Gmail and SMS

I recently picked up two Samsung SCH-u740’s (buy on get one free). One I use and one is for my daughter. I also added text messaging to my Verizon account. The text messaging was for my daughter, but it turned out to good for me as well. Now I can filter messages from my Gmail account and have them sent as a SMS message to my phone. Granted it’s a low tech mobile solution but I’m doing the typical life hacker thing and making the most of the tools I have at my disposal. First of all you have to have a Gmail account. Secondly you need a cell phone, preferably with unlimited text messaging, or you’ll risk paying through the nose for those extra text messages. Gmail has the option to filter messages. You can assign actions to those filtered messages like adding a label or forwarding the message to another email address. Yep, that’s our ticket right there. I filter messages based on client email domains. I then forward those emails to my Verizon account. Now here are a few things I had to dig up along the way.

Here is the email address format for the various US carriers.

• Verizon Wireless: 10digitphonenumber@vtext.com
• Former AT&T customers: 10digitphonenumber@mmode.com
• Sprint: 10digitphonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
• T-Mobile: 10digitphonenumber@tmomail.net
• Nextel: 10digitphonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
• Cingular: 10digitphonenumber@cingularme.com
• Virgin Mobile: 10digitphonenumber@vmobl.com
• Alltel: 10digitphonenumber@alltelmessage.com
• Alltel: 10digitphonenumber@message.alltel.com
• CellularOne: 10digitphonenumber@mobile.celloneusa.com
• Omnipoint: 10digitphonenumber@omnipointpcs.com
• Qwest: 10digitphonenumber@qwestmp.com

Here are some documented maximum text message lengths.

• AT&T 144
• Cingular 160
• Nextel 280
• Sprint PCS 160
• T-Mobile 140
• Verizon Wireless 160

I have Verizon Wireless. When I tested my setup I noticed that the max message length I could read was 152 (subject + body). Verizon’s documented max message length is 160. I looked around on the floor and it didn’t look like I dropped 8 ASCII characters. So where did the other 8 go? I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

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