Webware

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CBS Interactive)

We already knew text messaging service Kwiry could perform some cool tricks via text messaging--things like adding products to your Amazon.com wish list or adding movies to your Netflix queue. But now the service is adding rudimentary TiVo control to the list.

TiVo already offers more detailed DVR access via its Web site, as well as TiVo Mobile (for smartphones with Web browsers), but the Kwiry service should work with even the most rudimentary cell phones, so long as they have text messaging capability.

The TiVo beta should be available on Kwiry Wednesday. Here's how it's supposed to work: link your TiVo Series2 or Series3 DVR to your Kwiry account (a one-time affair on the Kwiry Web site), and you should be able to command your DVR to record shows via a simple text to 59479 ("kwiry").

Kwiry says the service will automatically schedule a recording of the next episode of the show in question, so "tivo the office" should grab the next episode of the Steve Carell dramedy. Sounds easy enough, but we wonder how smoothly it'll work, especially with shows that have multiple syndicated episodes on multiple channels--will kwiry be smart enough to grab the new episode of Lost, and not the rerun on G4 or Sci-Fi? Thankfully, the service is free, so you can experiment with impunity.

European users of Twitter can no longer receive text message updates on their cell phones, in a temporary move designed to keep the start-up's telecom bills down.

Twitterers can still use its U.K. number, +44 762 480 1423, to send updates to the site. But that number will no longer deliver text-message updates back to users, and recommends that they use the Twitter mobile site or a third-party client like TwitterBerry, Twitterrific, TwitterMail, or Cellity.

"When you send one message to Twitter and we send it to ten followers, you aren't charged ten times--that's because we've been footing the bill," a post on Twitter's blog explained. "When we launched our free SMS service to the world, we set the clock ticking. As the service grew in popularity, so too would the price."

The company has managed to find "sustainable" text-message billing agreements in the U.S., Canada, and India--the other three countries in which Twitter has enabled SMS updates--so those countries will not be affected by the change. The blog post explained that Twitter is continuing to negotiate with mobile operators to make it possible for SMS numbers to exist around the world, but hasn't gotten there yet.

"Even with a limit of 250 messages received per week, it could cost Twitter about $1,000 per user, per year to send SMS outside of Canada, India, or the U.S.," the post explained. "It makes more sense for us to establish fair billing arrangements with mobile operators than it does to pass these high fees on to our users."

If you're becoming hopelessly addicted to Twitter or any other social network, then by all means stay away from this device. Called "TextCu.be"--being of Web 2.0 in nature, it obviously can't have a normal spelling--this is a dedicated wireless receiver designed to get text messages from designated social networks.

(Credit: TextCu.be)

There's just one question that immediately comes to mind: Why would anyone buy a device like this when you can set up instant messages from social networks directly to a mobile phone?

TextCu.be's makers claim that it's preferable because "older methods used current technologies in a 'mashup' that weren't all too pleasant, standardized, or secure," but we're not sure who will find it worth the $100 price and--worse yet, in our opinion--the burden of carrying an additional device. And even though it's touted for being small enough to fit on a keychain, as Slippery Brick says, that could also work against it: The screen is tiny, and the device maxes out at 80 messages.

Maybe it's meant for the ultimate loyalist who wants a standalone product that can pay homage to a particular community, customizing it with "over 100 colors and designs and widgets for all the current social networking sites," as described by the company. But if that's the case, professional counseling may be a better way to spend that C-note.

A lot of folks have discovered the wonders of going over their monthly SMS allotments because of the alert systems built into popular Web apps like Twitter. But what about getting SMS alerts for other sites, too? A service called Pingie is doing just that, letting you plug in whatever RSS feeds you'd like to keep an eye on (like ours), and sending you a portion of the latest post as an SMS message. The service notes its usefulness for sites like Slickdeals and Woot (two of my personal favorites) as well as news sites for getting the most up-to-date info when away from your machine.

What makes the system nice is its feed-management screen where you can see what feeds you're subscribing to, and add or remove others freely. You can also preview the feed once you've added it, which is a nice way to gauge if you're about to get RSS fatigue, or worse: a massive, overage-inducing SMS onslaught.

There are a handful of other services that do this including Yahoo's Alerts, ZapTXT, RSSFWD, and Web-Alerts.com. It's also worth noting that Pingie is U.S.-only, and Sprint and Nextel customers may have trouble getting messages from Pingie delivered, although according to the devblog, a fix is in the works.

[via Lifehacker]

Drop in an RSS feed, and enjoy a potentially endless stream of SMS messages depending on how active the feed is.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Is Twitter going to turn your mundane messages about salads, cats, and Arcade Fire concerts into revenue dollars? Signs are pointing to yes, as oddball messages appended to Twitter's microblog "tweets" indicate that the company is dabbling in text message ads. Some other folks around the tech blog world are picking up on this, and they seem to be in agreement.

Like so many things, it all started in Gotham--and, in the interest of full disclosure, it involves yours truly. On Monday morning there was a bit of New York tech-scene chit-chat over Twitter, as local entrepreneur Nate Westheimer raised the possibility of forming a band called the "Silicon Alley Cats" and put out a call for auditions. I offered to play cowbell, since it's pretty clear that the world needs more cowbell.

A fellow New Yorker, Charlie O'Donnell, received my claim to musical talent on his cell phone and noticed something curious--a "tip" below my "tweet," utilizing the remaining characters of the text message length allocation to say "Wow, you look good." Curious as to what it meant, O'Donnell posted a screenshot online. (It's also a rare glimpse behind the velvet rope of my friends-only Twitter feed. Enjoy it while it lasts.) He speculated that Twitter is testing out the potential for inserting advertisements at the bottom of "tweets," a way to solve its somewhat pressing revenue problem and actually rake in some cash.

I've sent out a message to Twitter (through e-mail, not a tweet, mind you) in order to find out exactly what's up.

(Credit: Charlie O'Donnell/thisisgoingtobebig.com)

It seems a little invasive.

I have no idea why Twitter decided that I should be telling O'Donnell that he looks good when I can't actually see that and judge it for myself (though I'm sure he looked great this morning). Likewise, if it were an ad, I'd feel kind of uneasy about it. But if mobile advertising really is the gold mine that we're all hearing it is, we should probably get used to this sort of thing.

For the record, I don't actually know how to play the cowbell.

Here's a useful concept: say you're really sick of dealing with your phone's tiny keypad to type in text messages. What if you could simply say what you wanted to write down, and have the tool fill it in for you? Yap is a new service that's trying to fill that need with their new mobile phone client. It's aimed at teens, who the company claims 66% of text while driving. Yap will read off your friend's responses, meaning you don't have to pay attention to what they're writing. The service works both ways, so your friend who has it installed could theoretically have an asynchronous text-only conversation with you too.

In addition to the text app, Yap throws in some integration with popular Web services like Amazon, Digg, Wikipedia, eBay, Facebook, Google News, AOL search, Flickr, Google Photos, Twitter, and Orbitz among others. You can simply say a search term, and it will convert it into a written search query on the correct service right on your phone's browser. The one for Twitter is especially cool since you can just say your status update, and it will convert it into a live Tweet.

The company is planning to support its service through "real time advertisements" which will pull context from your conversation, and serve up relevant ads. Their example showed a conversation about coffee, wherein the app pulled up a link for listings of Starbucks nearby. The service is still in private beta, and launching at this morning's TechCrunch40 conference.

Related: Highly useful: CallWave transcribes your voicemail

Each of these messages came from text-to-speech conversion from Yap. No more typing on your tiny key pad.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

We've told you about Callwave already, but now we've had the opportunity to put the company's Vtxt application through its paces. Vtxt takes spoken voice mail messages and converts them into text. When someone calls and leaves you a voice mail, Vtxt will send you a text message and an e-mail with a transcript. You don't get the message word-for-word; rather, Vtxt gives you the gist of the message so you can understand what the person said.

The result is a useful and user-friendly service. Both the text message and e-mail arrive within seconds, so you have ample time to decide if the message is urgent enough for you respond straightaway. The gist transcription isn't always perfect--but that's sort of the point, in a way. And in any case, we were pleased with the results overall. Read more.

I'd initially been skeptical about BuyYourFriendADrink.com (BYFAD), the Web site that just opened today (see previous coverage) in which you can remotely order drinks for your friends that they can redeem at participating bars by showing the bartender a code in a text message. It's available at about 40 bars in New York City and the surrounding area, and the company plans to gradually expand to other urban areas over the course of the year.

I'd been pretty confident that the site itself would work, but I hadn't been entirely positive that the bars involved would really have their act together. Rafe Needleman was very kind to use BYFAD to text me a few bucks so that I'd be able to try the service out, but going into it, I was fully expecting that I'd be greeted with a strange look when I tried to pay for libations with a code in a text message.

However, when CNET associate producer Wilson Tang and I rolled into the Mad Hatter Saloon, just a few blocks from our Manhattan bureau, we were pleasantly surprised. The bartender initially wasn't aware that BYFAD codes could be contained in text messages (she'd thought it would be in the form of an e-mail printout) but she was aware of the site and knew what to do. There was a bit of a delay while she entered the code into the bar's credit card system, but I think that's something that most people will be willing to accept.

The apple martini that I bought with a text message

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy)

It basically did work just like a gift certificate or promotional code. Our balance went slightly over the amount Rafe had sent, because there were two of us, but that went through quite smoothly--we just handed over the amount of cash required to settle the check. And I had a darned good apple martini (though not an iMartini). Thanks, Rafe!

So, I give BuyYourFriendADrink a thumbs-up. Sure, it's gimmicky, and it's still very limited. But now when I win bets with my West Coast-based colleagues, I don't have to wait until I'm traveling out there for my "you owe me a beer" agreements to be fulfilled.

How many times have you been IMing with a friend or co-worker across the country, placed a bet ("If that Sanjaya guy gets the boot tonight, you owe me a beer!"), completed said bet, but had no immediate way to fulfill it because the other person involved was miles away? Well, now there's a brand-new solution--but just for New Yorkers, for the time being.

BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can then redeem at participating establishments with the help of a text message. If you owe a friend a drink, or just want to be nice, head on over to the BYFAD Web site and fill out the form--you'll need to have that friend's cell phone number on hand. You can opt to give them a dollar amount between $5 and $250, and there's a 99-cent processing fee. Then, your friend receives an e-mail and a text message alerting them of the yummy drinkable gift, along with a promotional code.

The recipient then, presumably, can look up BYFAD-participating bars, choose one of them, and head over there. Then, he or she can just show the text message at the bartender, and it's processed through the bar's credit card system. So, basically, it's like a gift certificate by text message--nothing really revolutionary in the technology, but as far as we know, this is the first company to give SMS gift certificates a quick, tech-savvy happy-hour slant. It sounds almost too easy, but then again, mobile commerce is gaining some real speed these days.

I called up BYFAD's CEO, Steven Cohn, to see about the site's future plans. Currently, there are deals with 46 bars in New York City and the surrounding metro area (Hoboken, NJ and Long Island), 38 of which are active. The remaining eight should be added over the next few weeks. As for expansion outside of New York City, Cohn told me that several other northeastern and mid-Atlantic cities--Boston, Philadelphia, and DC--will be rolled out over the next few months. Other cities, including San Francisco, should be added in the second half of 2007.

The big question is--does it work? We'll see! CNET's small but fun-loving NYC outpost will be giving BYFAD a test run this afternoon once it's a more, uh, appropriate hour for beer. If it runs smoothly, I think this shows real promise.

See also: Happy Hour 2.0.