SMS commonly known as text messaging is becoming more and more noticeable in our everyday lives. It looks as though this trend is only going to continue for several years to come. This means there will be an increased need for APIs to help streamline and automate this process. Here I share a little bit of research that I have done on this subject.

The two methods available are full automation by connecting a web enabled server to an SMS gateway, or for more basic applications one can connect a phone with unlimited text messaging directly to a laptop. At first glance it would seem that using a prepaid phone is the right way, but there are some things to consider.

Here are a couple aspects I think should be mentioned. You'll be paying the standard message fee of your phone provider. Typically this is about $.10/ea compared to around $.05/ea using an SMS gateway provider. Most providers have a specified limit for data transferred in/out per month, even with *unlimited* plans. Additionally, make sure you're only sending messages to subscribers who have opted in. Since most people pay for each incoming message, they'll be quick to complain, and your account will be banned quickly.

I'm not familiar with this Ozeki software, the only of it's type I found, but it appears to allow messaging via a direct connection between your PC and mobile. It supports RS-232, bluetooth, and infrared connections, and has an API so you can integrate with a webserver and database. Price range for licensing is $550 for a single PC/phone connection, up to $3500 for unlimited use.

This just pays for the client software, and APIs. Money says you have to type every message by hand, with no database merging from scratch. You can, of course, purchase their after-market modules for an unspecified fee. Next option would be to hire developers to build applications on the API, but now you're tied to this proprietary software.

Ozeki setup guide

Programmatically using the software via php/MySQL

Phones supported by Ozeki