by David Hakala
Many of us use text messaging more than we use the voice features of our cell phones. Thank goodness for flat-rate all-you-can-text pricing plans. I calculated what one month’s bill for text messages would have been at the per-message rate: $1,683! My T-Mobile Dash smartphone contains 2,115 sent and received text messages right now, not counting deleted messages. I would like to keep some of those texts. But how?
Smartphones based upon the Windows Mobile operating system usually come with Microsoft ActiveSync, a program that installs on your phone and PC to enable synchronization of contacts, calendar items, email, and documents (including pictures) between phone and desktop. But ActiveSync doesn’t save text messages to your PC! You need one of a few other solutions.
TreasureMyText.com was launched in 2003 just to store your phone’s text messages “forever.” You just forward a text message to a TreasureMyText phone number. Then you can access your saved texts on the Web. You can also share your text messages with other TreasureMyText users, or keep them private as a whole or individually. You can choose to send a copy of a saved text message to your email address. International text messages, which often cost an arm and a leg under carrier pricing plans, can be sent via TreasureMyText for as little as five cents each. You can send Twitter messages from your phone or the TreasureMyText site.
TreasureMyText works from any phone, but you have to forward selected text messages one at a time. Dashwire.com automatically uploads all of your text messages to a Web site, along with your contacts, pictures, ringtones, videos, voicemail, call history, Web browser bookmarks, and speed dial settings. You need a smartphone using the Windows Mobile or Symbian operating system.
iPhone users can save their text messages to Mac or PC using a variety of free applications, i. e., The Missing Sync, Syphon, Jailbreak. TreasureMyText has desktop sync applications for the Mac OS and Google’s Android.
Microsoft recently rolled out a beta version of its Web-based text saving solution, Microsoft MyPhone. You will have to sign up for a Microsoft Passport account and wait a few days to be added to the beta tester group.
David Hakala has perpetrated technology tutorials since 1988 in addition to committing tech journalism, documentation, Web sites, marketing collateral, and profitable prose in general. His complete rap sheet can be seen at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dhakala