Do Texts Work on a BlackBerry?
- BlackBerry smartphones, and most wireless service providers, support the most basic form of message: the Short Message Service (SMS), or text, message. Using a wireless network, such as the 3G network, the SMS protocol facilitates the sending and receiving of text messages. Limited to 160 characters in length, SMS messages can be sent to any email address or 10-digit wireless phone number. Depending on the type of service plan you have with your BlackBerry's carrier, SMS messages may be billed on a per-message basis.
- BlackBerrys are also capable of sending and receiving non-text messages through a wireless service provider's network using the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) protocol. This technology supports video, audio, picture and text content and is an offshoot of the SMS protocol. At the time of publication, most BlackBerry smartphones support MMS, but many older models do not. Only content received on or taken by a BlackBerry can be sent using the phone's MMS feature. For instance, photos and videos captured by a BlackBerry's camera may be attached to an MMS message and sent to multiple recipients or an online photo album.
- BlackBerry smartphones also support mobile email messaging, which allows you to receive and send email messages through the device's Internet connection. Mobile email messaging is made possible through connections to an Internet Message Access Protocol or Post Office Protocol server. Depending on your service provider's capabilities, newer BlackBerry phones support up to 10 mobile email accounts. Another common feature on newer BlackBerrys is push email, a feature that delivers incoming email directly to the phone and does not require the recipient to log in and manually check for new messages.
- Short text messages sent through an Internet connection are known as instant messages. Instant messaging on a BlackBerry requires a subscription with a third-party client, such as Yahoo!, MSN or AOL. Once an account is created with one of these or other third-party clients, you must sign in to the IM account before you can use the BlackBerry's IM feature. Instant messaging is like "chatting" on a laptop or desktop computer, but using a mobile phone instead.
