couldn't you use MMS?
I think MMS has a higher limit.

I looked at the \/erizon site and here is what I found...

"How many text characters can be entered into a picture/video message? The maximum number of characters that can be entered into a picture/video message is 400 (a space counts as one character). "

The phone isn't limited- their may be a registry hack or a 3rd party app that can do it.

Basically the networks are limited. to elaborate on what bakntyme said- text messages aren't sent over the data network- that's why you dont need a data plan to send them.

So if they aren't voice and dont go over the data network how does it work? It's a trick- basically they use some extra data space on a signaling channel in the voice network to sneak the messages through. The 160 character limit is because that's all the space that exists in that signalling channel.

I've had phones that send and receive more than 160 charaters of SMS (palm OS treos specifically) not sure how they do it- but i know they aren't following the standard so it's not certain it would work on from any phone on any netwrok to any other phone on any other network. And that's why the carriers and the phone makers place the 160 carrier limit in there.


Anyway- if it's just to send to your girlfirend- why not just send each other MMS messages? They get sent as data so they have no limit that I know of. You dont need to include any multimedia you can just send them as text. In fact some phones have a setting to default to MMS.

I believe Vcast to Vcast phones use a proprietary messaging service. I heard it from a verizon rep.

But we all know how reliable in store reps. are...

now that you mention it- I think that's right.

One of the treo firware revisions allowed more than 160 others did not. My sister in law has a razr and she would send big messaged all the time. On some phones I'd get the whole message on others it would just truncate at 160. I'm thinking it must have been that some treo roms where 'vcast' compatible and others weren't. MAkes some sense now that you tossed that out.

You can still type a novel... it you look in the corner of the messaging screen you will see a 1/1 or 1/2 etc. Thats the number of 160 character-limited messages you have created. When you are done with your "novel", it will send it but the person will simple recieve 1 or 2 or 3 text messages containing the full message.

As it has been mentioned you have your messages stiched together using a non-standard sms service but the end result is still the same. I sometimes pump out small books worth of text and everyone within my circle still receives them fine.

Of course you can email too and that is basically un-restricted but then not everyone receives email on their phone. But many of my friends have PPC's and so we just email large text, attachements, etc...

actually it's better this way- it's the most compatible.

If you send from one of the phones with the non-standard setting to a phone that only gets the standard 160 length the receiving phone just truncates at 160 and the end of the message gets lopped off