It’s not necessary to have internet connection on your phone
to access the web. A mere text message sent to a particular number can get you
basic data from sites like Google and Wikipedia. Text-based applications also
provide information like live update of cricket scores.
Companies like txtWeb, Google and Innoz Technologies have
such services.
At the heart of the technology is adoption of a different
method to access the internet. These services are popular because of three
reasons: one, majority of mobile phones in India are low-end ones with just
‘talk-and-text’ features; two, many people who have smartphones don't have a
data plan; and three, those who have data plan, use it sparingly considering
poor bandwidth and high cost.
In txtWeb, the keywords have to be sent to 9243342000. For
example, to see the Wikipedia entry on Diwali SMS ‘@Wikipedia Diwali’. @cricket
gives you the latest scores of cricket matches.
You can get the autorickshaw fare between two locations in a
city -- for example, send ‘@auto fare Bangalore,
Koramangala, M G Road’. Users can text ‘help’ or ‘txtweb’, to get a list of top
apps, featured apps etc. The response sent to the user also contains many tips
on how to make better use of the platform, says Manish Maheshwari, director, txtWeb.
Randomly sending a keyword also provides a list of
applications related to that subject. Besides, a complete list of all the apps
is available at ‘txtweb.com/ apps’.
Google has ‘SMS applications’, wherein simple queries can be
answered by sending an SMS to 9773300000. For example, to know how much is one
dollar in rupee, text "1 dollar in INR". Similarly, by texting "Bangalore weather",
you get information like temperature, humidity, windspeed, sunrise time etc.
If you want the definition of a word, say, inflation, send
an SMS ‘what is inflation’. Flight status and list of trains running between
two stations too can be obtained by this service.
Another company working in this field is Innoz Technologies.
It has developed an innovative operating system for mobiles that enables access
to internet through SMS. All that users have to do is to send the keyword to
55444 to get the answer. The company is in talks with mobile phone
manufacturers to have the Innoz OS preinstalled in basic phone models.
(This is article appeared in The Times of India, Bangalore, on Nov 20)
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