The vgsmail SMS centre provides the following features:
- Low cost text messaging with no minimum usage requirement;
- Web-to-SMS;
- Wap-to-SMS;
- Email-to-SMS;
- Java midlet SMS client;
- Return path is maintained: recipients of your messages will be able to reply to them, just as for messages send directly from your phone;
- Http-to-SMS provision of incorporation into your own web-page or application.
- MSN Messenger to SMS gateway.
All this is provided in a unified structure, with a whole range of further features to be available soon. Our goal is to make sending messages through vgsmail as easy (should you be sitting at your computer, as well as being out-and-about) as sending them directly from the phone, at (in most cases) a fraction of the cost.
If you have any problems with or questions about this service or anything in this help file is not clear, feel free to email one of the following addresses:
We hope to have a web-based forum running soon which will allow a more general and open discussion.
You do not need a mobile phone or email address to sign-up, but both are recommended. The mobile phone, once authenticated, will allow messages to be sent from your account with the reply path in tact (i.e. they will appear to recipients to have originated from your mobile!). The email address is where error messages and other important communications will be sent: it is a vital part of the service.
To sign-up, click here.
Once sign-up, follow the links to login, and then select "authenticate mobile". On this screen, you will be asked your mobile number, to which a test message will be sent including an pass-code: once this has been re-entered into the "authenticate mobile" screen, your mobile number attached to your account will be activated.
If you do not activate your mobile number, text messages you send will be have a generic originator ID, rather than your own phone number.
Authenticating your mobile number will give you free credit on your account!
To log in to the web-client, go here. Type in your userid and password and click 'login'. You will immediately be taken to the "Send SMS" page.
To compose a text message, enter an alias or destination number in the relevant box, and enter the text into the text-box.
If the "send as multiple messages" box is ticked, messages which are longer than 160 characters will be sent as multiple text messages; if it is not ticked, anything after the first 160 characters will be lost.
Notes on number formats: In this screen and any other area of vgsmail, you may enter the phone number in a number of formats according to the following rules:
- Hyphens, white-space, brackets and +s are ignored: feel free to including them if you wish;
- Numbers may be in either international format or national format. However, for the national format to function correctly, your 'home' mobile number must be registered.
For example, assuming I live in the UK and my mobile number (+44-7971-123456) is correctly registered and authenticated, the following numbers would be acceptable:
- +44 (7971)987654
- 07971-987-654
- 44 7971 98764
- 0044 (7971) 98764
The account history lists all the messages you have sent from your account, and clicking on each of these messages provides further details about the message. It will by default only show the most recent messages, but clicking on 'Display all' will expand the list to include your entire history (note that this might take a while to load).
For a description of the 'Status' field, go here.
SMS Centre
SMS Centre @ Sms.VgsMail.Com
Click here to login.
Signing up
To sign-up, go to http://sms.vgsmail.com/cgi/default.cgi? and click on sign-up.
Getting your free credit
Once you've signed up and logged in, click on "Authenticate mobile" to add a mobile phone to your account: once this has been authenticated, you will receive the free credit on your account, allowing you to send messages.
General
Number formats
In general, mobile numbers should be entered in full international format, omitting the '+' (i.e. 4479731234567). This applies in all interfaces. However, the system is relatively tolerant:
- Feel free to include the '+' if you wish: this will be ignored;
- Feel free to include spaces or '-'s in the number: these will be removed;
- If you have a mobile number registered with the system, and are sending a message to another phone in your 'home' country, you can use the normal national dialing standards of your home country. For example, if you home is the UK, a message to 079731234567 will be automatically translated to 4479731234567.
Web-to-SMS
A cookie will be stored on your machine: once you've logged in once you, going to http://sms.vgsmail.com/cgi/default.cgi? (note the ? which is necessary) will automatically log you in. To clear the cookie, click log-out on any page, otherwise just close your browser.
Email-to-SMS
Messages to third-parties
At present, only the first 160 characters (ignoring white-space) of an email will be sent.
- To send an email to a mobile phone, send it to 447973123456@sms.vgsmail.com with the subject line 'youruserid yourpassword' (without the 's);
- If you have "from-line authentication" enabled (to enable it, for the moment you will need to contact me), email from your primary email address sent to THENUMBER@sms.vgsmail.com will automatically be sent without the need to put your userid and password on the subject line. Please note the security risks in enabling this: anyone else sending email which appears to be from you will be able to send messages which will be billed to you, and will appear to originate from your mobile!
Messages to yourself
If you have a mobile number registered, messages to youruserid@sms.vgsmail.com will be routed to your mobile number. However, if the sender does not have an account on the system, you will need to enable "recipient charging" (by emailing me) on your account, and then messages you receive will be charged to you.