It may not be as shiny as Apple’s new iPad but SMS has been a beacon of hope for Haitian relief efforts. According to the Mobile Marketing Association’s research partner Luth Research, text messaging is the second most common way that U.S. mobile users donate to charities, after the Web.

“The Haiti earthquake was a watershed moment in SMS donations, which were almost double the number of people who had ever previously used text messaging for charitable contributions,” the just released survey concluded. It also reported that African-Americans and Hispanics were the largest demographic groups using SMS to donate and men used this method twice as often as women.

I have my own theory about why men are more comfortable with texting, and it has everything to do with impatience. Conversations take time, but texting is fast, efficient, and – with a little help from companies like Shorthand Mobile – can actually begin to mimic many of the functions of a “smart phone.”

 “If you can text, then you can Facebook,” proclaims the Shorthand Website, which sports a fleet-footed rabbit logo. The company has bundled a number of popular Web applications into a single mobile app that allows users without a data plan to engage with popular sites just by texting. And, it’s free.

“Using our app platform, content partners or brands can take themselves mobile quickly to even small phones,” says CEO John McDonough. McDonough was one of the key chip developers that led to the commercialization of Qualcomm’s CDMA technology in the early 90’s. He allows that SMS brand apps still rely on a different kind of brand messaging to proliferate; even the Shorthand multi-service Web app is triggered by a Web sign up, and brands have to let customers know what to text to engage in time- or money-saving services.

But in San Diego, Qualcomm’s own hometown, Subway needed little convincing to experiment with SMS sandwich ordering. In 150 stores, patrons can text SUB and the store number (highlighted on a tabletop card in participating stores) to 767767 and will receive a link to download a Shorthand application. In addition to helping the user pre-order a sub, the app gives the user SMS access to Twitter, Facebook, Google and Mapquest from inexpensive Motorola and Nokia phones.

The apps are rolling out now in India and will soon hit Brazil, McDonough says. And – besides the obvious good will that comes from sharing something truly useful with their customers – sponsors can glean insights from their user’s behavior that they couldn’t with a mobile Web platform.

“Our client server platform lets brands monitor users’ behavior; they know their phone number already,” because the user submits it to download the app, McDonough explains. But the service also captures the user’s social behavior and can direct offers and additional applications accordingly. The company makes money by sharing revenue from phone transactions its platform generates. Simple text apps, fed by RSS feeds, can be as useful as those on the iPhone, and may be either sold or ad supported, McDonough explained. The application was just launched at CTIA, so there’s not enough data yet to support any wild claims of success – just a suspicion that men, at least, will try anything to skip waiting in line, even when it comes to lending a hand.