Gizmodo: Text Message

Finnish Spitzer Sends 200 Sex SMS to Exotic Dancer and Her Sister

Jack Loftus — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT

An SMS-savvy Finnish Foreign Minister has joined former New York governor Eliot Spitzer in the "thinks with the wrong head" club this week. The 60-year-old Ilkka Kanerva was discovered to have sent more than 200 text messages to an exotic dancer named Johanna Tukiainen, 29. And her sister! Despite the fact that Kanerva's longtime parter said she's not bothered by her man's wandering eyes (or should that be fingers?), people are still calling for a resignation. More below.

The Finnish press got a hold of a few text gems sent by the minister, including this vague pick up line that may or may not be related to musical waterbeds: "Would you like to do it in an exotic place? Where could it be?" When asked if 'it' meant sex, Kanerva said it was obvious that the message was an answer to an earlier inquiry from Tukiainen.

We at Gizmodo are inclined to believe the minister; he was probably referring to their upcoming coffeehouse debate about the subtle differences between the Centre Party of Finland and the more even-handed (although no less capable) approach to governing taken by the National Coalition Party. Or maybe he was just trying to get laid with the exotic dancer, and her sister. We think her name's Debra.

[HELSINGIN SANOMAT]

Valentine's Day Is Most Popular Texting Holiday

Mark Wilson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:41:51 EST

Maybe it was induced by the shorthand we'd read for years off Necco Sweethearts, but according to AT&T, Valentine's Day is the most popular holiday for text messaging. From February 13th to the 14th, there's a 33% spike in texting traffic. Yes, you know what that means. The cellphone owning population is trying 33% harder to get laid than on a normal day. For a full list of officially sanctioned booty call shorthand, hit the jump. We don't recommend a single, nonsensical letter of it. No one ever made out after calling someone a QT. (But if so, let us know in the comments. We may have expensive jewelry to return).

2G2BT [Too good to be true]
4EAE [Forever and ever]
4U [For you]
AML [All my love]
D8 [Date]
FTBOMH [From the bottom of my heart]
GNSD [Good night, sweet dreams]
H2CUS [Hope to see you soon]
ILU [I love you]
IMU [I miss you]
ISLY [I still love you]
IWALU [I will always love you]
KOTC [Kiss on the cheek]
KOTL [Kiss on the lips]
MUSM [Miss you so much]
QT [Cutie]
TY [Thank you]
TOY [Thinking of you]
URH [You are hot]
UW [You're welcome]
XOXOXO [Hugs & Kisses]

Ikea Mobile Syncs Bar Codes, Weekly Deals to Your Phone

Jason Chen — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:45:19 EST

"Shopping" at Ikea is more of an enjoyable afternoon outing than an quick in-and-out errand, so anything that helps make the experience even more pleasant gets a thumbs-up from us. This Ikea Mobile kiosk was found in Seattle by Unpluggd, and allows you to scan bar codes for products to get sent via SMS to your phone.

By doing so you also opt-in to get access to coupons and specials for the week, as well as "regular updates via text message for deals and discounts." Cool while you're in the store, but somewhat annoying if you're getting pinged by Ikea about Poang chairs every week. [Unpluggd via New Launches via Oh Gizmo]

iPhone 1.1.3 Mixing Up Your SMS Order? Here's How You Fix It

Jason Chen — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:29:43 EST

If your iPhone's displaying SMS messages out of order on firmware version 1.1.3, it's because your phone has a different time/date setting from your cellular provider. To fix it, just switch your phone to auto-sync from the network. [Apple]

New Zealander Diagnosed With Text Messager's Thumb

Haroon Malik — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:25:00 EST

A student in New Zealand has been diagnosed with the first recorded occurrence of Text Messeager's Thumb in the country. The 20-year old student is thought to have sent up to 100-text messages/day, which resulted in inflammation of the tendons in her thumb, causing grave discomfort.

The condition, otherwise known as tenosynovitis, could have been easily avoided with the utilization of Blue Phone Elite 2, which I use to relieve my opposable thumbs of any undue strain. Better yet, why not just text less? We are sure discussing how cute Tom Cruise looks in a black polo sweater is really important gossip, but is it really worth the ensuing pollex paralysis? We think so—gosh, Tom does look hot in a black sweater. [Brisbane Times via Textually]

An 18-year-old in Cincinnati was hit by a ...

Adrian Covert — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:33:24 EDT

An 18-year-old in Cincinnati was hit by a train, unaware that it was coming, because he was sending a text message as he walked across the tracks. Despite being thrown 50 feet by the train, Zachariah Smith lived. [The Enquirer via Boing Boing]

GPS Text Message Device Acts Like an Emergency Beacon

Jason Chen — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:20:16 EDT

Did you know that when dialing 911 from your cellphone, the police can't pinpoint your location exactly? And that if you're dialing from a rural area, it becomes even worse—up to a five-mile radius? That's why this Freedom GPS text message unit is useful.

By programming in five numbers beforehand, you can activate the Freedom unit to send out your exact GPS location by SMS. This way your family members know exactly where you are when you get lost or stranded, which makes their "officer, I had no idea where to look for them, I swear!" excuse not hold up in court. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Globalsources via Slashgear via Crunchgear]

Divorced By SMS: The Exact Moment K-Fed Gets Britney's Text Message Caught On Video

Jason Chen — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 20:30:37 EST

This video apparently shows the exact moment that Kevin Federline gets the SMS from Britney telling them that it's over. According to the video, cameras were following him around the entire day in order to conduct an interview, part of which was him gushing about his wife and kids.

At about 1:46, you can see as K-Fed's soul gets crushed as Brit-Brit drops the text-bomb on him via Sidekick—that is a Sidekick, right? Being divorced over the phone, wow. The Federlines truly ~~are~~ were America's royalty. – Jason Chen

Video [YouTube via Digg]

Get Out Of Your Sprint Contract Free Until October 31

Jason Chen — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:30:07 EDT

Good news for anyone who wants to doff their Sprint shackles but was unwilling to pay an eye-gouging cancellation fee. See, Sprint's just raised their text-messaging fees to $0.15 per, which constitutes a "material change" to your contract. Any time there's a material change, you're capable of canceling your service without facing a fine.

Good news for you, oh disloyal Sprint customer. – Jason Chen

Oct31 Deadline For Free Sprint Contract Killing [Consumerist]

IMBP=I Might Be Pregnant. Who Knew?

tgrumet — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:48:43 EST

If you're having trouble figuring out all the strange translations of text messages or want something to tell you what the proper etiquette of cellphone use is, look no further. These Text Message and Cell Citation pads from Knock Knock stationers will help you sort it all out. Kinda cute, though if you can't figure out that talking about your cat really loud on the train isn't so great for the guy sitting next to you, you need a lot more than a stupid pad. The Text Message pad goes for $6.99 while the Cell Citation pad is only $4.50. Go figure.

Knock Knock's Text Message and Cell Citation Pads [Coolhunting]