Shoutbox

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Originally posted by http://www.mess.be
Offline Messaging, not what we hoped for
Depending on where you live, you will have been prompted today upon signing in with a message telling you can now "Add a mobile contact by using a phone number". After entering someone's mobile number (no need for a Passport account anymore!) and an optional nickname, you must purchase Mobile Messages (via you browser on the MSN Premium Services website) before you can start chatting away. Contacts who receive instant messages on their mobile devices may be required to pay a fee, depending on their wireless service provider. So if you're a poor chat-a-holic, this service is not for you.

Your mobile contacts on the other hand, can send you messages even when you are not signed in to MSN Messenger. These are referred to as "Offline Messages". The first time you receive an offline message, you can choose how you want to view these messages in the future. However, you can change this option at any time under Tools > Options > Messages.

This is not exactly the kind of Offline Messaging we hoped for, because only mobile contacts can send offline messages. Your virtual answering machine is not accepting messages from regular MSN Messenger contacts, like in ICQ for instance. I guess MSN was obligated to add this feature because otherwise if mobile contacts would send you an IM while you were offline, the message would go lost and they'd still have to pay for it. And if you send a message to a mobile device that is offline, it'll be safely delivered the next time that device is online.

For the record, contacts with a mobile status have a yellow contact icon () next to their names. However, some mobile contacts may appear as a green contact icon () when their mobile device is online, or as a red contact icon () when their mobile device is offline.

Depending on your contact's language, mobile device and wireless service provider, you may not be able to send messages with more than 70 characters. MSN Messenger will notify you if you send a message that exceeds the limit for that contact. Mobile contacts that allow only SMS messaging cannot send or receive emoticons. However, mobile contacts whose wireless service providers allow EMS (Enhanced Mobile Messaging) have a choice of six different emoticons that they can send or receive. The mobile conversation window automatically displays emoticons if they are allowed by your contact's wireless service provider and mobile device.

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