EMS (Enhanced Messaging Service)

The EMS-enabled phones allow you to combine monotonic ringtones, pictures and text into one message. Because this technology is based on the SMS standard, it is called "Enhanced messaging".

Because these messages are one step more entertaining than SMS messages, enhanced messaging has been used with ringtones, joke-of-the-day services (with pictures and sound), TV show promotions, movie related information, company branded icons, and with many other applications.

You can download any of this content with web, WAP or SMS, provided that your cell phone and cell phone plan supports these downloads.

How Can YOU Start Downloading and Sending EMS Content?

If you'd like to experience what enhanced messaging is all about, you'll need an EMS-enabled phone and a cell phone plan that supports sending these messages.

Furthermore, the recipient's cell phone needs to support enhanced messaging as well. Otherwise, the message is displayed as text (or not at all).

Because Sony Ericsson originally developed EMS as a competitor to Nokia's Smart Messaging standard, you won't find Nokia EMS phones. That's also partly why you'll find only limited amounts of content for the enhanced messaging service.

The manufacturers that support the EMS standard include Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and Siemens.

If you'd like to find content for your Siemens EMS cell phone, see, for example, downplay.com/mysiemens/.

For Motorola enhanced messaging phones, you can find EMS content from motorola.handango.com.

If you have a Sony Ericsson phone, the manufacturer has downloads available at sonyericsson.com/fun/.

For more information on the enhanced messaging services available...