Gmail users in Ghana who logged into the free email service would have noticed a pop-up message today:
The message read:
New! Free SMS in Gmail
Send free SMS directly from Gmail – just enter a phone number and click Enter. SMS replies come right to your Gmail inbox.
This service is now available for mobile phones in Ghana.
The free SMS can be sent directly from within Gmail once the user logs in, as seen from the screenshot below:
Free SMS in Gmail. Snapshot from Gmail.com
According to Google:
Sending a message is free from Gmail to any phone. When replying with an SMS from phone to Gmail, you will be charged a regular SMS rate by your mobile provider. Gmail SMS is currently available in Ghana with MTN, Zain, Tigo and Kasapa.
However, efforts to try out the new service on MTN, Zain and Vodafone have so far failed as can be seen from the screenshot below. The numbers were whitened due to privacy concerns but the network codes can be clearly identified:
Gmail free SMS to Ghana failing so far.
Gmail is a free, advertising-supported webmail, POP3, and IMAP service provided by Google.
UPDATE: Google has since fixed the bug.
Oluniyi David Ajao has written 18 stories on this site.
Oluniyi David Ajao is an Internet entrepreneur with strong interests in web design & hosting, mobile communications technologies, and blogging. He is also a photography enthusiast and enjoys tech-related websites, magazines & TV/Radio shows. His personal website at www.davidajao.com serves as the central point of his personal web activities.
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It's good innovation on Google side. At the last G-Nigeria day, attendees questioned Google on why the service is not available to Nigerians, Google say they are working on it and should extend it soon.
The better part of this is that you can text someone immediately after the mail so that the person can get his/her box for your mail.
Well, I have not been able to send 1 SMS successfully. It kept failing…
Sorry about that folks. Small bug, it will be fixed shortly. In the mean time, it works if you use the full number including the country code +23324….
-divon, Google Africa
Entering the mobile number in international format initially worked. Thanks a lot.
Update: the bug is now fixed, and the service is working as expected. Thank you for your patience.
-divon
Google Africa