Tag: sms

Cosmos: a Browser That Lets You Browse the Internet Without the Internet

Cosmos, till recently was a term, we used to describe the contents of the universe. Then Neil Degrasse Tyson came in this summer and gave us an epic new show by the same name. Now a team of four college and high school students from the U.S have created a browser that lets you connect to the internet without a data plan.

Cosmos is a one of a kind browser. When the user enters a URL, the browser sends it through SMS to a web service. The web service is made using Twilio and Node.JS. The service then loads the website and takes out all the scripts, images, CSS and sends it back to the device in one or more text messages.

The makers of the browser were able to get it on Play Store in less than a month. They have asked the users to be cautious while using the browser as it has some bugs since the app is still in its starting stages. The biggest hitch with the browser is that the pages take a while to load and when they do they are devoid of all the features, like images and scripts that makes web browsing interesting. Also, a user has to deal with many text notifications while using this browser.

You might want to get a reliable text plan to get the best out of this browser as it sends data through SMS. The app is currently only available to U.S. users to prevent overloading the infrastructure. But as it gets better, and gains users, there might be an expansion.

As the browser is just starting up, we’ll let the bugs slide as this sounds like a great way of bringing internet access to people who can’t afford it. At a time when major companies are planning drones and balloons to bring internet to the masses, a ground level effort like this is appreciated. We’d love to see where this Cosmos will lead us.

September 30, 2014
Google Brings Free SMS on Gmail in India

Google has extended its free SMS chat service to India, whereby users can send text messages to mobile phones via Gmail Chat.

[quote]”You can send SMS messages to your contacts’ mobile phones using Gmail Chat … Google does not charge for using this service,” according to information available with Google’s website.[/quote]

The SMS service is available in India and 51 other countries in Asia, Africa and North America.

According to the feature, people using either chat programmes ( GTalk, or Gmail chat ) can send texts to mobile users for free and cell phone subscribers can reply at regular SMS rates.

To ensure maximum coverage, the company has tied up with mobile service providers Aircel, Idea, Loop Mobile, MTS, Reliance, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Indicom and Vodafone in a few cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The service starts with 50 SMS credits for each user, every sent SMS costing one credit. Every reply received adds on 5 credits subject to the maximum level being 50 SMS at any given time. There is no official statement from Google on the launch of this service, however the service has gone live this evening in the chat windows of many users.

But don’t stress if you run out. “In case the SMS credit goes down to zero, it will increase automatically to one text after 24 hours. Keep in mind that if you’d like a higher message credit, you can always send an SMS to your own phone, and then reply to that message multiple times. Every time you reply, your SMS credit is increased by five. Effectively, you’re buying more messages by paying your phone company for these outgoing messages,” says Google in an explanatory post on its website.

October 13, 2012
Ban on bulk SMS, MMS lifted

The restrictions imposed on sending bulk SMSes and MMSes, imposed in the wake of nationwide rumours of attacks on persons of northeastern states, was has been lifted by the government.

“The restrictions on SMSes and MMSes has been removed,” home ministry spokesperson K.S. Dhatwalia said here. The government issued a notification in this regard.

The telecom ministry had, on direction of home ministry, imposed the ban for 15 days on August 17. Later, the restriction was reviewed on August 24 when the telecom ministry increased the limit from five SMSes to 20 SMSes.

August 30, 2012
SMS Curb May Lead to 7-8% Revenue Loss To Mobile Companies

Restriction on SMSes to five per day is not only causing problems for millions of mobile phone users but may also lead to loss of 7-8 percent revenue of telecom operators for the month.

The government had banned bulk SMSes and MMSes for 15 days across the country from 18 August to check spread of
rumours which has led to exodus of people from northeastern states from cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.

There were reports of widespread circulation of SMSes and MMSes containing misleading information about Assam violence, threats to people from northeast states living in other parts of the country and doctored videos.

While pre-paid mobile users, who account for over 90 percent of the 930 million mobile subscriber base, are unable to send more than five messages per day, postpaid users do not seem to be facing any problem.

People across the country wanting to wish their friends and relatives for Eid are feeling the pinch of the government order restricting the text messages.

“A ban of 15 days means they could lose around seven to eight percent of revenue this month from this service alone,” Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

Operators on an average get 15-18 per cent revenue from data services of which SMS is a part, he said.

Mathews, however, added that “all the members will definitely make every effort to abide by the rules, as national security and human lives are at stake.”

Youngsters are the largest users of SMS and many of them are upset by the restriction. “I wanted to SMS my Eid greetings to friends as it is not possible to call everyone. However, after five messages, I am unable to send anymore messages. As a subscriber, I feel cheated,” Pragya Gupta, a student at Delhi University said.

The order, which limits the number of SMS’ a subscriber can send for the next 15 days, was given after bulk messages were circulated that provoked exodus of northeast people from various cities like Bangalore and Pune. “SMS has become a way of life. As a media professional, I need to stay in touch with industry peers and it is generally over messages. However, with this ban, we are finding it difficult and it is impacting our work,” Rakesh Kumar Jha, a PR professional said.

He, however, added that “the situation is very sensitive and I can understand the government’s decision to ban bulk sms in order to prevent any untoward incident”.

Subscribers trying to send their sixth SMS received messages like “As per the government’s order, your limit is 5 SMS a day”.

The order however does not cover transactional messages related to banking, financial institutes and railways.

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August 20, 2012
Vodafone India offers new international roaming pack

Telecom service Vodafone India has launched an international roaming package under which subscribers can avail of 60 percent discount on services including voice and data.

These packs will be available till Sep 30. The offer is activated on a minimal one-time rental fee of Rs.1,499 valid for 30 days, the rental for which will be charged in the customer’s bill.

[quote]Vodafone subscribers can now avail international roaming services at 60 percent discount rate for voice, data and SMS in one single pack. This discount offer is applicable across 40 countries on specific partner networks across the globe[/quote]

[quote]”This latest offering addresses the latent needs of customers travelling to multiple countries with a single pack on one number and one-time rental, thus making international roaming a worry-free experience,”[/quote]- Sanjoy Mukerji, chief commercial officer, Vodafone India.

June 27, 2012
Windows Phone 7.5 SMS bug found, requires a Hard Reset to fix

A new SMS bug has been found in the Windows Phone 7.5 devices, WP devices that receive a text containing a certain string of characters will reboot and return with a non-functional messaging client which can only be restored via a hard reset. The bug does not affect any particular device, but the OS. The funny bit is that the same bug message could be received via Facebook messenger or MSN messenger.

Android and iOS have had their fair list of SMS bugs, But never one that disables the messaging interface all-together.

December 16, 2011
Google removes 22 apps from Android Market due to fraudulent charging

Google has reportedly removed 22 malicious applications from the Android Market after security vendors tipped off the company about apps attempting to trick users into accepting fraudulent charges via SMS. The devices get infected by a trojan that charges your phone bill with premium rate SMS charges.

[quote]Trojan horse for Android devices that sends SMS messages to premium-rate phone numbers,[/quote] Said Symantec

[quote]The initial application activity presents the user with a single option to continue, which is presumed to be an agreement to premium charges that are buried within layers of less than clear links. The Premium Short Codes used could affect users in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Poland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Estonia as well as Great Britain, Italy, India, Israel, France, and Germany.[/quote]

The applications were dressed as copies of the popular apps like Angry birds and Cut the rope, but were actually malicious. Google has not named the apps and has not remotely deleted the apps from users phones. So if your phone bill has been racing high and you think your SMS bills are higher than usual, factory reset your phone and carefully select your apps.

December 14, 2011
Pakistan blocks words in SMSs and here is the full list

Pakistan Telecom Authority blocks certain words from being used in communication. Its Illegal!

There is a huge list of words that you can’t use when you SMS your friends in Pakistan. The reason behind it is that you can become rapists or murderers or something worse according to the authorities.

The list of the words include stuff like fondle, do me, G-unit and Pocket Pool ( sad population loss for 50 Cent)

Check out the full list of words that are banned below.

[VIA]

November 21, 2011
Tata Teleservices Launches New Family Plan

Tata Teleservices has launched a new plan for the entire family. This plan includes services from Tata Walky as well as Tata Indicom. Some of the feeatures of the plan are – One Billing, one pool of minutes and SMS for the entire family,Unlimited Free local CUG, Simplicity in package billing and single uniform bill. Read the Press Release to find out more.

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Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, July 12, 2011 /India PRwire/ — Tata Teleservices Limited, the country’s fastest-growing dual-technology telecom service provider has launched an exclusive ‘Family Plan’ for its new and existing Tata Indicom and Tata Walky post-paid customers. This Family Plan comes with a host of benefits, available in a common “pool” like unlimited free local CUG and pooling of free SMSes and minutes. What’s more? By opting for this plan, customers will be able to receive one single bill for the period of entire month.

“With the launch of Family Plan, we at Tata Teleservices take pride in understanding the individual needs and requirements of our customers and bringing personalized approach towards fulfilling the same. This plan is yet another key step in our constant endeavor to simplify and uncomplicate telecom services. Starting today, all our Tata Indicom and Tata Walky post-paid customers can stop worrying about managing multiple bills, plans, payment datelines, etc. With this plan, they will benefit from buying into telecom as a single unit and eat from a large common pool of minutes and SMSes. We are certain that this plan has enough potential and would truly lure our target segment in a big way,” Oneel Verma, COO, Tata Indicom, MPCG said.

This plan comes with a monthly rental of Rs 499/- for three family members. Customers can add up to 2 more members at an additional cost of Rs 150/- per member. Under the monthly plan, they can avail the benefit of PPS (pay per second) tariff and can make all national calls at 1paise/second. All SMSes will be charged at 50 paise per SMS.

Moreover, all the family members can pool in Rs. 450 worth of local/STD calls and 100 local/STD SMSes every month. Additionally, family members can enjoy free unlimited local CUG amongst themselves. This plan also offers usage control function so that customers can keep complete control over their spending.

Also, in addition to the above an inter family local CUG at Rs 25/- & STD inter family CUG at Rs 100/- per member can also be availed.

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July 13, 2011
SENTINEL – The First Women’s Security App

MindHelix Technologies LLP, a Kochi based IT company, has launched an app called SENTINEL which is the first app designed with women’s security in mind. The app can send instant alerts in case of any problems. A forced power-off of the phone or an improper exit of the application will trigger an alert to be sent. Prolonged signal loss will also cause a ‘fail safe’ alert SMS and email to be sent from the company’s server.

Co-Founder & CEO Christin Emmanuel George said

[quote]We want to add a direct emailing or texting to nearest police station as soon as possible. We hope to get their consent in receiving and acting on such information.[/quote]

According to a survey by Assocham Social Development Foundation, more than 53% of women feel unsafe in their workplace, especially at night. With crimes against the fairer sex on the rise, applications like these could provide a sense of security for women. Records show that crime rates against women have increased dramatically in the metros.

Sentinel can send multiple SMS and e-mail alerts to preconfigured numbers and e-mail ids. The alerts would include last known location, direction of travel, mode of transportation and vehicle number (which the user can enter). The app has been designed for smart phones including all devices with Android, Blackberry, Symbian, iOS and Java operating systems. The application was designed with the urban woman in mind and requires a continuous cellphone signal.

The free app can be downloaded from http://sentinel.mindhelix.com/

July 1, 2011