Re: Text messaging with Ruby on Rails

Rails
1

I’m not sure how reliable it is but I think you can also send/receive
SMS messages via email.

----- Original Message ----
From: Luke R. [email protected]
To: Ruby on Rails: Talk [email protected]
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 10:58:39 AM
Subject: [Rails] Re: Text messaging with Ruby on Rails

Hi there, I’m the author of the Ruby Clickatell gem. There are plenty
of SMS gateways out there; I chose Clickatell because they are one of
the bigger gateways who provide services for plenty of big names (BBC,
CNN etc.). There rates aren’t too bad. You might be able to find one
thats a bit cheaper I guess, but not that much. Remember that if you
buy credits in bulk you’ll get a better rate.

Cheers
Luke

2

Like most things, nothing is ever 100% guaranteed but in my experience
the Clickatell service is fast and deliveries are generally quick
(some times less than a second). Naturally you have to allow for
congestion at their end during peak times and of course network
congestion which is probably the most likely cause for delays. I
believe you can send important messages with a higher priority
although my gem doesn’t currently suppor this (email me if this is
vital and I can roll it into the next release).

But if its good enough for Auntie (thats the BBC for non-Brits), its
good enough for me.

3

On 9/21/07, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Hi there, I’m the author of the Ruby Clickatell gem. There are plenty

I want to create a text messaging system with my RoR web site. Anybody

I’m currently using the email SMS system for each carrier. It’s very
reliable, just at times quite slow. I’ve seen SMSs show up within 5
seconds
to 2 hours later.

The ClickATell service, is it guarenteed to be instant (less than 10
seconds) for everyone, always? The rates look good, might bring this
service
up to my boss.

Jason

4

Luke,
Thanks for the replies! Jason claims up to 2 hours of delay with e-
mail SMS. What is the worst cases that you’ve experienced? I’m
deploying a time-sensitive healthcare application

Thanks
Chirag

5

Hi chirag, I haven’t used it in any high volume I’m afraid, at least
not enough to give you an accurate representation.

Perhaps it would be worth contacting clickatell to discuss your needs
and see if they offer any kind of guarantees.

The only anecdotal evidence I can give you is that in my experience
its fast.

Cheers
Luke