Janet is not alone in her prowess. SMS has exploded in Europe. Germans alone sent one billion of those text messages. In comparison, all of North America only accounted for 20 million messages. But expect SMS to hit the states in a big way soon.
All incoming messages are free.
This fall, Sprint PCS is going to launch its own version of texting with AOL, combining AOL's Instant Messaging with Sprint phones. It will also begin to offer Neopoint brand phones that have an expandable typewriter-like keypad that can be inserted into the bottom of your phone for easier typing. IM'ing is a much more familiar concept to Americans than SMS, and as soon as a cell phone company makes the connection between the two for its customers, consumers will pick up on the idea. It's really not a bad one. Like instant messaging, texting isn't as disruptive as a phone call.