Betwext has just launched a new SMS text message service that allows you to send a single message to multiple recipients. They’re calling it n SMS chat room, but if you were to take on an e-mail analogy, this would be like adding CC: and Reply All features to SMS. Those registered with Betwext would build mailing lists of people, who, when replying, would send messages out to everyone else on the list. This is accomplished by funneling everything through a single dedicated number that handles all of the deliveries.
At first blush, I had trouble figuring out why folks just wouldn’t get a Twitter account and opt-in for device updates from particular people. As a bonus, that’s free, and Betwext is a subscription service. Part of the convenience of Betwext is that you don’t have to convince your friends on getting in on some newfangled social networking fad – SMS messaging is built into whatever phone they happen to be using, and odds are good that they’ll already be used to sending SMS messages. There’s also no proprietary software client, so there’s no hassle setting up. Even if most phones natively allow you to blast out messages to multiple recipients, those recipients don’t have the luxury of seeing who else was on the list, so replies remain fragmented and nobody is on the same page.
Neat, if niche idea. Pricing ranges from $9 to $180 per month for 200 and 5000 messages, respectively. Find out more at betwext.com.