Send scheduled text messages using google voice

September 29, 2009

Posted by M.A.R.S
Edit: If you have an android phone you can use the free app I wrote to schedule Google Voice or standard text messages. The app name is "Titan Message Scheduler" . https://market.android.com/details?id=com.droidtitan.android.titanmessage&feature=search_result

For those familiar with Google Voice’s amazing services, there is one key feature missing that would it truly amazing service. This feature would be the scheduling of text messages. I was not able to find one solid solution to this problem even after I searched the internet for hours. However, Google Voice has recently acquired a new feature which allows you to forward text messages to an email, thus, making it possible to schedule text messages.

In order to set this up, you must first enable “SMS Forwarding” under the caller settings of the Google Voice.

The second step is to create a free account at lettermelater.com . This service allows you to schedule emails that are sent out at any desired time in the future. It is fairly straight forward and scheduling can be done through your own E-mail provider. The website provides an easy to follow tutorial.

The last step is not so trivial since I have not found a way to send someone a text message without being messaged first, the reason being that there isn't a simple address for a phone number. It seems like it is randomly assigned by Google Voice.  But suppose someone messages you, the forwarded SMS message will look something like this in your email: 

"John Doe (SMS)" <1805555555.13233333333.S53-xDvQvn@txt.voice.google.com> . 

The first number corresponds to your Google Voice number and the second number is your contact. I'm not quite sure what the random number and letters represent in the third spot. After you acquire this address you can assign it to your contact as their SMS address and begin using lettermelater.com to schedule text messages.