She read me the capabilities of the unit, which included unlimited domestic text messaging (didn't know if the unit would have its own phone number) with premium and international SMS available for a fee, unlimited instant messaging, and "unlimited access to 1 premium portal" (AOM, MSN, Yahoo), as well as support for "some" other email providers.

ENGADGET: The ogo to get the go ahead from AT&T Wireless today?

The claim is that the telecoms companies charge us more per unit of data to send a text message next door than it costs to send a message to Mars.

FORBES: Insane Calculation: It Costs More To Send A Text Next Door Than To Mars

To buy text for the SoftBook, you plug the unit into the nearest phone line, and it then dials into the proprietary SoftBook download server.

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Another unit, Ulticom, creates software for signaling associated with things like roaming wireless service and text messaging.

FORBES: Magazine Article