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Submitting Data To A Server From Cell Phones

1 points by Attocs ↗ HN
Hi, I would like to hear suggestions about the best way to get info from an SMS onto a server so that the data from many SMS can be collaborated and analyzed. IE people submitting SMS would send info (perhaps comma separated values?) to a particular number which would transfer it to a server so the data could be collaborated and analyzed.

This is for a potential non-profit health data collaboration project amongst very poor and needy children and their communities.

The info will help to establish trends and issues so they can be addressed as soon as possible and effectively as possible.

I know very little about programming so if you are willing to submit your ideas/comments please keep it as noob-sensitive as possible ;).

Thanks in advance

6 comments

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Attocs
NB we are looking for open source/low cost solutions. Be as creative as necessary.
catlike
in first world countries Cloudvox/Twilio/Tropo can all receive inbound SMS and post the contents to your endpoint. Outside of the first world the costs increase significantly, and I believe both Orange and Clickatel become options to consider.

Cheapest option? You get an unlimited SMS plan on a cellphone that you can download SMS onto a computer from, keep the phone cabled to the computer and process the inbound SMS that what.

That's what we did (basically) before we had HTTP/SIP/SMPP SMS gateways in the cloud.

Attocs
Thanks for the response, any suggestions on the best way to get the sms from the phone to the computer automatically? There could be hundreds coming through each day.

HTTP/SIP/SMPP SMS gateways in the cloud.....is that a do-able option for me?

Thanks

johns
It is. Feel free to email me jsheehan@twilio.com and I can help
david_shaw
Most (if not all) cell providers that allow SMS to other phones will also allow SMS to e-mail addresses. Back in the day I wrote a news/movies app (before Google released their GOOG SMS service) that received an email with a query, parsed through the mail spool and sent off a reply. Worked pretty well.
Attocs
The people sending the sms messages are very poor and will have the simplest phones on the market, I have one of these such phones and it doesn't seem to be able to send sms to email.