|
A World of Applications
SMS is finding its way into more and more applications every
day, including mobile email, entertainment, banking, asset
tracking, and user validation.
Short packets of data are at the heart of many applications that
were once restricted to fixed networks. Many of these
applications can be greatly enhanced with the mobility and
efficiency of SMS. Contact ReminderConnection about how your
business can benefit from the worldwide SMS applications
mentioned below and many others.
Email
E-mail continues to be one of the most compelling communications
mediums in recent history. Using SMS, a corporate email system
can send notices to employees' mobile phones, alerting them to
important emails and allowing them to read email headers and
even body text. With 2-way SMS capabilities, users can even
generate short email responses from anywhere, so they don't have
to wait until they return to their desks to answer important
emails.
Entertainment
Entertainment applications are also good uses for SMS, and
they're typically profitable in the consumer space. Examples of
these are simple short message exchanges between two parties
("texting") or between multiple participants ("chat"). Also,
delivery of personalized content and downloadable telephone
ringtones, pictures, and other media are a growing area of SMS
usage among young mobile phone users.
Banking
Another set of applications that can transport data via SMS is
banking. Since ATMs and internet transactions cost less than
transactions completed in person at a bank branch. The
ability for wireless subscribers to check balances, transfer
funds, and pay bills is valuable - not only for the subscriber,
but also for the financial institution. SMS is a very efficient
and affordable method for consumers to manage many financial
affairs without the usual hassles of calling or visiting a bank
branch.
Asset Tracking
The ability to track the location of a moving asset, such as a
truck or its cargo, is very valuable for providers and clients.
This application just needs to exchange small amounts of
information, such as the longitude and latitude at a current
time of the day, and perhaps other parameters like temperature
or humidity. The small amount of data transfer coupled with the
need for mobility, make this another perfect fit for SMS.
User Validation
A very new application of SMS is for user validation. SMS can be
used to send a validation message to a user who's about to
approve a purchase or important transaction. With 2-way SMS, the
user can instantly reply to the message on his mobile phone,
thus approving or denying the pending transaction. For instance,
a credit card company could offer users the ability to have a
confirmation SMS message sent to their mobile phone whenever a
credit card charge is being processed for more than a certain
amount - this would help reduce credit card fraud and would help
lower the costs of fraud to banks and consumers.
More Application ScenariosØ |
