Sending SMS in Bangla (BanglaSMS) is quite an old issue in the IT sector of Bangladesh. We have seen some success stories already. Like the Citycell’s BanglaSMS, Aktel’s MayerVasha & GrammenPhone’s Amar Vasha. But I just wonder how many of BD people really are using these services. I have not seen many of them, indeed I have seen a very very few (only 2)! Why people are not using those? What are the pros & cons? Let’s have a look:

অ Citycell’s BanglaSMS:
A picture based SMS service.
No application installation is required for sending or receiving SMS.
You can send only 26 characters approximately per SMS.
Very complex input procedure.
Only Compatible with Nokia CDMA sets.
Developed by 3SM Systems.
More Information can be found on www.banglasms.com
I never did get the chance to use it.

অ Aktel’s Mayer Vasha:
A mobile application.
Profile: J2ME MIDP 2.0 Size: 45 KB approx.
Quite complex and time consuming input procedure.
Only Aktel users have the privilege to send SMS using this application, though users of any other operator can install & receive SMS
The GUI looks bad and unimpressive.
Only got the chance to test it in Nokia 6600 (series 60). The software hangs quite often, particularly when I tried to change the Theme. I did not check the latest update, expectantly they have updated that software.
Developed by: Sentinel Solutions Ltd.
More information can be found on http://www.aktel.com/vas_Bangla_SMS.php
I did not find any screenshot on the web.
I will not like to test it more; this software did not pass the basic SQA requirements for the black box testing!

অ GrameenPhone’s Amar Vasha:
A mobile application.
Profile: MIDP 2.0 Size: 20 KB approx.
New, impressive, but unconventional input procedure. Only two keystrokes per letter are needed. I tried it for an hour but could not get used to the input method, it’s quite difficult to remember the key-map.
Covers all the conjuncts (I am not too sure).
The GUI looks good & simple. Only got the chance to test it in the emulators. The font seems very small in handsets with high-resolution screens, looks quite okay in Siemens sets. The response is quite fast.
Developed by: InfoRev Ltd. / 3SM Systems.
More information can be found on http://www.grameenphone.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=526
I will like to apply a hard test on this software if I get chance.

The main reason of the unpopularity of these products is their user unfriendliness. Additionally, these products lack of some other non-functional requirements like impressive GUIs, some extra features like Inbox/Outbox in Bangla, readability of the fonts etc.