Google, creators of the ever popular Gmail has added yet another new feature allowing users to send free SMS messages through their chat client. To enable this feature you will need to first visit the Gmail Labs Page. Once your are in the Gmail Labs, scroll down until you see the listing for “Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat”. Click the “Enable” radio button then scroll to the bottom and press the “Save Changes” button.

To send a message, you can simply type the phone number or name of your contact in the search box at the top of the chat window on the left side of the Gmail interface, and click “Send SMS”.

One of the best parts of the Gmail SMS addition is you can carry on a conversation with that person. The receiving cell phone will receive a message that looks like the one below:

Gmail – youremail@gmail.com: Your message here.

That message will be followed by one stating:

youremail@gmail.com sent you an SMS from Gmail. You can send a reply to this msg, or send STOP to opt out, HELP for more info.

While Google is not the first to implement SMS into their chat client, it is a great addition to an already great client.