Here is one iPhone / iPod Touch app that is a must have during a recession. Pinger’s Textfree enables you to send and receive text messages to U.S. phones for absolutely free. There are two available versions – a Textfree Lite version which is free to install but it comes with a daily limit on the number of messages you can send and it is supported by ads. Alternatively there is the Textfree Unlimited which has no ads and no limits but costs $5.99. However, there is somewhat of a catch – your friend sending the text messages also has to be using Textfree or else they will be charged for sending and receiving a text message. Textfree also supports emoticons, which is something that the iPhone’s native SMS app sorely lacks. And it also happens to have a great interface that is very similar to the iPhone’s SMS inbox, so you wont feel like you’re missing anything. The app is of-course running off of your data plan or wifi. And impressively enough, even if the Textfree app isn’t currently open you’ll be able to be notified of new messages via email.