In the smartphone era a bland text message is a thing of the past. We love to pack our smartphone messages with cute pictures and colourful emojis to express how we are feeling and show friends and family what we are doing. We also love to include photos in our messages but adding smiley faces and pictures in your text messages may be costing you much more than you realise. Do you know the difference between an SMS and an MMS? Read our smartphone user guide to learn the difference between a free text message and an expensive MMS message.  

      OneTech Gadget's smartphone user guide: SMS or MMS what you need to know   sms4   Standard text messages (SMS) are usually free to send as part of your monthly mobile package: Many packages give you unlimited free text messages but these are basic text only messages.  Add a picture and the message becomes an MMS which you will be charged for sending. More than 40% of UK smartphone users have paid out around £40 each for exceeding their mobile package. Many of these charges incurred were a result of smartphone users not understanding the difference between SMS and MMS messages.   sms8   A woman from Scotland was horrified to receive a massive £1200 phone bill after including emojis in hundreds of text messages. The woman was unaware that she was in fact sending MMS’s for which she was being charged. Mobile providers generally charge around 40p for each MMS .This can quickly mount up and result in a huge bill. What’s the difference between an SMS and an MMS? A short simple text message is known as an SMS which simply means short messaging service. MMS means multimedia messaging service. Basically an MMS is a message with photos, video or audio included or even a photo sent from one smartphone to another smartphone zmax7   New android smartphones have the capability to send emoji’s as part of a normal SMS text message but this may not be the case if you are using an old smartphone. Many older smartphones turn your emojis into picture messages which results in you being charged for sending MMS’s. If you are using an old smartphone its best to not include symbols, icons or emotions in your text messages. How to prevent running up charges for MMS messages   asuszenphone2   Treat yourself to a new android smartphone If you are using an old smartphone why not treat yourself to a new android smartphone. A new smartphone doesn’t need to break the bank and could save you a fortune by stopping you being charged for sending MMS’s. Take a look at OneTech Gadgets range of exciting smartphones which includes an ultra affordable smartphone. With a new android smartphone you can liven up your text messages with as many emoji’s as you like. sms5   Download a free messaging app Free messaging apps are available for android smarrtphones. With a messaging service such as WhatsApp . or Facebook Messenger you can send as many photos and emojis as you want completely free. To use these free messaging services you will need a smartphone with Wi-Fi or 4 G capabilities. Both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allow you to send unlimited free messages plus photos and emojis.   OneTech Gadgets is a UK based online retailer with an impressive selection of android smartphones OneTech Gadgets' range of smartphones include dual SIM smartphones and selfie centric smartphones.   To take a look at OneTech Gadgets impressive range of affordable android smartphones click here