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Talking Point: What do you use your phone for?


Guest PaulOBrien

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Guest Paul [MVP]

Talking point is back (yay!)

Talking point for this week is What do you use your phone for?

As an example, let's talk about what I use my phone for (this is what got me thinking).

The crazy thing is, I very rarely use my phone for calls. Sure, people sometimes phone me on it, and I do sometimes call people, but in general it's the other stuff that makes me take a phone with me.

My top 3:

- E-mail (via Exchange, can't WAIT for MSFP/AKU2!)

- SMS

- BBC News / Arsenal Updates

Having e-mail on a phone is a huge boost to me. I receive a ton of email in a day, and having an Exchange server as my mail server means a Windows Mobile device is a perfect fit for me. MSFP/AKU2 will bring push functionality, and i'll be a very happy camper!

I think I just about made the 'SMS generation'... I SMS far more than than I phone, and it's just such a convenient communication mechanism... I only wish the Orange Gatherings trial had gone somewhere...

Don't believe what they tell you... the browser on a Smartphone is NOT a desktop browser, lol! Thankfully, our licence fee here in the UK goes to some good use, and the BBC has a fantastic mobile website... if you haven't seen it before, visit:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/text_only.stm

Oh, and why on earth does that page have images? It's called TEXT_ONLY! Bizarre...

So let's hear how you use your phone... maybe you even call people on it ;)

P

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Guest mini_man

calling ha! who does that anymore

Big features

1st Videos

Full screen videos for journeys can watch all my dvds etc ACE!

2nd Ornetta Notepad

Gr8 for finishin hw on a journey or adding touches to essays

3rd BT messaging fantastic as me and my mates are mostly in classes with in range of each other

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Guest Disco Stu

Not many calls here either, but plenty of texts.

I don't use email that much unless I'm away from home when the function becomes essential. Likewise, keeping track of news / Leeds United when away is very important to me.

I'm a music addict so the phone's always loaded with MP3s and I always have my super Seidio earphones with me wherever I go.

Calendar / Contacts very important and having a camera with me at all times is good.

Code Wallet Pro is another essential as I'm terrible at remembering PIN codes etc. Took Mobilearn's talking translater to Mexico which was very useful.

It's amazing what these things can do really 8)

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Guest Samsonite

For me;

SatNav first and foremost

Outlook Sync with Laptop - i can see my calendar of appts, tasks and mail inbox all from the drivers seat!

Surfing when not in reach of a PC (work or home)

Movies when required - trains into Central London a coupla times a month

maybe 50 sms's a month too...

my actual talk time is less than an hour a month! GPRS is usually about 15-20 quid on top of the bundle (note to self, increase bundle level!!) ;)

Edited by Samsonite
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Guest Dark Horse

Top uses for me!

1. SMS - The C500 is the best moby yet for texting with great keys and only the Nokia 6230 comes anywhere near for sheer usability.

2. Contacts - It was only recently that moby companies started allowing names, addresses, emails, web links etc to be stored. The Smartphone has had this from the start and its invaluable to have a full addressbook with you that syncs with Outlook.

3. Games - Perfect for the daily commute, the smartphone platform beats all those embarassing crappy Nokia java games into a pulp. In fact, I'd be happy for MS to ditch the smartphone JVM altogether and give us a free game instead.

4. Phone - "Smartphone user in mobile telephony scandal". Yes it's true folks, I use my moby to make and receive calls for which reliability and a long battery life is essential. I still can't understand why this is not a priority for companies, you'd think long battery life would be top of the list of must haves.

5. Video - If you wanna impress your mates, whip out the smartphone and fire up a music video or an episode of the Simpsons for full screen envy, instant whip style.

6. Mobile Internet - Access to webmail is prohibited at work so I use this to check email on the go. Nothing special but the browser is real good and more importantly, it works great for casual browsing.

7. Apps - Particularly useful is a currency converter (SmartConvert) for when travelling abroad.

8. Tasks - I stick loads of notes here to help remind me what it is that I'm supposed to forget.

Things I would like to use more.

1. Bluetooth - The smartphone BT implementation is years behind the competition. Microsoft really are being a bunch of Mcfly's here, its not like its rocket science boys. Sort it out!

2. Camera - One for HTC, listen up. If you want to shift more units, you must improve the quality of the camera. Its no good upping the pixels when the resulting picture is worse than a Nokia with a melon in front of the lens. Its not difficult. Don't be cheapskates and spend a bit of time and effort in making the camera at least half decent so we can mock the Sony Ericsson chavs with their 2MP units.

3. File storage - Whilst ActiveSync is all very nice, its time to move on Microsoft. We want plug and play USB mass storage device compatibility without software installation. I'm sure you can do this, if not, go speak to Apple, they'll tell you what you need to do. And whilst you're there, try and nab some of their interface crew and keep the geeks away from the drawing board.

4. Calendar - I feel guilty that I should be using this more but then I start the app with its non customisable view and am reminded why I don't.

5. Music Player - The iPod is the most overrated piece of kit available and the smartphone is a perfect substitute. I listen to loads of music but seldom on the go. I can't explain why but I think its the whole business of ripping and copying music tracks. I have far too many CD's to do this so I don't bother, no matter how convenient or quick it is. The whole issue of DRM stinks as well. If point 3 above was addressed, I'd use it more often to listen to music as the process of just dumping music on there would be much easier.

That's all.

Regards,

Dark Horse

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I would have to say that I don't do a lot of calling from my phone - its mainly a point of contact for people to call me! :D

I do a lot of texting, checking my email when I'm away from home (POP3) and sharing those funny videos/sound clips around the office and with friends! ;)

The main uses I would say are:

1. SMS - a bit of an addict

2. SatNav - well you've gotta know where those Speed...ahem...sorry, Safety Cameras are!

3. Email - for when I can't get to the PC. Great for checking on Ebay purchases when in the pub!

4. Gaming - wouldn't say I play that many games but i do have a few emulators installed for that retro fix when needed.

5. Syncing Contacts/Outlook - One of the reasons I wouldn't be without a Windows based phone any more.

Edited by Guest
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Guest Paul [MVP]
By the way, for reference I'm the proud owner of an Orange SPV M500 - by far the best phone I have ever owned.

You should go into 'My MoDaCo' and add that to your profile then ;)

P

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Guest nickcornaglia

Well I must be alone here....but I use my phone for making calls all day. I no longer have a home landline phone. Well, I do keep it alive for emergencies but I have relinquished all long distance on it and all calls that come in on it are automatically forwarded to my mobile. My landline bill, as a result is only about $15.00/month and that isn't too much for peace of mind that it is there when my cellphone breaks or is lost, etc.

But calls are not why I carry a SMARTphone. I use it in almost everything I do.

CALENDAR

I use it constantly to schedule myself and my son's events. Believe me, between work and his schedule....it's a FULL calendar every month! Meeting after meeting at work. Birthday party after birthday party at home. It is too hard to track without it. Facade and Papyrus are definitely my most used and valued apps.

CONTACTS

I remember the days before I has a cellphone when I used to know literally hundreds upon hundreds of numbers for family, friends and work contacts. I used to have a HUGE rolodex on my desk....but I barely needed it because my mind was that sharp back then. Unfortunately my Smartphone (and other factors) have deterioriated my brain and I rely on my phone to access ANY number I could ever need.

TASKS

I keep a long list of things to do. Work and Personal. Whenever I have nothing to do, I refer to it and pick one. Great for getting things done (in theory!) Lately, I've been using tasks for notes as well...in their own notes category. (though I own Smartphone Notes, I dont have it installed).

CAMERA

Not the greatest camera in the world....but it's right there when you need it and works just fine for quick shots.

EMAIL & TEXT MESSAGES

Indespensible! Up to the minute (well, every 15 minutes send/receive) work and personal email in my pocket. Text messaging with family and friends. (not as popular in my age bracket here is the US...but I even got my mother texting now!) I cant live without it.

MMS

I almost never use it. maybe six pics a year.

INTERNET

I could say that I rarely ever truely browse the internet on my phone as it is difficult at best. That's what my PC is for. But I use the internet the most everyday in other ways. Gathering RSS feeds. Viewing topic replys on messageboards like Modaco. Pulling weather data. Pushing photos to my Splashblog account. Streaming audio from my XM Rasio account. And pulling/pushing email of course. I'd be lost without all of the information it provides....90% without ever using the browser.

INFORMATION

I keep alot of information in Notes/Tasks and eWallet. I reference them almost everyday.

APPLICATIONS/GAMES

I cant say that I use alot of apps these days. Other than what was mentioned...The truth is that I am really disappointed in the amount and quality of Smartphone apps and wish developers would really pick up the slack.

MUSIC

I am not really a music nut as I was before but find I am using my phone as a music player more and more. Ipod who??? I don't need to carry 5000+ songs. Just enough to be entertained. Actually, more than enough. And internet radio/XM Radio via my phone are more than sufficient! ;) Let me see your iPod do that!

My phone is indespensible. It is one of my few passions in life and is my most important accessory that I'll ever own....some days even more important than my PC.

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Guest chrisbpr

i owned first a c500 & now have a vario , which imho is the best phone i have ever owned... however back to the thread...my uses are

1.calender/contacts... i really would be lost without those

2.email

3.satnav...mapoplois really cant be matched for value for money

4.calls

i agree that ms really need to sort out the bluetooth stack as sony has them beaten hands down & the camera sucks as well, sort these out & the smartphone would be perfect.

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Guest Disco Stu
5. Music Player - The iPod is the most overrated piece of kit available and the smartphone is a perfect substitute. I listen to loads of music but seldom on the go. I can't explain why but I think its the whole business of ripping and copying music tracks. I have far too many CD's to do this so I don't bother, no matter how convenient or quick it is. The whole issue of DRM stinks as well. If point 3 above was addressed, I'd use it more often to listen to music as the process of just dumping music on there would be much easier.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I use dbPowerAMP or CDex to rip and a card reader to get them on the phone.

Simple Tunes is an easy MP3 player for the phone. I buy up to 10 CDs a week and just copy the new ones to the storage card as they come in. No playlists, no DRM, no time-wasting.

You don't need to carry round your whole music collection and you don't have to listen to children howling on the train ;)

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Guest Funster

Calls - Mostly for calling at the moment. However, times are changing.

Email - Personal mail using IMAP, all my mail is in sync with my desktop. A superior method to POP3.

SMS - Slowly getting into this, everyone seems to be sending me texts now. I used to be the person who said "If people want to speak to me then they should call". I'm changing, in fact, I quite like SMS now!

Calendar & Tasks - Too much to do, so little time. Absolutely essential.

Music Player - Have a 2GB card and it syncs with WMP10 well. Everything just works. Have some playlists on there which cover almost every mood I'm in. Very happy.

Web - News from the BBC. At least some of the licence fee is being spent well. Some other techie sites too.

Movie Player - not so much on the C600 but on the M500 using the fantastic TCPMP.

Games - for those special visits to the WC during work hours (must have the volume low)

The C600 covers almost everything I want to do. I can live without WIFI for the moment. Next upgrade will definitely need to have it. Maybe the imate JAMin or the new ATOM in whatever guise that turns up in. I really like the size of screen and input of the PDA type phones.

Funster

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Guest brykins
What do you use your phone for?

Two phones now:

The MDA Compact II on T-Mobile:

o Email - four email accounts set to poll each one every fifteen minutes.

o Calendar (both work and personal).

o Contacts (work shown, personal filtered out).

o To-Do List.

o Personal "Data" File - I am in the process of recording everything I need should the house burn down - scans of insurance documents, inventory of the house, CD lists, etc - then the only thing I need to grab if the MDAcII on the way out of the house!

o Games - helps to ease the boring times between meetings and waiting for Mrs Brykins to come out of the changing room.

o Calls - but only work related - never any work texts.

The XDA SP on O2:

o Calls (personal)

o Texts (personal)

o Contacts (personal shown, work filtered out)

o Diary (both work and personal)

Day-to-day, both phones are with me. Evening and weekends I can just take the XDA SP as I never get work calls out of hours. I don't *want* to carry two devices but price-wise it makes sense (the O2 contract is only a tenner and includes 500 texts, the T-Mobile one is only £13 and inlcudes the 40MB of data) and the texting is so much easier on the SP than on the MDA when on the move.

Don't really do video, mp3, or anything else much!

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3rd BT messaging fantastic as me and my mates are mostly in classes with in  range of each other

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How do you do this??????? I didnt know there was a bluetooth messenger type thing... Can someone point me in the right direction??

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My top 3

1. SMS

2. Calender (Papyrus)

3. Contacts

My forth would have been music but just got an iPod so probably not using my phone for this anymore.

Sometimes use e-mail on it but only if I am expecting something important that I need to check whilst away from home.

Chiz

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Guest ricardo the fish

umm.. top three

Internet on the go (GPRS) - even tho' it's a bit slow and can't show all pages. But the BBC news sites are pretty good.

(Note to Paul - there is a completly image free - text only version of BBC news unfortunatly i not too sure how to get it.)

EDIT: I seem to remember when BBC.co.uk/text_only , or whatever it is, is viewed for the first time there is an option of text only, or text only with pictures. The idea behind this, i think, is that if you have a PPC the site will look better 'cos of the bigger screen.

Music

SMS/Calls I don't make that many calls, but I do recieve quite a few.

Edited by ricardo the fish
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Guest Phil Lee

My main uses for my MDA Vario are:

1. Diary - I use PocketInformant and PocketBreeze on my phone and Outlook 2003 on my work and home PCs to keep track of my diary. This is proving useful since I've just put my house up for sale and have viewing etc to keep track of.

2. Address book - I use ContactBreeze and PocketInformant for contact management on my phone and again sync with Outlook at home and work.

3. Weather forecast - I use PocketWeather to get the latest weather forecast whenever I connect to the net.

4. Internet browsing - if I quickly want to look something up on the net I use the Vario either via wifi when at home or GPRS using my web n walk contract.

5. E-mail - I rarely send e-mail, just check my mailbox, mainly for news about Notts County. There is a definite trend here towards using smartphones for getting football news.

6. Phone calls - I try to make use of my 100 minutes each month, I have paid for them afterall. I also use the phone as a point of contact for estate agents.

I have yet to watch a movie on the phone and use my iPod for music. I haven't taken a photo with it either. I do have TCPMP installed on it and have Finding Nemo on its memory card, I just haven't had time to watch it yet.

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Guest tsutton

With my SPV C500, I use it for:

* SMS - I am deaf so I rely on SMS a lot more.

* E-mailing - gmail and my main email via IMAP.

* Calendar - to keep track what I am doing during the day/week/month

* Internet - to catch up news, research where the nearest shop/cinema/etc

* GPS - Pocket Microsoft Autoroute to find where the hell I am in an unknown town. ;)

* Games - while on train/bus/waiting. Too many games to list.

* Movies - only one movie with subtitles (yes, readable!!) on my phone due to my 512MB memory card. Hoping for more in the future when I can afford a bigger memory (how big a SPV C500 can hold? 2GB?)

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Guest brykins
Does it allow the use of Outlook Calendar? In other words, if I sync my phone with my Outlook Calendar, Papyrus will be updated?

Yes - Papyrus is a replacement for the build-in diary (and to-do) software but uses the same database, so it sync's with your desktop Outlook.

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