Remember that handy DeskSMS Android tweak we reported on earlier this month? Well for those of you that missed it, DeskSMS is a very handy app developed by ClockworkMod, which allows you to forward your SMS messages to the likes of Gmail, Gtalk as well as DeskSMS’ online service.
So the idea is, if you’re at your desktop all the time, your iPhone can be more of a middleman for receiving messages and filtering them through to the desktop client of your convenience. Not only does this lessen the distraction of having to pick your phone up every time you want to send/receive a text, it is also significantly easier to type messages using a hardware keyboard than it is on the often tedious soft keypad.
If you opt to reply to the SMS from your Google account, the recipient will get a reply sent directly back to their number, as if it was sent through the native SMS app, so it’s not intrusive and there’s no spam at the end of the message.
It’s pretty easy to set up and configure, but I’m going to quickly run through the procedure to get you on the right track.
Step 1: Install Notifo, a free app which can be found at the App Store. Open the app and sign up for an account – it’s easy as pie.
Step 2: Now open the DeskSMS Springboard app and enter the necessary details: Google username and password, as well as your Notifo username and API key, which you can find by logging in at notifo.com and clicking the settings tab.
Now you’re ready to go! You can modify the settings to tailor the experience to suit you.
With calls, emails and now SMS now all possible through a desktop, the justification for having your iPhone attached to you all day while at home or at work is wearing thin. Then again, if you can’t find anything useful or productive to do on your iPhone, there’s always Angry Birds!
Unlike the Android version which doesn’t require you to root your device, you will need a jailbroken iPhone to install DeskSMS in this case. You can follow our step by step guide posted here to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on iOS 4.3.5 using Redsn0w (or PwnageTool), or on iOS 4.3.3 using Redsn0w, PwnageTool, Sn0wbreeze & JailbreakMe (that last one being the easiest).
DeskSMS can be found on the BigBoss repo in Cydia, and is available for a very brilliant price of free!
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