Cell Phone Text Messages Via IM

Did you know that you can send text messages to cell phones from certain Instant Messaging programs? Yes! I use the MSN Instant Messenger, and I have my friends’ mobile phone numbers in the contact lists. When I want to send them a text, I right-click on their icon and choose “Send a message to a mobile device.” There is a special phone number the receiver must allow in his phone contacts before receiving regular messages.

I use it a lot, but I will say that it is not 100% reliable. I don’t know if it’s an MSN thing or not, but sometimes my husband doesn’t get his messages right away. So if you have an emergency message, it’s probably best to use your cell phone. But the IM texts are handy, and they are free to send!