Easy Web-based Text Messaging with Joopz
I am totally inept when it comes to trying to type text messages on my cellphone’s keypad. I don’t understand how people can do it without even looking at the keys. So, when a friend directed me to a site where I could send and receive text messages either through my web browser or Microsoft Outlook I went to the site right away.
Joopz enables “web texting” on my computer where I can have two way conversations with friends and family on their mobile phones/devices. Other services like Verizon’s text messaging allows you to send a message from the web but the reply goes to your mobile phone. With Joopz I can have the entire conversation on the web or through Outlook and as long as the conversation stays that way I don’t incur any costs for text messaging on my end (the other person does).
The SMS Forwarding feature allows me to transfer the conversation to my mobile phone if I am going to be away from my computer. When I come back I just turn the feature off. Of course I do incur a cost from my mobile provider when I use the forwarding feature.
With Joopz I can
- have a two way conversation from the web or Microsoft Outlook to any mobile phone for free.
- create groups from my contacts and send out group messages.
- send myself a text reminder for any reason.
- schedule messages ahead of time to be received by a contact at a specific time, great for birthday and anniversary messages.
There are also plugins for MySpace and Facebook to have contacts send text messages directly from those applications. They plan on adding a desktop application where you can receive messages directly on your computer. I would also love to see a plugin/widget to add Joopz on a blog or website.
I am currently using Joopz Basic which is a free plan that allows me to send up to 50 web texts per month (I have unlimited incoming messages). If I want to send more than 50 messages and have more control of my conversation history and use the Outlook plugin there is a premium service that costs $2.95 per month or $19.95 per year. There is a 30 day free trial period to try all of the features and decide which plan you want to use.
As a side note, Joopz works great on my iPod Touch when I am connected to a wireless network. I’m sure it works great on other web-enabled mobile devices as well.
If you try out Joopz let me know what you think and if it’s worth the money to go with the premium service.
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