When Apple announced iMessage, a free text messaging solution that's a key element of iOS 5, we knew it marked the beginning of the end for conventional pricey text messaging plans.
Now, we have some numbers to back it up, pointed out via a tweet from Shawn Blanc.
After graphics designer Neven Mrgan started using Apple's iMessage to send messages to friends, his text message count dropped to almost zero. Mrgan just posted a chart to prove it, copied below.
While Mrgan admits that most of his close friends are "iPhone nerds" who use iMessage by default, we've noticed big drop offs in the amount we've been "texting" as well.
Mrgan intends to drop his $9.99 texting plan which allots him 1000 text messages per month, and instead pay $0.20 per text he sends.
Even if all of your friends have Android devices, there will soon be a time when every smartphone uses the same universal data-based text messaging service.
Great cross platform solutions like WhatsApp exist, but have yet to achieve mass critical enough to kill pricey text messaging plans once and for all. Still, the text message is on the decline, the New York Times reported two days ago.
Until then, check with your carrier and see how far you've dropped below your text messaging plan's threshold. Maybe you can downgrade to a cheaper plan, or cancel the thing all together if you only text iPhone-touting family members.
Check out Mrgan's text message usage chart below:
