Amazon now lets people track packages via text message

This one slipped under the radar, but Amazon.com is now letting some customers track their packages via text message. The ecommerce giant will send an SMS text to a person's mobile phone when their package is sent and also when it's delivered. Amazon says the feature is in beta testing and only available to a "small set" of customers right now.

Amazon spokesman Craig Berman said the company started offering text message tracking recently but didn't say exactly when. Here's more from Amazon's FAQ sheet. Amazon doesn't charge for the text alerts, though the customer's mobile company charges whatever text-messaging rates apply.

This fits into the broader push Amazon is making in mobile ecommerce. The company last year gave people a way to buy things via mobile text message (TextBuyIt) and get daily deal alerts via text. And it's launched online shopping applications for Apple's iPhone, BlackBerry, and Google Android phones.

Now that Amazon is doing more with Twitter these days, maybe the company will start tweeting delivery updates as well.

Follow my updates on Twitter.

About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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