LONDON, August 31, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The open-source SMS communications platform FrontlineSMS has delivered two major features as part of a new software release today. With this upgrade, FrontlineSMS allows organisations to receive multimedia messages via a standard email account. More complex than SMS messages, MMS can include text, images, video and audio. This is a huge step forward for FrontlineSMS: it opens the door for social and environmental organisations to incorporate photo, audio and video documentation in their work, and it paves the way for innovations like the FrontlineSMS:Medic partnership with Cellophone that will provide medical diagnostics via MMS.
With MMS, FrontlineSMS extends its efforts to empower large groups of people to gather and share information of any kind, anywhere there is a mobile signal.
Also included in the release today is the eagerly anticipated Reminders plugin which enables organisations to schedule email and SMS reminders for a specific date range and interval such as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or by specific day(s) of the week.
Already, Babakan Sari Community Health Center in Indonesia has expressed enthusiasm for using the new feature for outreach to Tuberculosis patients. Other possible applications include prompting patients to take anti-retroviral medication, reminding parolees to meet with probation officers, and helping special needs populations to live independently.
FrontlineSMS is a product of its users. Starting with the first widely recognized public deployment during the Nigerian elections in 2007, users have defined FrontlineSMS by applying the software in creative ways and driving the development of new features. The Reminders plugin illustrates this approach: in response to demand from users around the world, the plugin was created by Dale Zak, a mobile developer and member of the FrontlineSMS community who also works as Mobile Project Manager for Ushahidi.
Interview opportunities:
FrontlineSMS Founder Ken Banks, FrontlineSMS Project Manager Laura Hudson and Reminders Developer Dale Zak. (contact via Laura Hudson below)
About FrontlineSMS
FrontlineSMS is an open-source SMS communications platform that operates on a computer connected to a mobile phone or modem. The software enables users to broadcast targeted text messages to subscribers and receive information from anyone with access to a mobile phone. The aim of FrontlineSMS is to empower large groups of people to gather and share information of any kind, anywhere there is a mobile signal. For more information visit the website at http://www.frontlinesms.com
FrontlineSMS is grateful for the ongoing support of the Hewlett Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, both of whom provided funding to make this new release possible.
Contact: Laura Hudson, press@frontlinesms.com
SOURCE: FrontlineSMS
CONTACT: Contact: Laura Hudson, press@frontlinesms.com, +44(0)7771-592-970
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