Google (Really) Adds SMS for Gmail

After introducing then yanking the feature a few weeks ago, Google has crossed its fingers and re-introduced a Labs feature enabling Gmail users to send SMS messages.

At the end of October, Google introduced a new Labs feature for its popular GMail Web-based email service that enabled users to send SMS text messages directly from Gmail. But the rollout didn’t go very smoothly: most users who tried to turn the feature on found it wouldn’t fully enable. Now, Google has re-introduced the feature for U.S. users: once the tools is enabled, users can type a text-capable U.S. phone number into the search box in Gmail’s chat window, then click “Send SMS.” Once a message has gone through, phone numbers are saved in Gmail’s contacts, so future messages can be send by name in the Chat field.

SMS message from GMail arrive from a number with a 406 area code, and SMS users will be able to reply to the SMS and have it routed back to the Gmail users’ chat window. SMS recipients can also reply with the word “block” to stop receiving text messages from a particular Gmail users, or send the word “stop” to block SMS message from Gmail altogether.