A new application has been brought to my attention for the iPhone and i think it is quite brilliant, not because of its many features, but because its sole feature and sole purpose of free iPhone to iPhone communication.

The application is called "Ping" and it allows free "text messaging" between iPhones using the push notification feature in iPhone 3.0, so if you sent massive amounts of text messages and want to save some of your allowance for non-iPhone users then this application is perfect.

Currently the application is free from iTunes App Store and requires version 3.0 to run effectively, after all whats the point if the messages do not push to your phone.

The application is simple, you install it and create a alias that people will use to contact you, this is like your phone number, people can then send messages to this alias and you will receive them more or less instantly, like text messages.

Features

• Free Text Messages
• Link Aliases To Address Book Contacts
• Messages Are Received Like Text Messages

Bugs

Like all applications there are a few bugs, these are not massive but i would like to see them fixed in future versions to make everything smoother.

• Currently the Timestamps are all off, it appears as though it displays the american time and date which isn't perfect for people in the UK.
• Random Crashes occur
• Messages are sometimes dropped (rare)
• No Way To Block Messages
• Icon Badge only displays new messages from individual contacts, so if a friend sends 2 messages the badge only shows 1.
• Turning Landscape loses back button

Future Features

I would like to see a number of small features implemented into this application to make it better and more like the iPhone SMS interface.

• MMS - I would like to be able to send data like Pictures and Contacts from the application.
• A way to block people, so i don't have to receive messages from people i don't like

Price & Download

Currently the application is listed as Free but this is for a limited time only so make sure you hurry and get it before the price goes up.

• Price: Free
• Download Ping

Update On Price

Shortly after writing this post the Ping! app is now 59p instead of Free like i originally said, 59p is well worth the price if you have an iPhone and know lots of people with a iPhone, better still this app is a must have for iPhone users on PAYG.

Keywords: ping, iphone, sms, free sms, iphone to iphone, apple iphone, text messaging, free text messaging, free texts