are not ignored. In a service where words play a huge part, languages not based on the Roman script are starting to get more attention. There SMS services such as 'SMS Tamil', 'SMS Arabic' and 'SMS Urdu' to entice users who speak in their mother tongue. In India, the 'SMS Urdu' service is so popular among users that a few million Urdu SMS are sent daily.

The SMS service is a huge turning point in the 20th century. It has brought ease and comfort into our lives. These new innovations are needed to ensure a better and brighter future for our children.
Author is writing for many websites, He enjoys writing on wide range of topics such as Funny SMS and Romantic SMS. You may visit for more details.