Gmail users in Uganda now have the opportunity of sending free chat messages to mobile phones of people they want to communicate with and get back a reply, right in their Gmail chat interface,

Ugandans to interact with those online via phone sms

Online Technology giants Google on Tuesday announced the Gmail-to-SMS which will allow allows Gmail users in the country to send and receive chat messages for free as text messages to mobile phones.

Google’s Business Development Associate for Uganda, Elijah Kitaka told Journalists at the launch on Tuesday that this is Uganda’s first PC-chat-to-mobile-text service that will see those online on Gmail keep in touch with people who might not be online at a particular by sending them chat messages to their phones and receiving texts back from the phone user.

“SMS in Gmail Chat has been specifically designed with the African consumer in mind and will bring a new level of flexibility and mobility to Gmail chat. Google appreciates the vibrancy of Uganda’s ICT sector and has launched this service to make the internet even more useful to Ugandan’s  on a daily basis. This once again demonstrates our commitment to Uganda and to the region,” Kitaka said. Google has already launched the same service in Senegal, Ghana and Kenya.

Kitaka says although the service is currently being offered in partnership with three Ugandan operators, MTN, Orange and UTL, the plan is to eventually support all mobile phone networks.

While sending the message from Gmail to the pone is free, Kitaka said those sending a text message back to the Gmail will be charged the standard sms charges of a particular network.

Kitakla says SMS in chat is automatically enabled for Gmail users depending on your settings, but in the event that it isn’t active in your account, you can activate it for free by going to Settings, Labs, then enabling the SMS options and saving changes.

“Every user is automatically given 50 credits which are used to send texts, and recharged when you get a reply. A message from the PC to SMS costs 1 credit, and on receiving a reply by text, you get 5 credits topup. The chat session is saved automatically in your Gmail for future reference just like email. SMS in chat is also available to users of Google apps,” Kitaka says.

Ultimate Media