I set up my iPhone for free inbound SMS's using Google Voice and Prowl's push notifications. Then I use the Google Voice web app - I made an icon for it and put it on my home screen - for free outgoing SMS's. So far it's been working mostly well - not perfect, but good enough.
So there's plenty of free SMS'ing apps for the iPhone, but they don't use your phone's number and they require your friends to set it up.
The advantage of Google Voice is that you can tell everyone "my cell phone number changed, update your records", give them your Google Voice number, and then all SMS's they send go to Google Voice instead. You can tell everyone your cell phone number is your Google Voice number and then just have everything routed through Google Voice. Free voicemail transcription, free SMS's.
The trick is how to get the iPhone to tell you when you have a GV SMS waiting.
1. Tell your friends and family your cell number has changed to you GV number.
2. Download Prowl for the iPhone from the app store. It's $3.
3. Enable Prowl push notifications.
4. Create a Gmail account for your SMS's to go to.
5. Log in to GV and have it send all SMS's to the Gmail account from #4.
6. Either:
A. Set up a computer that's running 24/7 to run Growl and have it watch your Gmail account from #4 using the Google Voice Growl app, or Gmail Growl or Growlmail.
B. Use a web service like GVMax to watch your Gmail account from #4 and forward it to Prowl's .
The problems:
1. Yes, it's definitely complicated.
2. The SMS's you get from Prowl are not directly repliable - they show up as a pop-up.
3. You either have to trust some guy on the internet with the username and password for your Gmail account with all of your SMS's in it (#6B), or you need to leave a computer on 24/7 (#6A).
4. Prowl isn't free.
5. To reply to SMS's you need to use either the Jailbroken Google Voice app or the Google Voice web app.
6. You need to have internet access on your phone to get these push notifications - so if you are in the middle of Wyoming and there's no GPRS/EDGE/UMTS, then you won't get these SMS's but if you had phone service you probably would get regular SMS's.
I have a home theater PC running Beyond TV which basically acts as an HD Tivo - with no monthly fees - which is running Growl for me. And so far, everything works as it should. I get a Prowl notifications within a minute or two of someone SMS'ing me and then I click the Google Voice web app button to reply. Everything has worked fine so far.
The upside is that it works, it's free, and it gives me some small satisfaction knowing that I'm not paying for something that AT&T should be providing me for free (SMS's cost them basically nothing to send/receive).
So there's plenty of free SMS'ing apps for the iPhone, but they don't use your phone's number and they require your friends to set it up.
The advantage of Google Voice is that you can tell everyone "my cell phone number changed, update your records", give them your Google Voice number, and then all SMS's they send go to Google Voice instead. You can tell everyone your cell phone number is your Google Voice number and then just have everything routed through Google Voice. Free voicemail transcription, free SMS's.
The trick is how to get the iPhone to tell you when you have a GV SMS waiting.
1. Tell your friends and family your cell number has changed to you GV number.
2. Download Prowl for the iPhone from the app store. It's $3.
3. Enable Prowl push notifications.
4. Create a Gmail account for your SMS's to go to.
5. Log in to GV and have it send all SMS's to the Gmail account from #4.
6. Either:
A. Set up a computer that's running 24/7 to run Growl and have it watch your Gmail account from #4 using the Google Voice Growl app, or Gmail Growl or Growlmail.
B. Use a web service like GVMax to watch your Gmail account from #4 and forward it to Prowl's .
The problems:
1. Yes, it's definitely complicated.
2. The SMS's you get from Prowl are not directly repliable - they show up as a pop-up.
3. You either have to trust some guy on the internet with the username and password for your Gmail account with all of your SMS's in it (#6B), or you need to leave a computer on 24/7 (#6A).
4. Prowl isn't free.
5. To reply to SMS's you need to use either the Jailbroken Google Voice app or the Google Voice web app.
6. You need to have internet access on your phone to get these push notifications - so if you are in the middle of Wyoming and there's no GPRS/EDGE/UMTS, then you won't get these SMS's but if you had phone service you probably would get regular SMS's.
I have a home theater PC running Beyond TV which basically acts as an HD Tivo - with no monthly fees - which is running Growl for me. And so far, everything works as it should. I get a Prowl notifications within a minute or two of someone SMS'ing me and then I click the Google Voice web app button to reply. Everything has worked fine so far.
The upside is that it works, it's free, and it gives me some small satisfaction knowing that I'm not paying for something that AT&T should be providing me for free (SMS's cost them basically nothing to send/receive).
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