Scgdomains.com has announced a new enhancement to its Web-based e-mail product they're pitching as a CRM feature --short message service (SMS) integration, "also called text-messaging service."

 

The feature lets subscribers to scgdomains.com's Web-based e-mail send text messages, as well as standard e-mail. With the texting feature in scgdomains.com's Webmail, "moms can instantly send reminder e-mails to kids and text them at the same time so they don't forget homework."

 

Eric Buckley, the company's founder, said "there are a lot more services we are offering to better assist those with CRM needs in their business environment." Among those, in 2008 "we will begin offering a full SMS gateway service which integrates with your Web site and your customer database. This will allow business and Web site owners to reach their customer base with updates and important information regarding their accounts directly to their mobile phone."

 

Also, "sports fans can catch the latest scores and chide their friends who are at the game," the scgdomainions say, "all from your desktop, which means no clumsy thumbing in messages on your wireless phone anymore."

Here's how it works: scgdomains.com customers can access their Web-based e-mail accounts as they always have, but now a drop-down menu gives an option to select e-mail only, text message only or both. A cell phone field in the user's address book drives the feature. In addition, scgdomains.com includes a function that allows users to keep within the 160 character limit required by cell phone carriers for text messages.

 

A recent report by TMCnet's Mae Kowalke cited M:Metrics (News - Alert) analyst Paul Goode as saying that "consumers who love their mobile phone are more likely to recommend it to someone else, and potentially buy it as a gift." He added that, at the premium end of the market, devices like Apple's (News - Alert) iPhone and Nokia's N95 may be picked as gifts in lieu of other consumer electronics like videogame consoles or MP3 players.

 

In all the regions M:Metrics examined, "text-messaging turned out to be the most popular non-voice application for mobile phones, indicating that most users have moved beyond using handsets for voice calls to other forms of communication. Other popular uses for mobile phones included photo messaging, personal and work e-mail, ringtone  and wallpaper/screensaver purchases, instant messaging, and mobile game downloads."

 

 

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