Skip to main content

Brits Send A Billion Texts A Week

Back in 1999, Britons sent a billion text messages from their mobile phones during the entire year. According to a new study they now send that many texts every week.   The figure has evenshocked the Mobile Data Association, which had predicted around 42 billion texts for 2007.   It’s a lot more convenient for a business now to notify lots oftheir employees about an urgent message using a text message," Mike Short, head of the MDA, told the BBC. "The UK text volumes show no real signs ofabating and the UK sits within the top six of the global league of countries sending text messages."   The fact that businesses have adopted text messaging as part of their sales anddelivery strategy has helped boost the totals. Add to that services that send out sports scores to subscribers via text, and there’s been a market explosion that’s not solely fueled bypeople texting each other. But even older mobile users have come around to text messaging these days, and the guarantee of delivery (even if it takes a while sometimes) is a reassurance for people. 

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
How to save text messages on iPhone and Android
android vs ios v imessage

We receive a lot of important information via text. Whether it’s a date you need to set or important work-related info, you might find yourself wanting to save a text message. Modern smartphones all offer a way to back up your core data and transfer it to another device. However, transfers sometimes don’t include your text messages unless you save them ahead of time or are transferring across the same mobile operating system.

Here's how to save your text messages in Android and iOS.

Read more
FCC approves ‘988’ for texting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
A person texting on a smartphone.

Next summer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be opening up a new 3-digit dialing code to help those in crisis easily reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by either text or phone call.

The FCC voted unanimously today to improve access to the Lifeline by allowing people to send a text message to 988, which it hopes will make it easier for people in need to contact a crisis counselor by offering a short and memorable number that can receive texts from any smartphone or even from a computer.

Read more
How to send a text message from a computer
A close up of a person's hands typing on a laptop.

If you’re on a computer and you get a text on your phone, wouldn’t it be great if you could reply without picking it up? Yes, it would, and there are great apps and services that enable just that ability.

Whether you use Apple or Android, you can send and receive text messages on a Mac, Windows PC, or Chromebook. Keep reading to determine which option works best for you.

Read more