Short Messaging Service or SMS is a nice common denominator among mobile devices that will help bring more functionality and less silo applications. Thus far in North America we have met with hostility from some quarters as we push intelligent Email to SMS. However the analysts are beginning to understand our brand of intelligent mobile messaging. The view is that intelligent Email to SMS where you filter as much as possible so you get 20 relevant/critical emails instead of 200 on your mobile phone and you intelligently summarize so you can maximize the use of the 15 words that an SMS packet allows is actually a good approach! Who knew??

A nice highlight at the CTIA Wireless show in the fall of 2007 was the speech by Face book co-founder Dustin Moscowitz. He was strongly trying to make the point that unlike the world of the Internet and computing which have open systems from Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc., the wireless networks are locked up closed systems from the carriers. This may have something to do with why mobile messaging is not as widely adopted as it should be. The answer to me is pretty obvious. It seems that mobile messaging is thought of as a status symbol versus something quite useful!

I am told that Blackberry devices are about status – after all we see them in movies used by rich executives and people like Paris Hilton. As such, the masses think that mobile messaging is expensive and this perception is impeding adoption of email on mobile phones.

Mobile phone vendors are not helping this too much as they are also pulling all the stops to capture consumer appeal rather than deliver more useful functionality to the phone for messaging. Names like Chocolate from LG are designed to appeal to people who love sleek while Nokia keeps pushing the envelope of the Swiss army knife mentality with more and more functionality for movie buffs, gamers, music fans, and sexy look and feel for those that love blades. LG even has an iPhone look-alike

But how does this help mobile messaging? We also seem to have brainwashed the general population into thinking that if they want email, they have to buy a Java phone of the Swiss Army variety or a Blackberry. We need to let the secret out!! You CAN get email on ANY MOBILE PHONE ANYWHERE in the world through SMS. A number of FREE services such as www.amikamobile.net, Teleflip and others allow you to register your Google, Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail, etc. email address and then have emails pushed to your mobile phone. You can even have email pushed to a Blackberry or to a Java phone through SMS.