For those who use our text messaging tool, it is currently unavailable while we incorporate new functionality, including additional security measures. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have abused it, and we cannot let that go on.

Please continue to check back here, or follow us on Twitter for updates.

While we’re at it, let us know what else you’d like to see in the tool, and thank you for your patience!

Be prepared for Hurricane Irene by getting text message alerts from The Weather Channel.

From the Outer Banks of North Carolina all the way up to New York City and the coastal New England cities, Hurricane Irene is set to cause serious damage to the entire East Coast. The Weather Channel offers multiple ways to stay updated on the latest hurricane developments from your mobile phone.

Remember, with possible power outages and landline issues, your cell phone might be the only communications device available during or after Hurricane Irene. See what options below might work best for you to stay informed.

Mobile Website:

The Weather Channel website will auto-detect for mobile browsers and will render the mobile version of its website.

Severe Weather Alerts by Text:

Choose from a number of alert options, including severe weather alerts, that apply to the zip code you enter. Access it here.

Notify!

Subscribers to The Weather Channel Notify! service will receive alerts by phone when severe weather warnings are issued in their area. Note this is a PAID service.

Weather Channel Android App:

www.weather.com/services/android.html

Weather Channel iPhone App:

www.weather.com/services/iphone.html

Weather Channel iPad App:

www.weather.com/services/ipad.html

QR codes (Quick Response codes) are 2-D images that provide immediate access to digital information or actions that are relevant to what the user is doing at that moment. When a user scans a QR code, typically using the camera on their smartphone, it can open a URL on their mobile browser, or initiate a text message, email, or IM from the phone itself.

Popular uses of QR codes include companies linking to their websites or specific landing pages, enabling a phone call to the customer service or sales departments, or to help market a text messaging (SMS) campaign.

Here at MobileMammoth, we posted this QR code on our home page which, when scanned, connects users to our online text messaging tool. That way they can send text messages from their mobile browser and avoid text overage fees from their wireless carrier.

Anyone can quickly generate a QR code for free at sites like myQR.co and Kaywa.

QR codes are seeing quite an uptick in use this year, and for good reason. We highly encourage companies and individuals to start using them now and experiment!

The new Google+ social network includes a group texting service called Huddle.

One of several features of Google+, Huddle allows users to start texting with groups within their Google+ network.

I have always seen group texting as a feature as opposed to a product, and this Huddle group texting feature could be a serious threat to services like GroupMe. Do you agree?

“How does that song go again?” Now you can get an easy answer to that question in no time, and for free, right from your mobile phone.

TextListen is a new mobile service that lets you text the name of a song and the artist, and their service sends the song to your phone so you can listen to it. TextListen does not charge for the service, so the only potential cost is sending a text message.

Here are the three simple steps directly from the TextListen website:

1. Add (617) 396-7989 as contact “TextListen” in your phone contacts.
2. Text an artist and song to the TextListen contact. Example: “Nelly Just a Dream”
3. Listen to your song.

We hope and expect this service may evolve over time, so we recommend you check their website for future updates. We here at MobileMammoth will be doing the same!

Text to Listen Mobile Service:

TextListen

Many of you know about our free online text messaging tool, and we’ve received quite a few notes of appreciation for it over the years.

Well we got another one today from one of our users, Sonia, and it really made our day. Thank you Sonia for letting us know how the tool helped you out, and we’re so glad it helped!

If anyone else finds our online text messaging tool useful, or has suggestions for how to improve it, please do let us know!

Google recently announced it’s Voice Actions app for the Android platform. (If you have an Android phone, and you drive, please continue reading…)

Using Voice Actions, users can send email and text messages, call contacts, surf the web, get directions, create a note to self, and even listen to music simply by speaking the commands into your Android 2.2 (Froyo) powered phone.

Of course, no Google app release is complete without a video from one of their engineers:

Google Voice Actions will come pre-installed on the Verizon/Motorola Droid 2 phone, and other phones running Android 2.2 can download it from Android Market.

Read all the details from their blog post here.

MobileMammoth strongly encourages any Android user who might occasionally text and drive to go download and use this app today. Please.

Sending out tweets to your Twitter followers can be tough to do when you’re not near an Internet connection. One solution to this dilemma is to send tweets from your mobile phone by text message.

Let’s take a look at how to add your phone to your Twitter account:

1. Text the word ‘Start’ to your country’s Twitter code. In the U.S., the code is 40404. Canada is 21212, the UK is 86444, and India is 53000.
2. After receiving the text message response from Twitter, reply with your Twitter username (nothing else – just your username!).
3. You will then be prompted (again, via text message) to reply with your Twitter password. So do it.
4. Finally, text ‘OK’ as a final response, and you’re done!

You can now send Tweets by simply texting your message to the same Twitter short code you used above. No special words or characters are needed – your text message will be published as your Tweet.

Happy Tweeting!

(by the way, if you’re not following us yet, what are you waiting for? Please follow us here!)

Many of us have only heard about the upcoming impact of mobile coupons, but only recently are we actually seeing it happen.

I was again reminded of this by way of MobileMarketingWatch.com, where they higlighted the graphic below from PromotionalCodes.co.uk’s Money Saving Blog.

This is one of those cases where a picture tells a thousand words:

]]> http://www.mobilemammoth.com/mobile-websites/mobile-coupons-continue-their-rise/feed/ 3 http://www.mobilemammoth.com/mobile-websites/send-text-message-to-donate-to-oil-spill-victims/ http://www.mobilemammoth.com/mobile-websites/send-text-message-to-donate-to-oil-spill-victims/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 04:55:22 +0000 MobileFreak http://www.mobilemammoth.com/?p=892

Sending text messages to help those in need is so easy. Here are a few ways you can spend the next 30 seconds to help those impacted by the Gulf oil spill.

*** Note: Reference to Gulf Aid text message campaign removed until further notice ***

Text WILDLIFE to 20222 to donate $10 to help protect the wildlife in proximity to the oil spill. Donations go to the National Wildlife Foundation.

Please note standard text messaging rates do apply.

Feel free to comment if you know of any others ways to help!