Cell phone tips, or tricks? Jun27 '04

You gotta love cell phones, eh? They are becoming the center of our digital lifestyle. They allow us to do amazing things, such as keep in touch with anyone in the world, organize our lives, capture that "once in a lifetime" photo, and much more. And cell phones seem to be getting smarter every day.

Let’s face it, though. Cell phones are great on the outside – but they require such a large learning curve. There are just so many features that are crammed into cell phones – it’s almost impossible to ever learn everything that your particular phone can do.

Because by the time you learn a lot about your phone, you are ready to get a new one. And then you have to almost re–learn all the little things that helped you stay productive and efficient.

My current cell phone

My current cell phone is the Nokia 3595. I have no "loving attraction" to this phone. It does the job, and that’s all I care about. There are many things that this phone does with ease, and many things it does poorly. I suppose you can’t "have your pie and eat it too." But it doesn’t stop me from trying.

Searching for tips and tricks

Global Call Connect service allows you international calling from your mobile phone at discounted rates. An alternative international phone call service is known as international call back and gets you the best rate for each international call as well as the opportunity to become a callback reseller.

I’ve had this phone for quite some time now, and I know a lot of tricks to speed up many processes. I also have figured out ways to have my email forwarded to my phone as a text message, send myself email reminders, when I am away from my home computer, and much more.

However, I am always looking for new tips. I am always looking to simplify repetitive processes.

So I logged into my T–Mobile online account, and I did some clicking around. I never really spend much time at this site, simply because I don’t think it has much to offer, other than telling me things I already know. But today I thought I’d give it a shot.

Crushed like a bug in the ground

I was looking for "cutting edge" tips and tricks, even if they are hacks. I want tips and tricks that someone has found by accident, and that T–Mobile never planned.

I was let down.

My particular phone has a page a dedicated to tips and tricks, and it really made me laugh.

Below are some of the "tips" listed on the site, and my response to each:

Accessing t–zones

From the main screen, select Menu > Services > t–zones

Wow... what an amazing tip. What a secret!

Receiving a text message

The phone alerts you when it receives a new text message. Select Show to view the message.

Wait... I’m not sure I get that. It’s only the ONLY OPTION to hit, but I still don’t understand...

(Don’t read this following tip, just skip to the bottom of it.)

Entering a URL and saving it as a bookmark

Bookmarks allow you to access your favorite sites quickly. To save a site as a bookmark:

• From the start screen, select Menu.
• Scroll to the Services menu and select it.
• Scroll to t-zones and select it.
• Scroll to Bookmarks and press the green Send key.
• Scroll to Options near the bottom of the screen and press the green Send key.
• Scroll to Add Bookmark and press the green Send key. The phone displays the screen where you can enter the URL.
• Select Options > Edit.
• Enter the URL and press the green Send key.
• Scroll to NEXT and press the green Send key. The phone displays the screen where you can enter the bookmark name.
• Select Options > Edit.
• Enter a name for the bookmark and press the green Send key.
• Scroll to NEXT and press the green Send key. The phone saves the bookmark in the My Bookmarks folder.
• Scroll to FINISH and press the green Send key.

This is a TIP? This is a BOOK! Who the heck is going to read all that, let alone actually succeed in doing it!?

That was when I left the page. When it takes you more time to shorten a task, than it does to actually do the task, you know the quicker route is not worth it.

Categories: Accessibility , Technology

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