Forget oysters, figs and chocolates this Valentine`s Day. Statistics released by Vodacom suggest that the food of love is more likely to be boerewors, pap and babotie.
"Vodacom is anticipating that South Africa`s 8.5 million cellular users will send almost 10 million SMS text messages from their cellphones this Valentine`s Day. By comparison, the United Kingdom`s 40 million cellular users are expected to send 30 million SMS text messages on Valentine`s Day," said Joan Joffe, Group Executive - Corporate Affairs of Vodacom.
This clearly indicates that South Africans are getting on top of things when it comes to expressing affection.
Conscious that the average South African male`s reputation for difficulty in expressing his feelings beyond an inaudible grunt might derail otherwise fruitful romances, Vodacom would also like to remind cellular users of its Voicecard value-added service.
Vodacom will gladly say it for you simply by dialling 082 230 1000 from any mobile or fixed telephone and thereafter following the voice prompts. Voice-based Valentine`s Day cards can be sent to any of Vodacom`s almost five million contract and prepaid cellular users.
What`s more, a special reference number allows uncertain declarations of love to be deleted before they`ve been received - just in case. However, minds have to be made up quickly as Voicecard promises delivery within half an hour and delivery is usually within minutes.
A service that should also prove popular this Valentine`s Day is `Call Me,` a valued-added service launched this past Sunday. `Call Me` allows Vodago prepaid users to stay in touch even after their airtime has expired.
"Call Me" allows Vodago prepaid users, as well as contract users, to send a free text message to other Vodacom customers requesting that the latter call them back.
"The service is proving especially popular with more than 140 000 `Call Me` messages being sent by Vodacom users on the first day alone. However, on Valentine`s Day, it may be better for cellular users to opt for Voicecard or SMS declarations of love, unless one thinks that cheap is romantic..." concluded Ms Joffe.
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SMS (Short Message Service)
At just 68c per SMS send (65c for Vodago prepaid users), all Vodacom users are able to send text messages of up to 160 characters to any other GSM cellphone user in South Africa. For the same charge they can also send an SMS from South Africa to any GSM cellphone in the world.
Typically, to send an SMS users would do the following: select "messages", choose the "write" option and write the message using the keypad of the cellphone. On completion, choose the "send" option. The user will then be asked to enter the cellphone number of the recipient.
Users should note, however, that different cellphones have different ways of sending SMS messages and users should check their cellphone manuals.
`Call Me`
The product works as follows: A Vodacom customer would send what is known as a USSD message to another Vodacom customer requesting that the other person call them back. The command to send the message is *140*082123 4567# (Where 082 123 4567 is the cellphone number of the recipient). The command is `dialled` in the same way as dialling a standard telephone number. The recipient will receive the `Call Me` request as a standard SMS text message, with the sender`s cellphone number included.
`Call Me` messages can only be sent to other Vodacom customers.