FromSMS
FromSMS (www.fromsms.net) is a free utility provided by Fromdistance (www.fromdistance.com) that enables you to send SMS text messages from a web application quickly and cost-efficiently, via a Symbian S60 mobile phone.
All that is required is the FromSMS client installed onto your Symbian phone, and a connection to the Internet. The FromSMS client will register against Fromdistance's middleware server using a unique account code issued to you when you install the client.
On your web server, you simply create a web form with a HTTP Post command configured with the details of the Fromdistance relay server. Then, any messages entered into the web form will be delivered as a text message from your Symbian phone.
In this example I installed the software on my Nokia E71.
The client can be downloaded free of charge from the FromSMS web site. Once installed on the device it will appear in the Installations folder:
When launching the application for the first time you will be warned that the program will both make a data connection to the Internet and will send SMS messages:
You will the be prompted to enter the telephone number of the phone:
An SMS will then be sent from the phone, and one received containing your unique user account.
The application is now installed:
You can test the application via a web form on the FromSMS web site:
Which will hopefully return the following:
You are now ready to configure your web application. All that is required is an HTTP Post command within your web form with the following settings:
- https://ssl.fromsms.net/send.php
- acode = [account code given to you by FromSMS Client], for example "f8er95kztk98"
- number = [phone number of the recipient], for example "+3461234567"
- message = [SMS message content], for example "Hello world!"
Below is a diagram of the architecture of the solution:
The FromSMS client application can be further configured with whitelisted and blacklisted recipients:
You can further specify to automatically delete sent text messages from the phone and set a message limit:
And specify the access point the client should use to connect to the Internet:
