The first text message was sent from a
computer to a mobile phone 20 years ago
today. We take a look back at two decades
of the text.
On December 3 1992, engineer Neil
Papworth sent the first SMS message to
Richard Jarvis of Vodafone. It simply read
"Merry Christmas," and Jarvis had no way of
replying.
The idea of sending short messages via
mobile phone only became a focus for
telecoms companies in the UK years later,
though the first commercial SMS service was
launched in Sweden in 1993 by Telia.
Most companies in 1994 were investing
heavily in pagers, but consumers'
enthusiasm for texts, which did not require
the intermediary of an operator, meant a
change of tack from from the mid-1990s
onwards.
Vodafone in the UK launched text
messaging in 1994. At that time texts were
completely free but could be sent only to
people on the same network. The medium
gained instant popularity among students,
who soon began shortening words into
"text speak."
Mobile phones already had numberpads
with letters on them as part of digital GSM
product specifications so that people could
enter names in their phonebooks.
In the early days of texting, users had to
stick to a 160 character limit (there was no
way of running texts together as there is
today) and T9 and other predictive text
systems did not exist before 1995, meaning
texting speeds were much slower.
Full cross-network compatability for SMS
(between Vodafone, Cellnet, One-2-One and
Orange) was not finalised until 1999, when
charging started across networks.
By January 2001, texts sent in a month hit a
billion in the UK. The Telegraph reported
that "Text messages sent on mobile phones
have spawned their own truncated
language, using allusion and codes to
squeeze whole sentences into a maximum
of 160 characters."
Our technology correspondent Robert Uhlig
got slightly carried away, informing readers
of a hugely complicated system
unrecognisable to most using texts at the
time.
He reported: "SMS-speak uses a combination
of symbols, abbreviations and phonetics for
speed and brevity, and capitals for
emphasis. The number 8, for example,
substitutes for the "ate" sound, used in
words such as gr8, h8 or st8. Capital letters
are pronounced as written, so that 'accurate
and balanced article' becomes 'aQr8 &
balNsd RTcL'.
"Emoticons can become quite sophisticated.
Typing :'-( means "I am crying", while @:-) is
"I am wearing a turban", and (:-I8()>
indicates a pregnant woman or conception.
To denote a man or father, :- is used to
denote the male Instruments, while >- or O+
signifies a woman."
In 2004, then Prime Minister Tony Blair took
part in a live text chat, but struggled with
the technology. "My texting talents are poor,
let's say underdeveloped," he told Capital FM.
At the Leveson Inquiry, Rebekah Brooks, the
former News International chief executive,
told how she had to inform the Prime
Minister that LOL means 'Laugh Out Loud'
not 'Lots Of Love'.
In the eight years since, texting has become
the norm for staying in touch, and texts
have saved lives, caused heartbreak and
speeded up daily life for millions.
It's now routine for parents to receive
information about their children at school
via text message and the NHS uses texts to
confirm test results and appointments. Text
messages have been harnessed for
charitable giving and even divorce. In 2008,
British surgeon David Nott received text
message instructions on how to amputate a
boy's arm in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, saving his life. But texts can just as
easily be used thoughtlessly or spitefully.
Text cyberbullying has become a new
problem for teenagers and their parents
and there have been reports of employees
being made redundant via SMS.
Nine in ten 16-24 year olds now say they
communicate with friends and family on a
daily basis via text messages, compared to
15 per cent of over-65s, according to Ofcom.
People in the UK sent an average of 200 SMS
and MMS messages per month in 2011. The
average number of text and picture
messages sent per UK inhabitant continued
to increase in 2011, growing by 17 per cent
to 200 messages per month.
But today text messages look under threat
from apps such as WhatsApp and Vibr that
provide the same service but over the
internet, and email and video calling over 3G
and 4G networks.
James Thickett, Ofcom’s Director of
Research, said: “When texting was first
conceived many saw it as nothing more
than a niche service.
"But texts have now surpassed traditional
phone calls and meeting face to face as the
most frequent way of keeping in touch for
UK adults, revolutionising the way we
socialise, work and network.
“For the first time in the history of mobile
phones, SMS volumes are showing signs of
decline. However the availability of a wider
range of communications tools like instant
messaging and social networking sites,
mean that people might be sending fewer
SMS messages, but they are ‘texting’ more
than ever before.”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/9718336/Text-messaging-at-20-how-SMS-changed-the-world.html

Happy Birthday sms