You can typically choose the best email to SMS gateway for your needs simply by considering the email service you already use and knowing which mobile phone provider the person you wish to send a message to uses. This will allow you to send a simple message through a short message service (SMS) gateway that can be received by the phone of the person you are sending it to, and he or she can then simply hit reply and send a message back to you. You can also use a separate messaging service rather than use an email to SMS gateway to send messages to a phone, though this is not necessary.
An email to SMS gateway is typically an address used when sending SMS messages to a mobile phone from an email account. This is used as part of the address for the email you are sending to the person’s mobile phone. The full address typically consists of the person’s phone number, including area code when applicable but without any punctuation, followed by the email to SMS gateway that is appropriate for his or her mobile service provider. This gateway depends entirely on the mobile service provider a person uses, so you will need to know what provider a person uses.
The email to SMS gateway for Verizon Wireless®, for example, is “@vtext.com,” though you can also use “@vzwpix.com” as an email to multimedia messaging service (MMS) gateway. This means that to send an SMS message to a person with service through Verizon Wireless®, you would address the email to “phonenumber@vtext.com.” Each provider has a different email to SMS gateway that you need to use to properly address an email to a phone. For example, someone with Virgin Mobile® phone service would have an address of “phonenumber@vmobl.com,” while AT&T Wireless® phones can be reached through “phonenumber@txt.att.net.”
You can also use other services to send SMS messages from a computer to a mobile phone, without using an email to SMS gateway. Many instant messaging programs offer users the ability to send messages through the program to a mobile phone or similar device. There are also other programs that allow text, voice, and video conferencing between computers, which can also send SMS messages from a computer to a phone. Some of these other programs may charge a fee; however, sending SMS messages from email is free for the person using his or her email for such messaging. Anyone receiving messages in this way on a phone or mobile device will typically still be charged standard messaging rates by his or her provider.