Mobile text, chat or e-mail?

What is the best way of communication? Is it still face to face? For many of us today, communication is probably often conducted over e-mail using either a desktop or notebook computer. When we're out and about, we'll switch to our mobile to make a phone call or send a short message service (SMS).

Leaving voice out of the equation, SMS is the clear undisputed leader as the top mobile messaging application.

According to Portio Research, "SMS continues to be a phenomenal success as the cheapest, quickest and easiest to use form of peer-to-peer mobile communication".

The research analyst company said in a recent report that due to declining prices, global SMS revenues are forecast to reach US$67 billion by 2012, driven by 3.7 trillion messages. The number of SMS messages in the Asia-Pacific region will spike sharply from 967.7 billion in 2006 to a staggering 2.1 trillion messages by 2012.

But if you've been following recent headlines, you would have noted the competition that is brewing from mobile e-mail and mobile instant messaging (IM). The proponents of mobile e-mail are rallying for mobile phone users to communicate via e-mail. One industry observer has gone as far as to say "you can't close business deals using SMS". What do you think of these three mobile applications? Drop me an e-mail to share your views.