SMS Control

[solarwind]

I recently bought a new cell phone (iPhone) but did not get a data
plan because they are ridiculously expensive. I do, however, like many
people, have a far more cost-effective unlimited text plan. I have yet
to find a good interactive SMS (text messaging) service which you can
interact with while on the go to obtain information. An example would
be google sms service (the best one I've found), but even that needs a
little work. Wouldn't it be awesome to interact with your computer via
sms? Ask it to do stuff? Retrieve information (addresses, contacts,
phone numbers, turn off your lights, that sort of thing)?

We need a way to communicate from the cell phone TO the computer.
Fortunately for us, we have services like twitter and facebook which
allow us to very quickly update our status or post a "tweet" via SMS.
See where this is going? All we need to do is sign up for a
twitter/Facebook account (and make it private) and write a very simple
interface to check for twitter/facebook updates via SMS. We can then
retrieve the text that was sent from the phone.

So, for example:

If you want to know the address of the nearest pizza pizza, you could
write a simple program to fetch twitter/facebook updates and parse the
text and perform a search action, for example. The possibilities are
vast.

Once the information has been obtained, it is very easy to send the
data back to the phone. One way is to email
<your_phone_number>@carrier.com, as most carriers provide a free
email-to-sms gateway. The phone then receives the information it was
looking for.

You could also (theoretically) create a data-over-sms layer and encode
the text in base 64 to get a (very) slow... um... Internet
connection... I don't know if it's even worth mentioning since sms
tends to take at least a few seconds to send/receive.

What do you guys think?
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[Marechiare]

solarwind wrote:
> So, for example:
>
> If you want to know the address of the nearest pizza
> pizza, you could write a simple program to fetch
> twitter/facebook updates and parse the text and perform
>  a search action, for example. The possibilities are
> vast.

Here on the list someone from Toronto said he could easily find
nearest pizzas etc with his HTC Diamond Google Maps. Why do you need
wasting your precious time on developing another solution? Is the
mobile internet realy that expensive?
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[John Chung]

Hi Solarwind,

A bit sidetrack, you been working on Carbon for your iphone?

John

--- On Sat, 9/26/09, solarwind <x.solarwind.x@...> wrote:

> From: solarwind <x.solarwind.x@...>
> Subject: [OT] SMS Control
> To: "PICLIST" <piclist@...>
> Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009, 8:23 AM
> I recently bought a new cell phone
> (iPhone) but did not get a data
> plan because they are ridiculously expensive. I do,
> however, like many
> people, have a far more cost-effective unlimited text plan.
> I have yet
> to find a good interactive SMS (text messaging) service
> which you can
> interact with while on the go to obtain information. An
> example would
> be google sms service (the best one I've found), but even
> that needs a
> little work. Wouldn't it be awesome to interact with your
> computer via
> sms? Ask it to do stuff? Retrieve information (addresses,
> contacts,
> phone numbers, turn off your lights, that sort of thing)?
>
> We need a way to communicate from the cell phone TO the
> computer.
> Fortunately for us, we have services like twitter and
> facebook which
> allow us to very quickly update our status or post a
> "tweet" via SMS.
> See where this is going? All we need to do is sign up for
> a
> twitter/Facebook account (and make it private) and write a
> very simple
> interface to check for twitter/facebook updates via SMS. We
> can then
> retrieve the text that was sent from the phone.
>
> So, for example:
>
> If you want to know the address of the nearest pizza pizza,
> you could
> write a simple program to fetch twitter/facebook updates
> and parse the
> text and perform a search action, for example. The
> possibilities are
> vast.
>
> Once the information has been obtained, it is very easy to
> send the
> data back to the phone. One way is to email
> <your_phone_number>@carrier.com, as most carriers
> provide a free
> email-to-sms gateway. The phone then receives the
> information it was
> looking for.
>
> You could also (theoretically) create a data-over-sms layer
> and encode
> the text in base 64 to get a (very) slow... um... Internet
> connection... I don't know if it's even worth mentioning
> since sms
> tends to take at least a few seconds to send/receive.
>
> What do you guys think?
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> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>

     
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[Funny N.]

It is indeed a very good concept. It might involve some heavy developments.

 Funny N.
Au Group Electronics, http://www.AuElectronics.com
http://www.AuElectronics.com/products
http://augroups.blogspot.com/




________________________________
From: solarwind <x.solarwind.x@...>
To: PICLIST <piclist@...>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 11:53:53 PM
Subject: [OT] SMS Control

I recently bought a new cell phone (iPhone) but did not get a data
plan because they are ridiculously expensive. I do, however, like many
people, have a far more cost-effective unlimited text plan. I have yet
to find a good interactive SMS (text messaging) service which you can
interact with while on the go to obtain information. An example would
be google sms service (the best one I've found), but even that needs a
little work. Wouldn't it be awesome to interact with your computer via
sms? Ask it to do stuff? Retrieve information (addresses, contacts,
phone numbers, turn off your lights, that sort of thing)?

We need a way to communicate from the cell phone TO the computer.
Fortunately for us, we have services like twitter and facebook which
allow us to very quickly update our status or post a "tweet" via SMS.
See where this is going? All we need to do is sign up for a
twitter/Facebook account (and make it private) and write a very simple
interface to check for twitter/facebook updates via SMS. We can then
retrieve the text that was sent from the phone.

So, for example:

If you want to know the address of the nearest pizza pizza, you could
write a simple program to fetch twitter/facebook updates and parse the
text and perform a search action, for example. The possibilities are
vast.

Once the information has been obtained, it is very easy to send the
data back to the phone. One way is to email
<your_phone_number>@carrier.com, as most carriers provide a free
email-to-sms gateway. The phone then receives the information it was
looking for.

You could also (theoretically) create a data-over-sms layer and encode
the text in base 64 to get a (very) slow... um... Internet
connection... I don't know if it's even worth mentioning since sms
tends to take at least a few seconds to send/receive.

What do you guys think?
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[Herbert Graf-5]

On Sat, 2009-09-26 at 08:18 +0300, Marechiare wrote:
> solarwind wrote:
> Here on the list someone from Toronto said he could easily find
> nearest pizzas etc with his HTC Diamond Google Maps. Why do you need
> wasting your precious time on developing another solution? Is the
> mobile internet realy that expensive?

That may have been me.

I too once was developing an SMS based solution to these sorts of
problems. I did it through an SMS-email gateway, I'd sms an email to an
address, my server would receive the email, interpret the commands and
if appropriate issue a response back through the email-SMS gateway.

It never got much out of an alpha stage, but it did work. I soon however
gave up on it and just bit the bullet and got a data plan, haven't
looked back since. It is so amazingly useful that I would give up many
other things now before I'd give up have what amounts basically to a
whole internet connected computer in my pocket 24/7.

TTYL

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[Marechiare]

Herbert Graf wrote:
> It never got much out of an alpha stage, but it did work.
> I soon however gave up on it and just bit the bullet and
> got a data plan, haven't looked back since. It is so
> amazingly useful that I would give up many other things
> now before I'd give up have what amounts basically to a
> whole internet connected computer in my pocket 24/7.

I searched with "Mobile Internet plan" Canada. HTC would eat sort of
3GB under the moderate usage.  It is not that cheap (in Ca dollars):

http://www.bell.ca/shopping/Mobile-Internet-plan/CCFLEXC.details

Monthly access:
Up to 500 MB: $30.00
500 MB to 1 GB: $35.00
1GB to 2GB: $50.00
2GB to 3GB: $65.00
3GB to 5GB: $85.00

Monthly System Access Fee: $6.95
One-time activation fee: $35
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[Harold Hallikainen-2]

> What do you guys think?

For SMS search, Google already has it. See
http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html

Harold

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[solarwind]

On Sep 26, 2009, at 1:57 PM, "Harold Hallikainen" <harold@...
 > wrote:

>
>> What do you guys think?
>
> For SMS search, Google already has it. See
> http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html
>
> Harold
>
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Ya, I know but my idea is to expand the capability. Sorry for not  
trimming, posting from iPhone out of town.
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[solarwind]

On Sep 26, 2009, at 1:44 PM, Marechiare <marechiare@...> wrote:

> Herbert Graf wrote:
>> It never got much out of an alpha stage, but it did work.
>> I soon however gave up on it and just bit the bullet and
>> got a data plan, haven't looked back since. It is so
>> amazingly useful that I would give up many other things
>> now before I'd give up have what amounts basically to a
>> whole internet connected computer in my pocket 24/7.
>
> I searched with "Mobile Internet plan" Canada. HTC would eat sort of
> 3GB under the moderate usage.  It is not that cheap (in Ca dollars):
>
> http://www.bell.ca/shopping/Mobile-Internet-plan/CCFLEXC.details
>
> Monthly access:
> Up to 500 MB: $30.00
> 500 MB to 1 GB: $35.00
> 1GB to 2GB: $50.00
> 2GB to 3GB: $65.00
> 3GB to 5GB: $85.00
>
> Monthly System Access Fee: $6.95
> One-time activation fee: $35
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Ya it is expensive. Fido seems to be the cheapest - only $25 per month  
for 500 mb no system access fee. Again sorry for no trim, posting from  
iPhone out of town.
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[Herbert Graf-5]

On Sat, 2009-09-26 at 20:44 +0300, Marechiare wrote:

> Herbert Graf wrote:
> > It never got much out of an alpha stage, but it did work.
> > I soon however gave up on it and just bit the bullet and
> > got a data plan, haven't looked back since. It is so
> > amazingly useful that I would give up many other things
> > now before I'd give up have what amounts basically to a
> > whole internet connected computer in my pocket 24/7.
>
> I searched with "Mobile Internet plan" Canada. HTC would eat sort of
> 3GB under the moderate usage.  It is not that cheap (in Ca dollars):
>
> http://www.bell.ca/shopping/Mobile-Internet-plan/CCFLEXC.details
>
> Monthly access:
> Up to 500 MB: $30.00
> 500 MB to 1 GB: $35.00
> 1GB to 2GB: $50.00
> 2GB to 3GB: $65.00
> 3GB to 5GB: $85.00
>
> Monthly System Access Fee: $6.95
> One-time activation fee: $35

I got a deal when I got my phone that gives me unlimited on device data
for $15/month (you have to add the fees, and have to have a voice plan
as well).

That said, I use my phone ALOT, get all my email on it, youtube videos,
tons of browsing, online streams and skype, and yet my LARGEST usage for
a month was 600MB. My average is more like 300MB/month.

I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile device, I don't
believe you'd use 3GB/month.

TTYL

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[Marechiare]

> I got a deal when I got my phone that gives me unlimited
> on device data for $15/month (you have to add the fees,
> and have to have a voice plan as well).

Hey SW, it is not that expensive. Unlimited is only 15 canadian bucks
per month in your GTA location, a couple of Big Macs per month. Does
it make sense to waste your precious time on messing up with SMS at
all?

> That said, I use my phone ALOT, get all my email on it,
> youtube videos, tons of browsing, online streams and
> skype, and yet my LARGEST usage for a month was
> 600MB. My average is more like 300MB/month.
>
> I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile
> device, I don't believe you'd use 3GB/month.

I use it as a modem for my computer(s); as far as I understand your
plan does not allow it
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7141935.stm
(Shock at $85k mobile phone bill)
HTC Diamond is great as a modem, I must say. 100MByte traffic a day -
is not a big deal for the device.
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[solarwind]

On Sep 27, 2009, at 12:31 AM, Herbert Graf <hkgraf@...> wrote:

> I got a deal when I got my phone that gives me unlimited on device  
> data
> for $15/month (you have to add the fees, and have to have a voice plan
> as well).
>
> That said, I use my phone ALOT, get all my email on it, youtube  
> videos,
> tons of browsing, online streams and skype, and yet my LARGEST usage  
> for
> a month was 600MB. My average is more like 300MB/month.
>
> I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile device, I  
> don't
> believe you'd use 3GB/month.
>
> TTYL

Wow that's nice and the 300 seems more like the amount of data I would  
use but that still doesn't justify $25 extra per month. Where do u  
love and what's your cell phone carrier?
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[solarwind]

On Sep 27, 2009, at 9:14 AM, Marechiare <marechiare@...> wrote:

> Hey SW, it is not that expensive. Unlimited is only 15 canadian bucks
> per month in your GTA location, a couple of Big Macs per month. Does
> it make sense to waste your precious time on messing up with SMS at
> all?
>
>> That said, I use my phone ALOT, get all my email on it,
>> youtube videos, tons of browsing, online streams and
>> skype, and yet my LARGEST usage for a month was
>> 600MB. My average is more like 300MB/month.
>>
>> I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile
>> device, I don't believe you'd use 3GB/month.
>
> I use it as a modem for my computer(s); as far as I understand your
> plan does not allow it
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7141935.stm
> (Shock at $85k mobile phone bill)
> HTC Diamond is great as a modem, I must say. 100MByte traffic a day -
> is not a big deal for the device.

If you can tell me what company offers that plan I'll get it this  
second.
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[CDB-3]

:: Where do u
:: love and what's your cell phone carrier?

The hilarity that can be caused by misplacing or mistyping one's
vowels! :)

Colin
--
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Web presence: www.btech-online.co.uk  
 
Hosted by:  www.1and1.co.uk/?k_id=7988359
 

 
 
 
 

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[solarwind]

On Sep 27, 2009, at 3:08 PM, cdb <colin@...> wrote:

> :: Where do u
> :: love and what's your cell phone carrier?
>
> The hilarity that can be caused by misplacing or mistyping one's
> vowels! :)
>
> Colin

Lol whoops the iPhone auto-corrects words. I meant to say where do you  
live.
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[Herbert Graf-5]

On Sun, 2009-09-27 at 16:14 +0300, Marechiare wrote:
> > I got a deal when I got my phone that gives me unlimited
> > on device data for $15/month (you have to add the fees,
> > and have to have a voice plan as well).
>
> Hey SW, it is not that expensive. Unlimited is only 15 canadian bucks
> per month in your GTA location, a couple of Big Macs per month. Does
> it make sense to waste your precious time on messing up with SMS at
> all?

FWIW that $15 was a special deal, a "normal" deal is $25-$30 a month.

> > That said, I use my phone ALOT, get all my email on it,
> > youtube videos, tons of browsing, online streams and
> > skype, and yet my LARGEST usage for a month was
> > 600MB. My average is more like 300MB/month.
> >
> > I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile
> > device, I don't believe you'd use 3GB/month.
>
> I use it as a modem for my computer(s); as far as I understand your
> plan does not allow it
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7141935.stm
> (Shock at $85k mobile phone bill)
> HTC Diamond is great as a modem, I must say. 100MByte traffic a day -
> is not a big deal for the device.

Tethering is generally dissallowed on anything but lower capped plans.
That said, if you do a little research there are ways around the
limitation. TTYL

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[Herbert Graf-5]

On Sun, 2009-09-27 at 11:27 -0400, Solarwind wrote:
> > I'd reevaluate what you plan to access with your mobile device, I  
> > don't
> > believe you'd use 3GB/month.
> >
> > TTYL
>
> Wow that's nice and the 300 seems more like the amount of data I would  
> use but that still doesn't justify $25 extra per month.

That is a personal choice. At the time I would not have been willing to
shell out $25/month either. After having had the device in my pocket I'd
easily pay $25/month to have it, it's THAT useful to me.

> Where do u  
> love and what's your cell phone carrier?

TO area. It's Telus, was a special 50% off rate only for the HTC Diamond
Touch. All the providers have basically the same offerings (Canada does
not have a competitive cell phone market at all).

TTYL

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[M. Adam Davis-2]

On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 11:53 PM, solarwind <x.solarwind.x@...> wrote:
> You could also (theoretically) create a data-over-sms layer and encode
> the text in base 64 to get a (very) slow... um... Internet
> connection... I don't know if it's even worth mentioning since sms
> tends to take at least a few seconds to send/receive.

Read the fine print carefully, and you'll find that your 'unlimited
SMS' is limited such that sending many messages a second (which is
what you'd need to do to get a single tiny HTML webpage, even
compressed) will be noticed.  Usually they phrase it as, "excessive
use" and point to their terms of service that indicate they may limit
usage if it impacts overall service.  SMS uses the control channel of
the modem, so heavy usage is noticed and tracked.

Other than that, if you must have additional services for your phone
and can't pay for the cellular carrier's solution, then your solutions
are not uncommon.  Do a few google searches and you'll see that many
people have done SMS gateways of one sort or another to do work or get
around cellular carrier limitations and costs.

-Adam
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[solarwind]

On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 10:55 PM, Herbert Graf <hkgraf@...> wrote:
> TO area. It's Telus, was a special 50% off rate only for the HTC Diamond
> Touch. All the providers have basically the same offerings (Canada does
> not have a competitive cell phone market at all).

Yes, it really does not. However, there have been reports that 3 new
cell phone companies will be in the market by the end of this
year/early 2010. It has been reported that they will offer more
"competitive" pricing on voice and data. By that time, a software
unlock for my iPhone 3GS 3.1 may be out and I can switch. Right now,
I'm just waiting for a jailbreak.
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