Understanding SMS / Treo300SMS

idfdavid · 11/14/2002, 12:40 AM

I just purchased the Treo300 SMS application, but a little confused.

I understand how to use it to send quick email, and understand how it is linked to my phone@messaging.sprintpcs.com address and the sprint pcs one way messaging web site.

However, if I want to use it to interact via SMS to other carriers (ie I have a friend with a Treo 270 on T-Mobile) ... do I just use his tmobile address or just put in his mobile phone number.

I keep hearing about SMS gateways, but everyone is giving me an email address to get SMS. If I just use his mobile phone number does the PDAApps/Sprint SMS system know that this is another company and properly route it?

I guess if I'm SMS someone outside of Sprint, do I need to know the internet form of their phone #, or do I just use their phone number?

Also, if someone SMS me, will it display any type of "caller ID" so I know who the message is from?

David

KKenna · 11/14/2002, 12:44 AM

I've been using this app since it's initial release. Just address the message to your friends phone number an it'll get to him.

idfdavid · 11/14/2002, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KKenna
I've been using this app since it's initial release. Just address the message to your friends phone number an it'll get to him.

So obviously some gateway understands that the phone number matches some other carrier?

When I get a message from him off system, will there be any identification it is from him?

jshrieve · 11/14/2002, 12:48 AM

Bottom line, SMS is a phone number to phone number thing.
Assuming the carrier participates in SMS, then you enter a phone number and it should reach them. And vice versa.

Email to SMS gateways are simply made for convenience. So that someone with email only (no SMS) can send an SMS message to someome.

The fact that a lot of devices that can send SMSes can also send emails (often from the same app) is just a matter of convenience, and a point of confusion.

Occasionally people will recommend having people from other carriers, who want to reach you at Sprint, use phone#@messaging.sprintpcs.com, because in the past, Sprint's inter-carrier SMS gateway was very slow and could delay messages by many hours. Their email gateway was quick. Sprint's inter-carrier SMS gateway is much faster these days. I'm not sure if it still has frequent delays, but in general it's much faster.

If you had two phones that couldn't send email, but could send SMS, you'd SMS each other's phone numbers.

With phones that can send email, you have a (perhaps unnecessary) choice.

jshrieve · 11/14/2002, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by idfdavid

When I get a message from him off system, will there be any identification it is from him?

Sprint's email to SMS gateway doesn't include any callerid info, I'm pretty sure.

Intercarrier SMS is supposed to carry callerid info (the number of the sender). You *should* receive it, but because of the way some carriers talk to each other, you may not in some cases. If everything happens the way it's supposed to, you'll receive callerid info.

idfdavid · 11/14/2002, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jshrieve

Sprint's email to SMS gateway doesn't include any callerid info, I'm pretty sure.

Intercarrier SMS is supposed to carry callerid info (the number of the sender). You *should* receive it, but because of the way some carriers talk to each other, you may not in some cases. If everything happens the way it's supposed to, you'll receive callerid info.

Understand ... thank you for all the explanation ... so I'll experiment ... I wish it acted a little like the RIM pagers did, where you actually got confirmation that the message was delivered ...

jshrieve · 11/14/2002, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by idfdavid

Understand ... thank you for all the explanation ... so I'll experiment ... I wish it acted a little like the RIM pagers did, where you actually got confirmation that the message was delivered ...

No problem... heck, I just wish SMS reception was guaranteed! Like with pagers, where if it doesn't come in immediately, it comes in a couple minute later..

I worry about alert SMSes disappearing into the blackhole. Which is why I have any important SMS of an alert nature sent multiple times (every X minutes).

nrosser · 11/14/2002, 01:58 PM

If I receive an SMS from someone whose cell phone number matches what I have for them in my contact database, the SMS app will display their name as part of the message header. And it works that way independent of who their carrier is. I think it's a function of TreoSMS, not the Sprint funky quasi-SMS stuff.

Robert K. · 11/14/2002, 02:04 PM

Can someone please tell me what their configuration setting are? I couldn't get this app to work! Thanks