10 fun, useful (and free!) things to do with your cell phone

 

By Sarah Baicker

Philly EDGE Correspondent

 

•411 For Free

            We’ve all been there: you’re driving around in some unfamiliar town, miles away from the nearest internet connection, when you realize you need someone’s number, and fast. Those not in the know would simply dial 411 and reach an operator…at a cost of $2 a pop. Thank goodness for 800-Free-411, which is exactly what it sounds like: dial 800-Free-411 (800-373-3411) from your cell, and a computerized operator will ask if the number you seek is governmental, commercial or residential, and take it from there. You’ll have to listen to a very brief advertisement, but then you’ll be offered the number, with an option to have it text messaged to your phone. Problem solved.

 

•Kno it all in shrthnd

            What can’t Google do these days? Google Mobile, a text message-based search program offered by the Internet giant has actually been around for awhile now, but for whatever reason, it still remains obscure. It works simply enough: text your quandary in shorthand to GOOGL (46645), and Google will send the answer right back. You can search for everything from weather forecasts (by sending “weather 18940,” for instance); to word definitions (“define pointillist”); to currency conversions (“15 usd in yen”). There’s more than 20 other ways to search – check out the Web site (www.google.com/sms) for all of them.

 

•Make your own ringtones

            Tone This might just be the coolest cell phone accessory in cyberspace. Start by downloading the free program at ToneThis.com, and let the fun begin: once installed onto your computer, the simple application will allow you to “drag and drop” any MP3 in your collection into the program, edit it to perfection, and send it – also for free – to your cell phone via a text message attachment. The MP3 retains its high quality sound even when transferred to your phone, and the editing function allows you to pick which verses of the song you’d be more apt to agree to hear over…and over…and over again. Compared to the $2 or more you’d spend to download a ringtone from an application pre-loaded onto your phone, Tone This is like a cheap dream come true.

 

 

•Stalk your friends

            Dodgeball is another of Google’s largely “underground” free offerings, described by the company as mobile social software. If you already have a Gmail address, you already have Dodgeball, and can access the program directly from your account. If not, simply head over to www.dodgeball.com and sign up.

           Basically, the program works through your recruiting of friends to join along with you. Once you’ve done so, when you’re away from your computer, you can “check in” with Dodgeball by sending a text message to DODGE (36343). The program will send your friends an update of where you are – something along the lines of “Alex is at Cosi (1720 Walnut St), why not stop by and say hi?” And when any of your registered friends, or friends of those friends, are within 10 blocks of you, Dodgeball will send you a text alert, so you can meet up.

 

•Stalk strangers

          If knowing where all your pals are 24/7 isn’t enough, you may find Jambo a little more up to par. Sign up for a free account at Jambo’s Web site (www.jambo.net), enter your cell phone number, create a personal profile and indicate who you’d like to meet (New friends? Old friends? Girlfriends?)

         By uploading contact numbers for your friends, you can have Jambo let you know when those friends – and their friends – are in proximity to you. If you opt to fill out the section on who you’d like to meet, Jambo will alert your phone when anyone who fits your desired profile is nearby. A little creepy, sure, but the technology is pretty sweet.

 

•Get the final score

The next time you anticipate being away from your computer or TV during the big game, head over to SportsAlert.net ahead of time. After registering for a free account, you can request that the site send a score update at the end of any NFL, NBA. NHL, MLB or NCAA basketball and football game to your cell phone.

 

•Make your own wallpaper

            Most cell phones come equipped with their own cameras these days, but honestly, most of them suck. Bypass the awkwardness of posing in front of your own cell camera and create your own cell phone “wallpapers” with Wazapix.com, instead. Simply upload any of your own photos onto the site, and use the editing function to enter text anywhere into the photo (wouldn’t it be fun to stamp “LOSER” on a photo of your boss’ face?!) then opt to have the completed image sent to your phone, and voila! – fantastic, personalized wallpaper.

 

•Call internationally for free

A company called FuturePhone has found a nifty little loophole in the international calling sphere: if you use your cell to dial a number in, say, Iowa, and that number works as an “access number” to connect you to a number in, oh, how about Paris, you’ll only be charged for making that call to Iowa – and chances are, if you make the call at night, or over the weekend, from your cell - it’ll be totally free. The number is 712.858.8883 (and, incidentally, is Iowa-based) and all you have to do is press 1 for directions in English, and then you can parlez Francais at no cost to you or your friend in France.

 

•Never forget

            Have an upcoming dentist appointment? Is grandma’s birthday next Sunday? Do you have a tendency to forget things like birthdays and appointments? Visit ToTheCell.com, an easy-to-use, free Web site that sends customized text message reminders to your cell phone. The site’s layout is as simple as it is helpful, and all you have to do to receive your reminder message is fill out the site’s six entry fields:

your cell number

your service provider

the date, and time, you need the reminder

how many times you’d like to receive it

what you’d like the text message to say.

 

•Get free stuff

            Cell phones tend to have expiration dates – and it’s usually about a week after the warrantee ends. Get back at the manufacturers: instead of trashing that drawer full of boxy Nokias from 5 years ago, send them – and any other outdated phones you’ve accumulated over the years – to the folks at RIPmobile.com.

           The Web site has an extensive list of cell phones and their values, and once they’ve tested your phone to make sure it’s still functional, you tell them how you’d like the spend the value of your phone. If your phone was worth $20, for example, you could tell ‘em you’re in the market for a new DVD player, and a gift certificate to Best Buy will be sent to your door.

 

 

Phone-do

Providers innovate to make cells more useful

 

 

Cell phones with built-in MP3 players are old news. Camera-less phones and phones that still rely on “polyphonic” ringtones, are so two years ago: Zipping off e-mails and surfing the Web on mobile devices has become commonplace.

So, really, we shouldn’t be surprised that cell service providers, and even their smaller, newer competition, are realizing as much, and have begun to take advantage of America’s ever-increasing obsession with phones.

Sprint, perhaps more than any other wireless provider, is aware of the mostly untapped marketing potential of cell phone Web browsing. After all, more and more cell phone users are employing their mobile devices to check last night’s scores or reply to important e-mails – yet there are nowhere near as many banners or advertisements on tiny cell screens as there are on your PC.

The idea behind Sprint’s Mobile Media Network is simple: there are advertisements placed all over frequently-surfed Web sites anyway; they could only become more effective if the right ads are seen by the right people.

It’s not all that exciting to the average cell phone user, but Sprint has recently developed a way for advertisers to share their messages with certain targeted phone users, those most likely to take interest in their products or services.

Using information gathered from user demographics and behavior, Sprint can place personalized ads on users’ phone browsers – if, for instance, you’re a 28-year-old who constantly checks the latest on ESPN.com, Sprint can use that information to make sure appropriate ads appear when you surf the mobile Web. And according to initial reports, targeted cell phone advertisements have had extraordinary results: they’re eight times more effective than typical ads placed on Internet sites. For the moment, Sprint’s program is unique, but don’t expect it to remain so.

Verizon’s VCAST, a service that allows subscribers to view select video content on their cell phones, isn’t really new; it’s been around since the introduction of the latest generation of miniscule mobiles. But last month, in an effort to take advantage of the skyrocketing popularity of the video Web site YouTube, Philadelphia-based Verizon announced a partnership with the site, effectively adding a YouTube “channel” to V CAST.

For $15/month or $3/day, Verizon subscribers have been able to access unlimited video clips from channels like ESPN, Comedy Central and NBC. The prices will remain the same, but the YouTube channel works a little differently, by giving users the opportunity to view the site’s popular user-generated videos instead of content that has or will air on TV. The available video clips will be chosen by YouTube, and will be frequently rotated and updated, and targeted towards a specific audience.

“We expect [the YouTube channel] to have strong appeal, especially among the hip youth market,” said Sheldon Jones, a Verizon public relations representative. “It’s just one more element that makes the V CAST service so cool for this audience.”

The addition of the YouTube channel gives video submitters something to work towards.

“I put my videos on YouTube to share with the world,” said Nicole Miller, 22, of Yardley, “so it’s very cool that people could get to see it on their phones, too.”

            Skype is one of those phone services that you either love, or you’ve never heard of. And if you’re like most Americans, you’ve never heard of it.

Not a land line phone service, nor a cellular provider, Skype is a free-to-download program that allows you to call any phone number in the world via your computer – for only $14.95/year. Simply download the application from Skype.com onto your desktop, plug in a microphone, and the program will automatically guide you through the rest. 

The annual cost covers the prices of calling friends with landline and cellular phones, for no cost.

            Anyone who downloads Skype can also call, conference call or “video call” anyone else with the program. Remember video phones from The Jetsons? Video calling on Skype is just like it. The entire service is so revolutionary, it’s even got its own verb: forget calling your friends; the tech-savvy now Skype them.

If the idea of “Skyping” is intimidating, there’s even a selection of approved accessories, like headsets, handsets and phone adapters for sale on the site to help ease the adjustment. For a little extra, you can even pick a ringtone – just like for your cell phone.

Because it’s so new, Skype’s impact on the telephone industry hasn’t been seen, and service providers aren’t shaking in their boots just yet. But the less-expensive, more-reliable Internet service certainly poses a threat to phone calls as we now know them – in a way that seems only to benefit the general public.

On January 31, 2007, Skype’s annual cost will rise to $29.95. You’ll probably want to get to your computer, sign up and kiss those exorbitant phone bills goodbye. You can thank us later.

– Sarah Baicker