what is sms? sms has been in our lives for decades, but the origins of the technology go back a little further than you think.
In 1984, a German engineer named Friedhelm Hillebrand, along with a colleague Bernard Ghillebaert, began work on creating a system that would allow them to send messages over the telephone network using GSM standards.
his research finally paid off in the 1990s. the first sms was sent over the uk’s vodafone gsm network. In the 2010s, hundreds of thousands of SMS messages were being sent every second.
Technology has become part of our daily lives, but there is a question that many people have always asked. i.e. “what is the difference between sms and text messages?”
the simple difference between sms and text messages
what does sms stand for? well, it stands for short message service, and is the most common form of text messaging used today. a single text message is limited to 160 characters, including spaces.
mms stands for multimedia messaging service. It is the media variant of an SMS message that allows users to send images, videos, or audio over a traditional cellular network. this was a common way of sending pictures, also known as picture messages, to friends and colleagues before mobile apps started using mobile internet networks to send larger files.
how much data can messages send?
every text message, or sms message, consists only of text. If a user sends more than 160 characters, it can be sent in up to 6 parts with a total number of 918 characters in the linked message.
Users may not be aware that sending more than 160 characters in a text message can result in sending an mms message, which will cost more depending on your carrier. however, the textmagic solution does not convert sms messages to mms regardless of their length.
historical and regional use of the term “sms”
In the early days of technology use, it was often referred to as “sms”. the abbreviation was used as a noun to describe the message. was also used as a verb. it was not uncommon to hear early cell phone users describe that they were “texting” a friend.
Initially, “sms” was used to differentiate between other forms of electronic messaging, including email.
Users may only see “sms” used by their network provider. this is part of the reason why many people believe that there is a difference between sms and texts.
In everyday language, these messages are known as “texts” and “sms” is no longer common usage. this is true for the united states and the rest of the english-speaking world. however, there are places in continental europe that still use the saying: send me an “sms”. however, in more modern usage, the term “text message” provides enough context to describe an SMS message. this is despite the existence of many other forms of electronic messaging.
more people than ever are using this technology
Today, 83% of American adults have a cell phone. Nearly three-quarters of mobile phone owners send or receive text messages on a daily basis.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, those who communicate through text messages send and receive an average of 41.5 messages a day. That means millions of text messages are sent every day, despite the rise of social media and internet-based messaging services.
Cellular networks remain strong. users continue to communicate on their smartphones the same way they did on their previous cell phones.
is the most popular marketing method among customers
Studies have shown time and time again that customers prefer to be contacted by text message. This is probably because SMS messages are shorter. According to a study by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, consumers trust SMS more; and 93% of consumers considered SMS to be a more reliable communications environment. This is because users receive fewer spam text messages than spam emails. the study showed that text messages have a spam rate of 2.8%; Substantially lower than the 53% spam rate for email.
another study found that 54% of consumers would prefer to receive marketing promotions through text messages. however, only 11% of the companies surveyed were currently sending them. Data shows that customers trust SMS more than email and are more willing to engage with text messages. perhaps this is due to the technology’s long and established history of delivering short, concise, and important messages quickly.
Users have a closer connection with text messaging than email because they feel it’s more personal and instantly accessible. Not everyone has their work email on their phone, and not everyone checks personal email on their device as soon as it arrives. however, text messages elicit an instant response from many people and remain one of the most effective forms of marketing.
people prefer text messages to calls!
research also shows that sms texting is now the preferred form of communication for millennials over phone calls. A Gallup survey found that 68% of millennials admit to texting “a lot” every day, 21% more than Gen Xers. young cell phone users have begun to abandon phone calls and prefer to communicate through short short messages. This concept proved popular after the development of SMS technology in the 1980s and 1990s, and has remained popular possibly as a result of millennials growing up with the technology.
Interestingly, though, texting remains popular with those who didn’t grow up with access to quick and easy text communication. This phenomenon of people wanting to avoid talking on the phone was seen in Japan in the early 21st century. A 2005 book titled “The Inner Text: Social, Cultural, and Design Perspectives on SMS” explains how Japanese cell phone users turned to texting as a way to avoid phone calls.
texting has a bright future
People still ask about the difference between sms and text messages because text messages are more relevant than ever. 4g and 5g internet connectivity has made it easy to share large files, but texting remains popular because it sticks to the simple principle of sharing small bits of information in an instant.
It has also become one of the most popular forms of marketing, not only for businesses, but also for customers. text messages allow users to receive updates on the products and services they are interested in, get quick updates on an appointment they have scheduled in the future, or receive important job information from an automated system. text messages are versatile, easy to send, and can be incorporated into automated business systems much more easily. they also do not require an internet connection.
As long as users require quick and easy communication, text messaging will be there to provide that important service.
