From Lifehacker

Texty Sends Text Messages from Google Chrome Using Your Phone Number (and We’ve Got Beta Invites)

 Whitson Gordon — Android/Chrome: No one likes texting on small, autocorrect-prone phone keyboards. Texty connects your phone to Google Chrome, letting you send and receive SMS messages right from the extension bar.

Generally, if you want to send text messages from your computer, the best way to do so is by signing up for Google Voice. But if you don't want to change your number or you live outside the US, you don't have that option. Texty saves you from your tiny phone keyboard by sending SMS messages from Chrome. What's awesome is that it does it through your actual handset, so the texts come right from your actual number and you can access them on your phone later.

To set up Texty, first download the app on your phone and sign in to it with your Google account. When it says it's connected, you can then download the Chrome extension, which will immediately link up with your phone and let you send text messages directly from your browser. You can also link Texty to your Google Contacts database, which lets you type in your contacts' names instead of their phone numbers. When you get a reply, Texty will give you a notification, so you never miss a message.

Texty is in private beta right now, but we've got 2,000 codes to give out to Lifehacker readers that want to give it a try. To sign up, hit the link below and type in the code lifehacker-texty when you sign up. Note that you won't get into the beta immediately; but it shouldn't take very long at all to get the email that your account is up and running.

INVITE CODE: LIFEHACKER-TEXTY
Please enter this code on the site and do not email it to us as emailing it will do nothing.

As it's still in beta, there are a few quirks, but the Texty team was quick to respond to any and all issues I had, so shoot them a support request if you have any issues.

Texty is a free download for Android devices running 2.2 and up, as well as Google Chrome on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Texty Beta Sign-Up

Texty for Android | Android Market

Texty Chrome Extension | Chrome Web Store

---

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.