Hey everyone,
I\'ve been taking an awful liking to my cell phone recently. I\'m on the road a lot more often; vacations, family gatherings, and now I\'m traveling between buildings for my job, so I\'m not always near a computer or my laptop. I do, however, always have my cell phone!
I actually got this phone a few months ago, but have only been using some of the deep features just recently. I used to have a junky i530 from Nextel when they first merged with Sprint. I shouldn\'t say it was junky; quite the contrary I beat the hell out of that thing and you couldn\'t see a scratch on it. However, lack of a color screen, wav ringtones, and an outside call display caused me to look elsewhere.
Looking at Sprint\'s site, I ended up going with one of their new hybrid phones; the phones that use Nextel\'s iDEN towers to two-way, and Sprint\'s CDMA towers for calls and data transmission. Along with the phone and my free incoming plan for $40 a month, I also tacked on a web source package for $10 extra a month: In total, I get 300 anytime minutes, free incoming calls anytime, free nights and weekends, unlimited walkie talkie, unlimited web access, unlimited instant messaging and email checking, and 1000 text messages for only $50 a month. Altogether I don\'t think I\'ve ever used less than 3000 minutes a month and I still only pay $50 thanks to the free incoming. Anyways, enough with the Sprint plugs.
While this bases my assumptions around the Sprint phones and network, most of the information will pertain to anyone on just about any network with web access. First of all, your phone should be able to use Java programs; for most of you, if your phone came out in 2001 or after, and they have color and allow web access, then you should be able to run Java apps on it.
One thing that I found just today, is a downloadable java based version of Opera (That Opera, they\'ll put their browser on anything. Wiis, cell phones, dirty whores!). While the browser that comes with your (my) phone is sufficient for simple tasks like reading news and checking weather, a lot of sites, including my work email site and XBA did not work correctly on it; they were too big, didn\'t load correctly, and were really hard to navigate. Opera\'s mobile browser, called Opera Mini, changes all that.
Opera Mini downloads right into your phone\'s Applications folder. Unlike other cell phone browsers, all sites you visit while going through Opera Mini are filtered through a proxy server which actually shrinks the page to fit on your tiny cell phone display. This is awesome, so now sites like my Work Email and XBA work great (if a little scrolling involved). It provides hot keys for frequently visited websites, and has a host of support. If you browse the web on your cell phone, you owe it to your self to check it out. If you don\'t like it, you can always delete it. Check out the three ways you can download it here: Opera Mini
Next up, everybody\'s favorite company that also does just about everything: Google! If you use GMail, access on your phone is seamless. Google actually has an application you can download to your phone which will allow you to access GMail without the need of even having to open your phone\'s browser. They also have a made for mobile log in if you don\'t want to download the java app.
Barring GMail, Google also has a host of other Apps that can be accessed straight from your phone\'s browser, including GOOG-411, a free 411 service using SMS Txt messages, Google news, access to Google RSS Reader, access to Google Docs, and my favorite, Google Maps.
Google Maps is simply awesome: Available through your web browser, or as a separate java application, Google Maps will only be really useful to you if your phone has GPS built-in. Nowadays, just about all cell phones do: I know that all Nextel iDEN phones do, as well as Sprint\'s CDMA/iDEN hybrids, and most of Sprint\'s new phones. I use the downloaded App and love it: It\'s like having a GPS, except instead of having an extra cumbersome thing glued to your car dashboard, it\'s right within your phone, which (if your me) is always tucked neatly in your pocket.
GMaps gives turn by turn directions, allows you to add favorite places for future reference, and holds a history of recent places you\'ve been to. Using the power of Google Maps and GPS tracking satellites, it provides a useful GPS tracking at no extra cost. I know Sprint wanted me to pay an extre $5 a month to download their crappy GPS application, even though my phone already had GPS built-in. You see, you\'re not paying to use the GPS feature of your phone, you are paying to use their application, where as GMaps is completely free. I think I\'m gonna go Google myself after this
Aside from both of those, there are also a number of mobile sites specifically for particular services: eBuddy is one really nice one that is a centralized log-in for just about all Instant Messaging services, straight from one site. Best of all the IM services are web-based, so there\'s no need to download additional applications. Just sign in and chat! I use MSN (Windows) Messenger all the time now to talk to people on my friend\'s list straight from my phone. Ah, constant communication (Please note, I do not give my girlfriend my screenname, I communicate with her more than enough already).
Flickr also offers a mobile site which allows you to browse pics, look at your own pics, and upload pics straight from your phone. Unfortunately, the one thing my phone is missing is a built-in camera (The camera phone they have now was unavailable when I bought this phone), but maybe when my contract is up they\'ll have newer and cheaper hybrids with cameras.
For those of you with Sprint CDMA phones, there is also an over the air ringtone loader for your phone which I use constantly. PM me for the link if you need it. It\'s great; you just type in your phone number, browse to the ringtone file on your computer, and click send. Seconds later you get a text message giving you a direct download link to your ringtone. All free of charge!!
Let me know what you think, and post any other cell phone tips you have. I\'m always on the look out for cool new things I can make my phone do for me.
I\'ve been taking an awful liking to my cell phone recently. I\'m on the road a lot more often; vacations, family gatherings, and now I\'m traveling between buildings for my job, so I\'m not always near a computer or my laptop. I do, however, always have my cell phone!
I actually got this phone a few months ago, but have only been using some of the deep features just recently. I used to have a junky i530 from Nextel when they first merged with Sprint. I shouldn\'t say it was junky; quite the contrary I beat the hell out of that thing and you couldn\'t see a scratch on it. However, lack of a color screen, wav ringtones, and an outside call display caused me to look elsewhere.
Looking at Sprint\'s site, I ended up going with one of their new hybrid phones; the phones that use Nextel\'s iDEN towers to two-way, and Sprint\'s CDMA towers for calls and data transmission. Along with the phone and my free incoming plan for $40 a month, I also tacked on a web source package for $10 extra a month: In total, I get 300 anytime minutes, free incoming calls anytime, free nights and weekends, unlimited walkie talkie, unlimited web access, unlimited instant messaging and email checking, and 1000 text messages for only $50 a month. Altogether I don\'t think I\'ve ever used less than 3000 minutes a month and I still only pay $50 thanks to the free incoming. Anyways, enough with the Sprint plugs.
While this bases my assumptions around the Sprint phones and network, most of the information will pertain to anyone on just about any network with web access. First of all, your phone should be able to use Java programs; for most of you, if your phone came out in 2001 or after, and they have color and allow web access, then you should be able to run Java apps on it.
One thing that I found just today, is a downloadable java based version of Opera (That Opera, they\'ll put their browser on anything. Wiis, cell phones, dirty whores!). While the browser that comes with your (my) phone is sufficient for simple tasks like reading news and checking weather, a lot of sites, including my work email site and XBA did not work correctly on it; they were too big, didn\'t load correctly, and were really hard to navigate. Opera\'s mobile browser, called Opera Mini, changes all that.
Opera Mini downloads right into your phone\'s Applications folder. Unlike other cell phone browsers, all sites you visit while going through Opera Mini are filtered through a proxy server which actually shrinks the page to fit on your tiny cell phone display. This is awesome, so now sites like my Work Email and XBA work great (if a little scrolling involved). It provides hot keys for frequently visited websites, and has a host of support. If you browse the web on your cell phone, you owe it to your self to check it out. If you don\'t like it, you can always delete it. Check out the three ways you can download it here: Opera Mini
Next up, everybody\'s favorite company that also does just about everything: Google! If you use GMail, access on your phone is seamless. Google actually has an application you can download to your phone which will allow you to access GMail without the need of even having to open your phone\'s browser. They also have a made for mobile log in if you don\'t want to download the java app.
Barring GMail, Google also has a host of other Apps that can be accessed straight from your phone\'s browser, including GOOG-411, a free 411 service using SMS Txt messages, Google news, access to Google RSS Reader, access to Google Docs, and my favorite, Google Maps.
Google Maps is simply awesome: Available through your web browser, or as a separate java application, Google Maps will only be really useful to you if your phone has GPS built-in. Nowadays, just about all cell phones do: I know that all Nextel iDEN phones do, as well as Sprint\'s CDMA/iDEN hybrids, and most of Sprint\'s new phones. I use the downloaded App and love it: It\'s like having a GPS, except instead of having an extra cumbersome thing glued to your car dashboard, it\'s right within your phone, which (if your me) is always tucked neatly in your pocket.
GMaps gives turn by turn directions, allows you to add favorite places for future reference, and holds a history of recent places you\'ve been to. Using the power of Google Maps and GPS tracking satellites, it provides a useful GPS tracking at no extra cost. I know Sprint wanted me to pay an extre $5 a month to download their crappy GPS application, even though my phone already had GPS built-in. You see, you\'re not paying to use the GPS feature of your phone, you are paying to use their application, where as GMaps is completely free. I think I\'m gonna go Google myself after this
Aside from both of those, there are also a number of mobile sites specifically for particular services: eBuddy is one really nice one that is a centralized log-in for just about all Instant Messaging services, straight from one site. Best of all the IM services are web-based, so there\'s no need to download additional applications. Just sign in and chat! I use MSN (Windows) Messenger all the time now to talk to people on my friend\'s list straight from my phone. Ah, constant communication (Please note, I do not give my girlfriend my screenname, I communicate with her more than enough already).
Flickr also offers a mobile site which allows you to browse pics, look at your own pics, and upload pics straight from your phone. Unfortunately, the one thing my phone is missing is a built-in camera (The camera phone they have now was unavailable when I bought this phone), but maybe when my contract is up they\'ll have newer and cheaper hybrids with cameras.
For those of you with Sprint CDMA phones, there is also an over the air ringtone loader for your phone which I use constantly. PM me for the link if you need it. It\'s great; you just type in your phone number, browse to the ringtone file on your computer, and click send. Seconds later you get a text message giving you a direct download link to your ringtone. All free of charge!!
Let me know what you think, and post any other cell phone tips you have. I\'m always on the look out for cool new things I can make my phone do for me.
