6/3/2009 -- Yes, you can use Outlook 2007 or any other e-mail client to send a Short Message Service (SMS) text message to a cell phone. If you're near a computer, using an e-mail client to send out SMS text messages is much easier than using your cell phone.

However, keep in mind that you're still limited to a total of 160 characters in the message subject, plus the body, and that even if you compose your SMS text message in HTML format, the carrier will deliver the message in plain ASCII text.

To send an SMS text message, simply compose the message in Outlook and then address it to the sender in the following format:

phone_number@carrier_domain

For example, if Bill Gates' phone number is 425-555-1234 and he uses Sprint PCS, you'd send a message to:

[email protected] 

Here are some of the common carriers.

• Cingular: [email protected]
• Nextel: [email protected]
• Sprint: [email protected]
• T-Mobile: [email protected]
• Verizon: [email protected]
• Virgin Mobile: [email protected]
• VoiceStream: [email protected]

If for some reason you don't want to use your Exchange account to send out SMS text messages in Outlook, you can add your POP3 account at Gmail, Yahoo, etc. and then use that account to send out text messages.

Microsoft offers a Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-In -- or MOSA -- for Outlook 2003/2007 that's supported on Windows 2003/XP/Vista. (Of course, Microsoft wouldn't create a piece of software without acronym; that would be uncool.) You can download MOSA here.