Send Text Messages via Google Chat

Sending text messages using your email account??? With Gmail, it is possible. Gmail Labs recently unveiled a new experimental feature from Gmail Labs that allows Gmail users to send text messages to their friends and family using Google Chat. Unofficially named Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat, the experimental SMS messaging feature from Gmail Labs is currently available for US-based users only.

Enabling text messaging in Google Chat

To use the experimental text messaging feature of Google Chat, you have to enable it in the Settings menu. On the upper right side of the Gmail homepage, click on the Settings link to open the Gmail Settings menu. Once the Settings menu is opened, click on the Labs tab to view the list of experimental features from Gmail Labs. Because the text messaging feature is on latter part of the list, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page in order to view it. After locating the text messaging feature, click on the tiny circle before the ENABLE option to activate the Google Chat SMS feature. Remember to click the SAVE CHANGES button at the bottom of the page to successfully activate the selected feature.

Sending text messages via Google Chat

The first thing you need to do in sending a text message via Google Chat is to choose a contact from your Google Chat buddy list on the left-side of the screen. After the Gchat box pops up, type in the text message that you wish to send via SMS. Before pressing the ENTER button on your keyboard, click on the Options menu at the bottom of the Gchat pop up and choose the SEND SMS option from the list.