AOL IM can now pass on SMS messages to cell phones. Try it if you haven't already, it's really cool. Just append the prefix +1 to your friend's cell phone #.
Unfortunately it's usefulness is inhibited by the hoops you have to jump through to send a message. You have to copy the # from your address book, start a new chat, paste the number, make sure it's in the right format, and append the +1 prefix.
These are minor inconveniences to be sure, but they add up when sending a lot of messages. It would be much easier if sending an SMS through iChat was as easy as sending one through Address Book using bluetooth. It would also benefit those that either don't have a bluetooth phone, or who don't want to pay for sending an SMS message when they could do it for free.
Until Apple includes the option of "send iChat SMS" in Address Book, an AppleScript that passed the properly formatted phone # to iChat would be a boon. I'm all thumbs with AppleScript, but a lot of other people and I would appreciate it if somebody could whip up such a script.
Thanks,
Ari
Top
