14 DAY TRIAL // Smartphones are becoming commonplace these days. Even in places like Nigeria, a cheap Android smartphone can sell like hot cakes. Even so, there are only a few hundred million smartphones, most in the developed countries while there are billions of 'dumb' phones in the world.
And those with regular phones would like to use Twitter just like everyone else, or so it seems, Twitter is thinking. Which is why it's unveiling a brand new feature for its SMS service, photo sharing.
Twitter users in several countries, where Twitter has partnered with carriers, can now attach a photo to their text messages and have it posted on the site.
"Starting today, you can share photos on Twitter by including a photo in your text message. It’s simple: just enter the text of your Tweet as you normally would, attach a photo to the message and send to Twitter," Twitter announced.
Twitter has done this by upgrading its system it accept MMS messages, which can carry more data and can have photos and other things attached.
In the places where the new feature is available, Twitter users can post a tweet via SMS just like they've always have. If they want to add a photo, all they have to do is attach it to the message.
"Sending a text message (or SMS message) has always been one of the easiest ways to share information and keep up with your favorite accounts on Twitter," Twitter said.
"SMS is currently available in about 80 countries and nine languages and usage continues to grow. Nearly four billion SMS messages are sent and received on Twitter every month," it added.
Twitter debuted its own photo sharing platform last month. Partnering with Photobucket, Twitter users are now able to add a photo to their tweets. Since then, Twitter expanded the feature to support third-party clients.