What cell phone feature is 30 years old today and you still use it every day?

You might find it hard to believe, but SMS was once the main form of messaging between people. The feature was groundbreaking as it was the first to use a mobile phone signal to send and receive text messages at a time when there were no smartphones, apps and mobile internet.

The first message was sent exactly 30 years ago, on December 3, 1992, and wished “Merry Christmas” in English. This text was written by telecommunications engineer Neil Papworth and transmitted from his computer to Richard Jarvis, his superior, during an end-of-year party at Vodafone’s facilities in the UK.

Despite the festive atmosphere, the situation was more tense than it seemed. As Papworth explained in an interview with Inclination, executives wanted to sell phones with this feature. “It wasn’t until one of them called the hotel and gave me a thumbs-up that I was able to breathe easy again,” she revealed.

Prior to working on the development of the Short Message Service (SMS), Papworth was involved in GSM architecture projects (allowing international roaming) and IMEI (security key to stop burglary) programming.

Do SMS have a future?

Initially, the feature allowed you to send messages of up to 160 characters, and over time, it started sending images, videos, audios, and emojis.

Currently, in Brazil, the main uses are as a two-factor authentication tool and as an advertising channel for companies. The technology is estimated to generate more than US$50 billion (nearly R$261 billion at current quote) worldwide in the advertising segment in 2023, according to the company Juniper research????????

Despite its disuse as a personal messenger, a survey conducted by Infobip, an SMS solutions company, with 250 Brazilians revealed that the tool is still used by a large number of them. Of the respondents, 44% used the method to ask for help in an emergency, and about 57% sent it for various matters, including the end of relationships.

The post What feature of your cell phone turns 30 today and you still use it every day? first appeared on Look Digital.

Source: Olhar Digital