I don't know what you mean by "push mode", but I have Sprint and the text messaging kind of sux. You do get alerts that a message arrived, but you have to essentially use their "wireless web" browser to get the messages. A little icon also serves to let you know you have text messages. But you need to read them all for that icon to go away ( I think). I've seen the icon showing and even though I saw all the messages, the icon stayed. I sometimes had to go to the sprintpcs.com website via a PC and do a "delete all" on the messages to get the icon to go away. The phone I have, a pretty cool Sanyo, doesn't have a simple "delete all" option to clear all text messages. And then sending text messages is painfully slow. Every click or movement of the cursor is delayed. It is very noticable. I hate sending text messages thru this phone/service. I used SMS style text messaging in europe in 1998 -- 5 years later and yet the U.S. is still ass-backwards in this rather simple technology. Or maybe, it's just Sprint? That said, the service is great (for voice) and very reliable for me. The phone is awesome too. Just dont rely on text messaging.

By "push mode" I mean that the SMS messages just come to your phone automatically, no need to explicitly retrieve them.

The SMS client on my Treo 180 automatically pops-up incoming messages across the screen of the phone. This is good most of the time, but can be a pain when my network monitoring application decides to report that several servers are down at once.

I've only had Sprint for a few days, and already I can't stand their web-based text messaging. I looked all through the phone's menu for SMS messaging and couldn't find it - I thought maybe I was just stupid. Guess not! :-p

Yes, I have to connect up to their WAP services in order to send and receive messages. I was able to send messages to an AT&T phone, and receive replies, just fine. But am I being charged per-minute for the WAP connectivity, AS WELL AS for each message?

Only certain Sprint phones will be able to do SMS.

If SprintPCS comes up with true SMS I would love it! The text messaging serice with SprintPCS really sucks. I have the Treo 600, there is a couple things you can do. To receive, use yourphonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com to send try downloading Text Messenger v1.0 @ http://www.freewarepalm.com/communication/textmessenger.shtml

the problem with this program is that it is send only and only to other SprintPCS numbers i.e. can't send to Verizon friend. Also, you need to have a PDA phone..can't do this with a regular phone.

So far, AT&T has the best tex-messaging I've used in Europe or here. In fact, I send e-mail to my wife all the time by just typeing in the number plus @att.mobile.net (eg. 1234567890@mobile.att.net) and she gets it on the phone. Text messaging from one at&t phone to another works as well. I don't know if you can send from another service to an At&T phone as well.

Does anyone know when SMS will be available for Sprint? Also, will it be a monthly subscription option, pay-per-use option (ex. $0.10 per message), or will it be included in any plan with PCS Vision? Also, I know the new Sanyo VM4500 (the flip phone with the video camera and the walkie-talkie feature) has SMS as a feature, but can it be used already or do you have to wait for it to be available through Sprint PCS? In other words, could you use SMS on that phone currently or is it a network dependant feature which is currently underway? And if it is, is it compatible with Sprint PCS Shortmail and other carriers SMS or MMS services? One more thing, will it also work for downloading content? For example when you want to download a ringtone, application or screen saver from a third-party site (not Sprint PCS) you would use your telephone number and it would send you a "Shortmail" message which would connect you to vision and take you directly to the download. Will it work that way? Sorry for asking so many questions but I would appreciate any information. I like to know these things. LOL It would truly let me know if it would be a useful and valuable feature that I or anyone would use. Thank you.

Sprint did recently do an upgrade and now offers 2 way SMS messaging - however, if you have a Hitachi G1000 as I do, you will need to wait until they figure out a plan for these phones. SMS messages go to an Outlook folder named SMS - but the options for NEW & REPLY are greyed out, likely because the phone was released prior to the service being available. I'd like to think that there is a reg hack to turn this back on, if anybody knows how - let me know!

Just an FYI.

I recently received a sprint phone myself and I also thought that you could not get messages directly. I had been sending email to my address @sprintpcs.com and got only a notification that I had a message. I then found out that if you send an email to your phone number @messaging.sprintpcs.com it does come right to your phone and works the same as verizon.

Hope this helps

I have had sprint service for just under 3 years now, and from what I knew, with most of their phones, you had to go through the wireless web or vision to get to the shortmail feature. I now have the answer to sprint users that want to use SMS.

It's the Nokia 3588i that is offered through sprint. I have been text messaging for the past few days like crazy. Sprint doesn't currently have a program to charge you for SMS texts, so it takes a minute off for every text you make. Very beneficial when you are texting during Nights and Weekend minutes. Of course, there is always a tradeoff. The Nokia does not have wireless web or vision. I can receive texts from SMS users, or through myphonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Sprint Introduced the new sms text messaging recently...which is why i've apparently not been able to see who sent me messages, however after exhausting every last possibility i decided it was time to give the ol tech support a phone call.....you can get new firmware updates for your sprint phones that will give you sms messaging now...so go down to your store and get it done.

There are 1000's of inconviniences associated with "Short Mail". Perhaps the most annoying (besides having to log on just to retrieve or send messages) is the fact that you CAN'T EVEN ACCESS YOUR PHONE BOOK on the Compose page. How ridiculous! I have 60 names in my Sanyo, I've only had the time and patience to add 3 people to my "Short List". I can't wait until they figure something out and/or my contract expires!!!

I got Sprint a few days ago and their shortmail feature is a pain in the butt, but now they have this plan where for $15 a month you can send/receive 100 messages and have $5 towards downloads per month. i hope this is of some help. (BTW, in my area, sprint has awesome reception and has reasonable rates too, i would highly recommend sprint and already have.)

There's two different types of messages on my Sprint phone (Samsung SPH-N200): ShortMail and PCS Web Messaging.

PCS Web Messaging is only one way - going to the phone.
Sending messages is through the SprintPCS website (via computer web).
Message notification is immediate and do not require logging on to the wireless web.

ShortMail is two way, but it requires wireless web minutes and is needlessly complex. It doesn't notify without logging on wireless web to check.

I use WebMessaging all the time. I have used ShortMail once (to retrieve a message that a non-Sprint caller had sent.)