What connection could the emoticons familiar to all smartphone users have with their mobile phone bill? As the BBC reveals, it could be described as... analog.
According to the BBC and the consumer website Money Saving Expert, there are Britain and other countries, repeated consumer complaints about excessive charges on mobile phone bills and the problem seems to be related to the use of emoticons in text messages (sms). The problem concerns older mobile models, with some Samsung and Apple models having the biggest issue. The excessive charging has to do with how some software “reads” emoticons. Some older handsets automatically convert text containing emoticons into (multi-media service) which has a different charge or is not included in free talk time and message packages.
Experts advise:
Customers should contact their provider to find out what applies to each company and their mobile phone model.
Pay attention if their cell phone notifies them that the SMS has been converted to MMS.
Avoid using emoticons, at least until they are informed about what is valid.
Use, as much as possible, free text messaging services such as Apple's iMessage, WhatsApp or Viber, especially for longer text messages.
Source: newsbeast.gr
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