Inspiration We were inspired by old-school Nokia phones with T9 keypads and basic SMS functionality. The goal was to recreate that nostalgic typing experience, but with modern tools — bringing retro tech into a web-based, open-source environment.
What We Learned
How to simulate T9 predictive input logic using JavaScript Integrating Twilio API for SMS functionality Handling async communication between frontend and backend Setting up a basic Express server and using .env config Debugging CORS, server errors, and Twilio trial restrictions
How We Built It
Frontend: HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript (T9 typing logic) Backend: Node.js + Express.js to handle POST requests API Integration: Twilio for sending SMS Version Control: Git + GitHub (fully open-source) The frontend collects user input via simulated T9 keys and sends it to the backend, which then uses Twilio’s API to dispatch SMS messages to verified numbers.
Challenges We Faced Simulating proper T9 behavior with cycling letters and timing logic Dealing with Twilio trial limitations (e.g., only sending to verified numbers) Handling CORS issues between frontend and backend Logging and exposing backend errors for debugging Ensuring the last typed character was included in the final SMS message
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