Difference Between SMS and MMS

SMS vs MMS
SMS or short messaging service/texting was the first premium service offered by mobile companies apart from making phone calls. It is necessarily restricted to sending text-only messages from one mobile phone to another via the service provider’s special service offered for SMS. You cannot use SMS unless your phone supports the function and your service provider offers you a plan for this.

MMS or multimedia messaging service is way more enhanced than the SMS service and can include not only text and pictures but short videos also. Similar to the SMS service, MMS requires a plan from your service provider and your phone must support this function. Though, all cellphones provide SMS sending and receiving facility, not all phones are geared to send and receive MMS.

While sending SMS is way cheaper than MMS it is restricted to about 164 approximately characters at a time depending on the inbuilt features of your phone. Some phones come with greater SMS-sending capability. Basic mobile devices may have a restriction on the length to barely a line or so too. While SMS requires basic texting capability, MMS requires video uploading, saving and possibly capturing facility via an inbuilt camera too. Both SMS and MMS have come to become modern methods of instant contact but SMS features score on this.

SMS is still the preferred mode for sending quick, important and short messages. For example, if you have to tell your friend that you will be delayed for a date, a quick short SMS will do. MMS, on the other hand, continues to be more on the side of sharing entertainment and fun items.

SMS has also evolved its own lingo that, some say, has spoiled the English-speaking habits of young people and children. For example, in SMS lingo to say ‘See you later’ you would typically type in ‘CU latr’! Smileys or ‘expressions’ formed by signs on the keyboard to express your emotion at a particular time are part of the SMS lingo too. For a quick smile, you would simply type :). This looks like two eyes and a curved smile sideways. MMS smileys are an enhanced version of the simple text smileys with pictures, cartoons, music and movement integrated into them.

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