{"id":353,"date":"2011-03-20T21:38:40","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T01:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/20\/sms-from-gmail\/"},"modified":"2011-03-20T21:38:40","modified_gmt":"2011-03-21T01:38:40","slug":"sms-from-gmail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikemartinezonline.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/20\/sms-from-gmail\/","title":{"rendered":"SMS from GMail"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve written many times about how awesome a tool Google Apps Gmail is. Check out these links.<\/p>\n

One<\/a><\/p>\n

Two<\/a><\/p>\n

Three<\/a><\/p>\n

Four<\/a> and I\u2019m sure there are more just look.<\/p>\n

And I’ve also written about how to send and SMS text to a phone via email.
Here<\/a>
But that does require you know the service provider of your recipient. <\/p>\n

BUT you can also send SMS messages directly to any telephone number from Gmail\/Google Chat.<\/u><\/strong> A super useful tool if you are in front of a computer and the party you need to contact is not.
To do so from Gmail: <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Enter your contact\u2019s name in the \u2018Search or invite friends\u2019 box in Chat, and select Send SMS<\/strong> from the box of options that appears to the right of your contact\u2019s name. Or, if you already have a Chat window open for this contact, just click Options<\/strong>, and select Send SMS<\/strong>. <\/li>\n
  2. In the dialog box, enter a phone number in the \u2018Send SMS messages to this number\u2019 field. For now, this feature works only on United States phone numbers. If you’re outside the US, you can still use it, but you won’t see the SMS option in Chat until you enable it manually in the Chat settings page.  <\/li>\n
  3. Click Save<\/strong>. <\/li>\n
  4. A Chat window appears. Just type your message as you would normally. When you hit Enter<\/strong>, the message will be sent to the phone number you entered. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If your contact replies, the text message response will appear as a reply in Chat. These conversations are stored in your Chat history just like regular chats (but keep in mind that you can\u2019t go off the record while communicating via SMS). <\/p>\n

    Note regarding mobile phone subscribers in North America: depending on which mobile plans your contacts in North America have, they may be charged by their mobile providers for receiving text messages.
    Read about more about it <\/strong>    here<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Note that as you ‘use’ SMS quota you can increase the number you are allowed to send very easily.
    A quota is an allocation of SMS (text messages) that you’re able to send to a mobile phone: <\/p>\n