textPlus: Ad sponsored texting for the iPhone
By Ronald O Carlson
Are you or do you know a hypertexting teen? Then you really owe it to yourself to get and try this free application, which promises to reduce the cost of texting from whatever you’re paying (yes, $5 a month is too much) to zip, zero, nada.
TextPlus (free, iTunes), an iPhone application that offers unlimited free text messaging from iPhones or iPod Touches and includes group text messaging, might not be a revolution, but it’s a clever idea that makes texting free and puts teen eyeballs in front of advertisers. Moreover, the folks at Gogii, creators of textPlus, are on to something as an average user launches this app times a day, totaling 50 minutes of use a day.
“Free texting does not work and would not work,” said Scott Lahman, chief executive, Gogii. “We think of it more as sponsored texting. And, I don’t think our texting would be monetizable if not for the rich app” provided by the iPhone, he said.
That said, since textPlus launched in June, over 800,000 monthly users have traded 80 million text messages, with the flow currently about 1.6 million a day.
Their loss is our gain
Again, whether or not Gogii and textPlus revolutionize texting is far from a sure thing — the company pays AT&T to send those “free” messages — because successfully monetizing means not ticking off fickle teens or the all-powerful wireless carriers, a ticklish balance to maintain.
Nevertheless, right now the ads are few and the company’s funding solid — Gogii has received $5.2 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ iFund, which is dedicated to identifying and investing in worthy iPhone app developers.
That said, there’s really no reason not to get textPlus and get free texting.
And, yes, it works with the iPod touch, too…
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August 31st, 2009
Great App for free texting
NightLifeApp.com
September 2nd, 2009
I absolutely love textplus. Works great on my iTouch and think its brilliant to get the funding from advertisements. As long as I don’t have to pay for it, I don’t see why I shouldn’t use it.
September 7th, 2009
Super easy to use! Someone is going to be a millionaire! This is insanely helpful when I am running a study group.