SMS-Based Systems: Towards Implementation of Mobile Discussion Groups

Abstract

There have been a worldwide increasing number of mobile phone users as years go. Although mobile phones can include many features, most of users use their phones as simple devices for voice calls and Short Message Service (SMS). SMS provides a convenient means for people to communicate with each other via mobile devices. There are basically three kinds of interactions provided by SMS-based system; one way only, two ways, and SMS based chat. However there have been identified weak points of each of these interaction methods. Some are; poor support for forum/group discussions, demand for use of multimedia, GPRS or 3G enabled mobile phones, limitation of SMS per day/person, the need for signing up on the web to be able to use the system, and special software requirements. Due to the various identified challenges in each of the interaction method, the paper suggests an implementation of Mobile Discussion Group as an SMS system that provides more friendly group-based interaction.