how to send and read SMS from mobile attached to PC

Question

I am building a Windows Desktop software that will respond to SMS request and sending a SMS as reply automatically.

The software is ready and working just fine but it works only and only with Nokia Mobiles and the prerequisite is that Nokia's PC Suit has to be installed first before my app can work.

But now my customer wants to change his mobile so he wants me to change programming so that it works with any mobile.

I am at loss as to how to do this?

Can someone please help me here. I am ready to recode the whole app if required.

My preferred platforms are Delphi, VB.NET and VB6.

Answer 1

There are extended AT commands that you can send to your phone's virtual serial interface that tend to work well on many phones. See this for more info: http://www.developershome.com/sms/howToSendSMSFromPC.asp

Now all you need to do is find serial drivers for the supported phones. This used to be really simple, but is harder these days. Bottom line is, it is probably your best option.

Answer 2

"Any mobile"? That's a tall order. I'm not sure your customer knows what he's asking for. Different types of phones are different and there isn't some way to make the same program run on all of them.

What you can do, though, is make it run on any supported mobile. You can keep most of your existing PC-side code; only the part that talks to the phone has to change. Encapsulate that into some sort of interface in a separate module, and that's your specific code for talking to Nokia phones. Your app now supports Nokia.

Then figure out how to do the same thing for an Android, or a Blackberry or an iPhone. Build those specific parts into their own modules that all implement the same basic interface. With each new phone type you figure out how to talk to, your list of supported devices will grow.