3jam SMS 2.0 - Top Mobile Apps Revisited 2007

App: 3jam SMS 2.0

Company: 3jam

Year it was a top mobile app: 2007

Why it was a Top Mobile App: The application essentially combined email and social networking, expanding the scope of text messaging from a one-to-one conversation into multi-party communications. When a 3jam user sent a message to a group of friends, each recipient knew who else was on the mailing list, and could reply to all or some of them. The bottom line was that all of those messages going back and forth could generate a lot of revenue for the carrier. Click here for more.

Its current status: The service has evolved into a whole new platform, and is looking to take on Google's Google Voice service in many respects. 3jam rolled out the beta version of the new platform this past summer, and it has gained favorable reviews. Like Google Voice, the service gives you one central, virtual phone number that works with up to six phones anywhere in the world. It also can forward calls to Skype and IM clients. It's not an invitation-only service, like Google Voice, and has a free developer APIs (the company already has partnered with Peek on a white-label SMS service). The service starts at $5 per month for 12 months, and text messaging packages go for $5 and $20 per month.