Google launches Gmail SMS in Africa, lets you forward emails as text messages

Email is an essential tool for many of us today. That’s why Google is now working on a new service that will allow Gmail users to automatically send incoming emails to their phones via SMS text messages. The new service is called Gmail SMS, and Google is launching the new service first in Africa, particularly in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. With Gmail SMS, our friends in Africa can now send and receive emails as SMS messages using their mobile phones, with or without an Internet connection.

Users can reply to emails by simply hitting “Reply” from their handsets. Users can also control the emails they are receiving with commands such as MORE, PAUSE and RESUME. Google notes that the new service is free of charge, however, standard SMS rates will apply when a user sends a reply from a phone. To set up your phone, check out the detailed instructions via the Google Africa blog.