Text messaging still king in mobile phone world

AFP, October, 2006

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Text messaging remains the most dominant mode of mobile data communication, as high costs and cumbersome procedures keep customers from fully embracing fancier applications, industry players say. As revenue from voice service narrows, mobile operators are hard pressed to find a key new application that will continue generating cash like the simple yet still popular short messaging system (SMS), also known as text messaging.

One solution is to enrich the content of text messages by adding voice greetings or templates on birthdays, wedding anniversaries and other special occasions, industry experts say. For example, a boss sends a text message commending an employee for a job well done and informing him of a pay raise. The congratulatory text could be...