Looking at the various mobile app stores, I found 25 different SMS apps (such as textPlus, Skebby, Vopium, etc.) which all seem to offer free or ultra-cheap SMS messaging around the world, to either bypass the consumer’s carrier SMS plan, or to add SMS functionality to devices which don’t have a mobile carrier plan (such as the iPad and iPod touch).   It is interesting to note that SMS has become so universal that it is used to reach even more devices, beyond mobile phones, and can now be integrated into the realm of tablets, media players and PCs.   The simplicity of the 160 character short messaging service essentially stays the same but what is changing is the types of devices that it can communicate with, further extending the reach and ubiquity of SMS.  This new generation of SMS apps demonstrate once again that SMS is a universal communication channel, reaching most electronic device in the world, both old and new.

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