Airtel launches new fun SMS services

2-Airtel passing on information to members of the public at its stall in Victoria on Saturday

Airtel Magic prepaid subscribers can now start having some fun using their Short Message Services (SMS) with an interesting array of new fun services on their mobiles.

The services which got activated on Thursday March 11 include funtones, funlogos, funchat and funpix.

According to a spokesperson for Airtel, this move aims at promoting the use of mobiles, especially the SMS service, for entertainment rather than just for business purposes and keeping in touch.

Subscribers interested in this new package can have access to leaflets with instructions about how to download and send picture messages from their mobiles, install and create new ring tones, add attractive logos which can be used as screen savers on their mobiles and how to log on into the different chat rooms available. The leaflets, which are available at the company's customer service centres at Roche Caiman and at Trinity House, will provide the codes required to activate these services.

As part of its publicity campaign Airtel on Saturday erected a stall in Market Street to provide subscribers with more information about the new services.

The subscribers will have about a 100 tunes to choose from for their ringtones – ranging from looney tunes to techno track and Hollywood tunes – and 100 pictures and logos from cartoons to romance, at a rate of R2 per download. For those who want to be original, they can compose their own ringtones or logos by logging on to www.airtel.sc

One interesting feature of the new package is funchat, which provides a new channel for group chat for young people through their SMS on their mobiles, rather than the more common Internet chat rooms. Airtel has introduced 10 chat rooms where users can log into and discuss issues like friendship, travel, pets, books and music. All the subscribers have to do is register their names and password in the SMS chat command, then log on in the desired chat room where they can converse by sending messages to 15 people at the same time. The spokesperson for Airtel said that the service was ideal for young people who have no Internet connection but would like to participate in group chat. The rate for SMS chat is 25 cents per message.

The fun services will also be extended to the Airtel post-paid subscribers soon.

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