You can send an email, send a message from Facebook or contact you on Twitter. You also use iMessage, right? All these methods are available on a desktop PC. But if you are talking to someone who does not carry a smart phone, these options do not work. So what can you do?
The solution is simple: send an email to the mobile number you want to communicate with. This works with virtually any device with SMS capability, whether you run applications or not, thanks to the SMS gateways.
What is an SMS gateway?
An SMS gateway converts an email to SMS, which allows you to send emails to a mobile from a PC.
Sending an email to a mobile number is the same as writing any other email. All you need to know is the address of the recipient's gateway. If you know which mobile network they connect to, finding out their address shouldn't be a problem.
SMS gateways are usually free to use. But while you can send an email for free, it can still cost the person receiving it. An SMS that originates from an email is no different from any other when it comes to mobile plans.
Uses for an SMS gateway
SMS gateways are not useful just to send a text from your computer to a mobile. Of course, that can technically be everything a gateway does, but that's not all. So you'll see some cases below.
1.- Notify yourself when an email arrives
On smart phones, a notification appears every time a new email arrives in your inbox. On a phone without this function, forwarding an email to your smartphone is a way to control who communicates with you.
The complete message does not fit in a single SMS, but at least you will know that the desired package has been sent or that a colleague has located you on the current project.
Using filters, you can choose to forward only certain emails. This is beneficial even if you are a smartphone user. Receiving a text message only for the most important email is a good balance between always being online and disconnecting completely from the web.
Forwarding email to SMS does not require anything special from you. Forward to a gateway address in the same way you would with a standard email address.
2.- Transfer files
Sending text messages is an easy way to take files from your mobile to a computer. This method works to send images you take, or forward images received from others. Which allows you to see them on a larger screen.
This saves you the effort to connect your device to a computer and discover how to transfer files that way, if it can.
For the magic to happen, all you have to do is write an email address instead of a phone number when sending a picture message.
3.- Make a standard mobile smart using IFTTT
Many of today's smart gadgets assume that you have a smart mobile. Some will not even do anything without the ability to install a complementary application on your device. Fortunately, in some cases, there is an alternative solution.
IFTTT is a web service that can perform certain tasks in response to particular actions. With IFTTT, you can make your standard mobile smart or compatible with smart devices.
With IFTTT, it allows you to perform many actions simply by sending a text. Adjust the lights or play music. If you are working with limited storage on your device, you can use IFTTT to backup SMS messages in a spreadsheet. Also, you can receive an SMS every time a package arrives.
4.- Send massive emails
SMS gateways are not only here to make our lives more convenient. Companies turn to them as a way to send messages to thousands of phones at once. Although this service is not always free.
When you receive an impersonal message from an operator, a company or a political organization, they are probably using an SMS gateway. This is also a way that employers of large companies can communicate with all their employees, regardless of where they are in the world.
How can you send an email via SMS in any country?
As with any international service, most users do not live in a single country. So you can see on many websites what are the gateways belonging to internet providers and telephone services where you live.
This way, you can configure everything so you can send emails via SMS. In order not to lose contact with an important member of your team.
You can now use the gateway to send SMS to emails
As if you were in high school, you can send emails to smartphones again. As it was 10 years ago. Now, you can continue sending SMS through the gateways. So if your friends or coworkers have no connection or do not have smartphones, you can keep in touch with them.