Verizon Wireless announced that seven years after the launch of basic text messaging, Verizon Wireless customers sent and received over 10 billion billed text messages in a single month—June 2007.  Only eight months later, the number of text messages on the Verizon Wireless network in a single month doubled to nearly 20 billion. In February 2008, Verizon Wireless customers sent and received nearly 20 billion billed text messages.

 

“The volume of text messages being sent and received by Verizon Wireless customers is growing exponentially,” Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said in a statement.  “Whether it’s sports scores, news updates, the latest weather forecast, or the ‘joke of the day’, text messages are a tremendous way for anyone to stay on top of what’s happening in the world. Not to mention all of the parents—and grandparents—keeping up with their kids, or kids texting each other throughout the day, text messaging is becoming an increasingly important way to communicate for people of all ages.”

Along with 20 billion text messages, Verizon Wireless in a partnership with wireless navigation and hyper-local search company Networks In Motion (NIM), also announced the newest version of VZ Navigator will be available in April on select handsets.

With the new VZ Navigator, version 4, customers in 75 cities from coast to coast will be able to access traffic incidents, traffic updates and find detours around traffic congestion and accidents; more cities are expected to be added in the coming year.  In addition, VZ Navigator will offer 3D perspective view, a movie and events finder, weather reports and forecasts and gas prices at nearby gas stations. 

 

The latest version of VZ Navigator will be available sometime this month for $9.99 for unlimited monthly access or $2.99 for one-day use on select Get It Now-enabled phones.