One of our unlimited drinks sponsors, Anam, has announced that is signed a deal with NeuStar to offer ‘SMS continuity’ for ‘seamless SMS and IM interworking solutions’.
Looking at the press release it looks like this means that users will now be able to have a Mobile IM conversation using SMS. This will be particularly useful if one of you is on Mobile IM and the other isn’t.
Anam’s technology will allow the mobile number of the sender to be linked to the IM they send. It will therefore show up if the message is received as an SMS and can be replied to by SMS.
Allen Scott, general manager of NeuStar thinks that this is a pretty important step for Mobile IM:
“Providing a seamless interaction between SMS and IM users on the mobile device is key to the uptake of mobile IM, bridging the two services and enabling IM users to experience advanced messaging in real time.â€
Anam seems to be making a number of these announcements recently, including deals with Telus and Telenor, so good luck to them.