Free (or low cost) SMS sending from a Mac in Europe

Question

Level 2

294 points

Free (or low cost) SMS sending from a Mac in Europe

Does anybody know if this is possible in the EU? I know iChat can do it in the US but would be interested in a free service in the EU or a low cost one as alternative.

I am aware or it being possible via Skype, but find this to expensive (50% more compared to my mobile phone)

Any tips?

MBP, MM, MBP - 10.5 + Windooz XP on a hard partition

Posted on Aug 2, 2009 3:30 AM

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Answer 1

Klaus1

Level 9

52,873 points

Aug 2, 2009 3:39 AM in response to ChangeAgent

Skype is free, and both it and iChat work just fine in Europe!

An alternative for text messaging:

http://www.cbfsms.com/

and then of course there is the iPhone!

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Answer 2

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

294 points

Aug 2, 2009 6:10 AM in response to Klaus1

Hi Klaus, thanks.

Klaus1 wrote:
Skype is free,

Is it? I did not think so, however if it is but if the person did not enter their mobile number in their profile I do not know how to SMS them.

and iChat work just fine in Europe!

well I tried and it did not for me.
I set up a test to my own Mobile umber and I get:

+AIM Error+
+The other person appears to be currently offline.+

so does it only work if the person is online? in which case it is limited to people who are on line and deceives the purpose.

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Answer 3

Aug 2, 2009 6:37 AM in response to Klaus1

Skype is not free *to send SMS* and iChat does not support free SMS in Europe.

cbfsms is for UK numbers only and frankly, is a PITA.

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Answer 4

Aug 2, 2009 6:40 AM in response to ChangeAgent

Your best bet is to get a (free) Irish O2 SIM. This entitles you to 250 free webtexts a month which can be used to send to the majority of the world's major operators. That's 3,000 free international SMS per annum.

Then get JSMS or Eirtext for Mac and use that to send them very handily right from your desktop.

If you are an iPhone user, then use JellySMS or Eirtext Pro on the iPhone to do exactly the same.

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Answer 5

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

294 points

Aug 2, 2009 6:47 AM in response to Éamonn Ó Catháin

Éamonn Ó Catháin wrote:
Skype is not free *to send SMS* and iChat does not support free SMS in Europe.

as I thought.

cbfsms is for UK numbers only and frankly, is a PITA.

do not know about this so will not try even if it comes with free PITA bread 🙂

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Answer 6

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

294 points

Aug 2, 2009 6:51 AM in response to Éamonn Ó Catháin

Éamonn Ó Catháin wrote:
Your best bet is to get a (free) Irish O2 SIM. This entitles you to 250 free webtexts a month which can be used to send to the majority of the world's major operators. That's 3,000 free international SMS per annum.

I am not in Ireland so I suppose I can not get the free SIM. Correct?

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Answer 7

Aug 2, 2009 6:57 AM in response to ChangeAgent

Well, as Bruno drily remarked, "Isn't PITA bread the real enemy"?

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Answer 8

ChangeAgent Author

Level 2

294 points

Aug 5, 2009 4:23 AM in response to ChangeAgent

http://www.my-cool-sms.com/default.php

for those following this tread here some more free possibilities pointed out by Éamonn Ó Catháin .

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