Is it acceptable to go on about 3rd party products here?

yup it is! the only thing we discourage and dont condone here are warez and cracks! but as long as it's ligit, it's fine here. so go on about your app. im beggining to feel the excitement! 😉

fastxt is an enhanced mobile instant messaging application. fastxt incorporates all the features of standard instant messaging (presence notification, message dialog screen, 1-to-1 messaging) and adds several key enhancements; namely

(1) instant group messaging where uses can create ad hoc "discussion groups" simply by choosing multiple recipients from their contact list when they send a message,

(2) full integration with ordinary SMS text messaging so users can send and receive SMS messages directly within the application,

(3) full store and forward capabilities so that messages created while the sender is offline will be stored by the application and sent as soon as the sender returns online, and similarly messages sent to a recipient who is offline will be stored in our server and the forwarded to the recipient as soon as fastxt detects the recipient is back online, and

(4) an ability for users to quickly place phone calls to their friends directly from the contact list. Additionally, fastxt is interoperable with MSN messenger, so users see the presence status of their MSN messenger friends in their contact list and can exchange messages with them.

Users can try the service by visiting www.fastxt.com

I would be interested in any comments you can provide me. I am the marketing manager for this product.

alright. will have to give it a try before saying anything. thanks for letting us know! 😊

cheers! 8)

Hi,

Well you get bonus points from the admin staff for asking nicely if you can talk about this app... and then loose them all again beacause while I can see your site in Internet Explorer, I never use it. I use Opera, and I can't see your site in it... Grrr

what is opera? Never heard of it.

Wow, I like the idea behind fastext!

My only worry is that, if I cancel my O2 contract (i'm paying �15 a month for 500 sms) am I assured that fasttxt will still be in business in 12 months time, or even two years?

I also send international SMS about twice a month, does the 500 sms allowance cover that?

www.operasoft.com

A much better browser than IE or Netscape.

BTW can you use WAP GPRS or must it be full Data GPRS?

International SMS - no worries, we dont differentiate

We have lots of funding as a company and our billing structure lets you pay monthly by credit cards or by sms billed directly to your phone account (usefull if your company pays the bills).

Must be full data GPRS and not WAP.

I think this makes a difference to the pricing. On 1/2 MB of GPRS you should be able to send between 4000 - 5000 messages of average length. ie 200 characters.

fastxt however lets you send upto 1000 characters in each message. We have also tested a single message to just over 2500 people.

To admin

What do i need to do to get a full review of this service on your site and take some advertising space?

I have to say that I like the idea behind fastxt. Since I am more of an application-person I very much like your idea and think its original idea and all credits for that.

Now for the important part! Are u absolutely sure you dont know the Opera browser? 😞

I have just asked our development team to take a look and make our sites compatible

So Chris,

Before I get too excited, I need to subscribe to my network's GPRS service before I can use Fastxt? Or do you use your own GPRS access point?

I ask because T-Mobile don't offer GPRS (officially) yet, and when they do next month, the prices look like they'll be astronomical, meaning that staying with O2 would work out cheaper for me.

Other services comin soon

fastchat - walkie talkie style communication but on a global basis
fastpix - Can you guess what this is?
Email - integration for your pop3 accounts etc

A couple of guys on Locust, on the mobchat channel, are using fasttext. They rate it quite highly. I'm still considering it, the price is competitive, its a shame it uses the internet APN, I've been trying to get rid of the GPRS internet bundle on my account.

I wish we did have our own GPRS network, it would make life easier.

Officially T-Mobile dont offer general GPRS and have no plans to do so as far as we are aware. Give them a call and ask them to switch on GPRS so you can use picture messaging. This should do the trick.

APN setting, get your operator to switch them as opposed to cancelling and signing up for new one.

Chris,

Sorry to be a pain but i'm easily confused!

3 quick questions for you:

1) I need full Internet GPRS access from my service provider before I can use Fastxt?

2) It is a "cancel anytime" contract but the T&C's say: "Contract period is 12 months." Does this mean you have to pay the remaining 12 months fee's if you cancel early?

3) The option i'm looking at (�5.99) includes 500 sms messages but the details of the contract state:
"SMS credits are earned 100 per month over the first five months of contract service." So I only get 100 sms a month but over a 5 month period this equates to 500?

I know to you these will seem like stupid questions, but they're the ones that a lot of consumers are going to ask before joining.

Yes you need full internet access GPRS

Yes you can cancel at any time as per legal requirements and no you dont have to pay full 12 months contract.

We are currently offering unlimited SMS to a limited amount of new users (subject to reasonable use). Otherwise to 500 sms bundle is over 5 months, We give you 100 per month.

However, i know that if you call our customer services dept and ask for all of your 500 sms in 1 go then they should oblige.

You can also buy additional sms if you use them for about 6p i think.

Register on our site to win a 3650

www.fastxt.com

Thanks Chris,

One last question. I've searched the T&C's and I can't find out how much sms messages are charged at once the 500 free sms promotion is over?

Do I have to be a user based in the UK to get this working...

I am based in Denmark and have now tried 3 IM clients for my 7650 however none of them work..

If only Trillian would get mobile.... *SIGH*

sms price wont be in T&C as may change

Current price is 6p

Service is in UK at the moment

We can your phone working though but you will need to call us with your phone settings for Denmark. You may need to call you operator for this.

Basically we need your operator APN settings

(1) Can you configure to use standard GSM dial up?

(2) Email [email protected] regarding reviews and [email protected] regarading advertising.

No sorry, cannot use GSM dial up

So...

Once you've used up all your free texts it effectively becomes MSN messenger software at �5.99 per month, but with the ability to send further sms messages for 6p each. Its a good price per SMS, no doubt about it, but the price of the network's GPRS access has to be added too. :-?

The software was designed to be an IM service, we built in sms as there is still a big user community. �5.99 per month does not include operator GPRS but 1/2MB should only cost about �5.

So for �10-12 per month you get to send virtually unlimited messages. How many sms would you get from your operator for that amount?

I think the GPRS is going to be the main problem here. With texts at around 5p per text, compared to (let's say) 10p per text on a network, you save 5p per text.

Now, out of that saving, you need to take monthly rental into agreemetn (�6), so you need to send 120 texts to break even on here. Which is around 4p a day.

So the key question becomae how much GPRS data does it take to send a text. And what about the much vaunted MSN? COnstant connection or only when you send a text? Will 500K cover all this? Can you give some byte examples?

Sorry for the maths, but just trying to work out if this is just a way of paying to you what I would pay to Orange, or if I can make a significant saving on what I use the machine for.

(Obviously the unlimited SMS for new sign ups skeweers this a bit)

Treat text message completely different for the moment.

For �5.99 a month you get unlimited messages through fastxt. Each 1000 character message you send will use 1kb of GPRS. So for average messages lets say 200 characters you can send 5 in 1kb.

5 x 500 kb or 1/2MB of GPRS you can send 2500 messages.
So your final cost works out at �5.99 per month with operator GPRS of �4 per 1/2MB (Orange) Total cost �9.99 per month.

For this �9.99 per month you will also get 100 free texts messages (for 1st 5 months) which are worth in the shops �8 or so. After that you can buy texts bundles from us at 6p each.

Give this service a couple of months and you wont be using text anymore. Most of our users only use fastxt now. SMS is set to be a thing of the past.