14 DAY TRIAL // Since the late 90's when the text messages have first been introduced to customers, the technology hasn't changed much. It's true that in the meantime MMS picture messages were also introduced and this probably leaded to different companies focusing on SMS even less.
Reportedly Samsung is developing a Gmail style threaded conversation that could revolutionize the text messaging world, or at least change it a bit since most of us are already so bored with the simplistic text messages we've been sending for years now. The patent filling includes processes like mapping phone numbers from incoming text messages or creating SMS threading that emulates an instant messaging interface. With today's mobile phones all coming with instant messaging this may not seem much of a breakthrough.
But text messaging is one of the things mobile phones are most frequently used for these days, by close to all phone owners worldwide, from small kids to elderly users. Instant messaging is by far less popular and quite a small number of people is currently using the service on their mobile phone.
So, instead of promoting something customers might not be willing to embrace, why not improve something they are already quite fond of? For people that are interested, this is what the patent states:
"0007] The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal and a method for outputting a short message thereof, which enables a receiver to quickly realize information on a sender by outputting a received short message together with an image capable of representing the sender.
[0008] The present invention also provides a mobile communication terminal and a method for outputting a short message thereof, which can prevent related messages from being cut off by forming and continuously outputting a plurality of short messages into one group."