uboot.com > Reviews > Uboot boots the competition....

Author's product rating:   

Navigation	Excellent
Features	Excellent

Advantages:	Free to sue, efficient, unlimited SMS messages, lots of features
Disadvantages:	Occasional slow messages

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you’re paying a small fortune sending text messages from your own mobile phone, you may want to check out this site as a completely free alternative. Once you’ve registered, you can send unlimited text messages to any mobile phone number within the UK, or any other Uboot member, and it won’t cost you a penny! You’re given your own SMS number too, so that people can message you back not only via your phone but through the website itself too. This means that even if you don’t have a mobile, you can still send and receive text messages through your Uboot account! Registration is a piece of cake, you just need to choose a username, supply a password and a few other basic details and you’re ready to start.

Not only can you send and receive texts, but you can also send emails direct from your mobile phone (dependant on mobile network compatibility), although this is one service I’ve never had cause to use, so can’t comment on how well it works!

In addition, you have the facility to send an identical text message up to ten people at the same time. You just have to create buddylists in Uboot with up to 10 recipients. Then from your mobile you can text to your entire buddylist and Uboot will relay the message to all 10 contacts on that list. By doing this, you’re only having to type the message once, and it will cost you just the price of sending a single message, and not ten! Again, this feature does depend on mobile network compatibility. Plus, the site also lets you know that other Uboot users are online, so if you fancy a natter with another member, then you can do so directly from the website.

As an added bonus, you’re also provided with a full address book where you can input names, mobile phone numbers and so on so that when you send a message, you don’t have to worry about typing in the number again and again, you can just select a name from a pull down list. And even better, you can send nice long messages too, up to 160 characters in length! You can also schedule your messages to be sent at a certain time, or on a certain day. Plus, you can send texts to mobiles in Switzerland!

Become a Uboot Plus member and you can send even longer text messages, up to 300 characters. The benefits of being a Plus member aren’t bad but of course, you have to pay a fee for the privilege. Currently, Uboot ask for a yearly subscription of £7.20, half the normal price. For that modest fee you get to send unlimited longer SMS texts as mentioned previously, and VIP SMS which means your texts are sent as priority, over and above standard messages. VIP texts are also displayed directly on the screen of the receiver’s mobile, they don’t even have to press on ‘read’ to view ! You can also take advantage of SMS reminders, things like family and friends’ birthdays, anniversaries and so on which are texted through to you in plenty of time for you to plan for that special day. Lastly, you get to choose 2 logo or ringtone downloads every single month, absolutely free of charge. If you’re unsure, you can test the Plus membership feature on a trial basis for one month costing £1.20.

You are given a full email account too, basically your email address is ubootusername@uboot.com. Messages and mails are stored in your inbox for you to view at your leisure. You can also send emails at any time to any address. You’re allocated inbox, outbox, trash and drafts folders as standard, but you can also create as many additional folders as you wish.

If you’re a fan of ringtones and logos, you can purchase from a wide selection on the Uboot website. But be aware, you can only use them with certain Nokia phones so check the site for full details as to whether your own handset is compatible. Ringtones and logos both cost 93 pence each to order. There are hundreds to choose from and a useful search bar is provided for you to seek out your favourites.

Overall, this is one of the best and most fully featured free SMS sites on offer, the texts generally reach their destinations very quickly and the site is simplicity itself to navigate and aesthetically pleasing. It leaves other free SMS sites for dead, go check it out!