Cingular Wireless is allowing its cell phone subscribers to exchange text messages with Yahoo instant messaging buddies, helping the Web giant extend its reach beyond the PC.

The feature does not cost extra for Cingular subscribers, and it is free to Yahoo Messenger users, the company said Thursday. The No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier charges 10 cents a message, or $2.99 and $9.99 for 100 and 500 messages, respectively.

Read more: CNet News.

Excuse my language but who the hell would pay for something like that, especially for Yahoo Messenger!? I know a few people that have paid for the AIM cellphone message. These people must be insane, or have a large cash flow to just waste.

Acidosmosis, I believe you have misread:

It is a valid point though; why not just use WAP to send messages via Yahoo! Messenger?

Because it costs more to use wap than sms?

When you use WAP you'll either have to dial up to a server using the GSM net, and pay for the cost of the "call", or you can use DMTS/GPRS, in which case you pay for data transmitted...

It could be looked at that way I suppose, but it was not the way I intended it to. I hadn't really thought about what I had said, I get free WAP which is why I brought up that example.

I was allmost about to say I envy you for that, until I remebered that the only thing I've used the wap for was to download new ringtones and a couple of pictures....

So I don't really mind that I have to pay for it....