That’s right. The most often talked about iPhone feature, visual voicemail, is now available for any Windows Mobile phone. But that’s just the beginning.
Dashwire has created an application for Windows Mobile phones that lets you manage your phone’s content (address book, text messages, photos, videos, etc.) from an online dashboard. This tool can be extremely useful for backing up your address book and other mobile content before switching wireless carriers.
The app is currently available on Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0, and rumor has it they are working on versions for the Blackberry and Symbian Series 60 devices as well.
Dashwire has received several awards for their innovative service, and you can check out their video here:
I’ve already heard from many folks that Dashwire has had a huge impact on how they use their phone, and I’m looking forward to using it myself.
The race for the Democratic ticket is over, and all eyes are now shifting to the race for the white house between Barack Obama vs John McCain. If you are a fan of Obama, or simply want to know more about the candidate, there are several ways to stay informed via your mobile phone.
I must admit that while I have not yet decided which candidate I will support, I have been impressed with the Obama campaign’s marketing efforts, and specifically the Obama website and features around it. It is clear they have placed a heavy emphasis on this medium, and have focused on allowing people to access information in a variety of ways.
Text messaging has played a large role, as you can see here. Here is a brief guide on how you can interact with the Obama presidential campaign via text message:
Barack Obama Campaign Text Message Guide
General campaign announcements and news on local campaign stops: Text GO to OBAMA (62262)
Healthcare policy updates: Text HEALTH to OBAMA (62262)
Education policy updates: Text EDUCATION to OBAMA (62262)
Updates on bringing the troops home: Text IRAQ to OBAMA (62262)
Economic policy updates: Text JOBS to OBAMA (62262)
Updates on cleaning up Washington & taking on special interests: Text REFORM to OBAMA (62262)
Quit Receiving text messages: Text STOP to OBAMA (62262)
High-volume campaign updates and messages via Twitter to your mobile phone: Text FOLLOW BARACKOBAMA to 40404
Barack Obama Ringtones
The Obama campaign has made available a slew of ringtones for those heavy campaign supporters. To download one of the 12 ringtones currently available, text RINGTONE1 (or RINGTONE2, etc. through RINGTONE12) to OBAMA (62262).
To listen to the Barack Obama ringtones before downloading, go here.
Finally, the folks behind the Barack Obama campaign, with help from its supporters, also made available four different wallpaper images for your mobile phone. To download an image to your phone, text IMAGE1 (or IMAGE2, etc. through IMAGE4) to OBAMA (62262).
Not to go off-topic here, but I still can’t figure out what’s truly there behind the typical messages of “Change” and “Hope”. What are Obama’s detailed plans? Maybe I should read these text messages. Anyway, if anyone can help me make up my mind between McCain and Obama, I’m all ears.
Another interesting mobile/social networking, text messaging, viral community has sprung up. This one is called Mozes, and while it does not claim to part the seas, it does have a growing community of users.
Here are the top 3 FAQs directly from the Mozes.com site:
What is Mozes?
Mozes lets you send and receive exclusive mobile content to and from your favorite bands, friends and social groups using your mobile phone and your free Mozes account on Mozes.com.
Who can use it?
Everyone! Whether you’re a fan, band, campus organization, a brand etc., you can send and receive all sorts of mobile messages, such as ringtones, wallpapers trivia questions and photos to and from your favorite bands, friends and social groups.
How much does it cost?
It’s free! Mozes is free to individual users. Standard text message rates apply from your carrier. We recommend a flat rate text plan if you don’t have one.
Simple enough? Oh, and if you also want to join Rascal Flats’ mob on Mozes, text “rfacm” to 66937 (Don’t forget to register as a user first).
Spin Magazine offers two ways to stay on top of the modern music scene from your mobile phone.
For news updates via text message, simply text “SPIN” to 68423. They promise one message per day, Monday through Friday, covering the latest news in modern music.
The mSPIN service is a mobile website which lets the user check out album reviews, music news, interviews, and other music related goodies. At the time of this post, they’ve got an article on Rilo Kiley, and an interview with Thurston Moore. Rock on!
With the ever-increasing types of ringtones available for today’s cell phones, users now have a number of ways to personalize the sound of their phone.
I will not waste your time telling you about the latest top 40 ringtones that anyone can get from the thousands of websites that offer them today, or to one of the Jordin Sparks ringtones sites out there. In future articles, I will discuss the truly unique things you can do with your cell phone or mobile device. Now, let’s get right into the different types of ringtones out there just to get our feet wet.
You may have seen the terms monophonic ringtones, polyphonic ringtones, realtones, and master tones. No need to get into the underlying technical details of each type, so here’s a quick primer:
Monophonic ringtones play one note at a time. There are no harmonies and no voices with these types of ringtones.
Polyphonic ringtones go one step further by adding harmonies to the song.
Realtones, or real-life ringtones, include real sounds such as voices and other “real†sounds.
Mastertones, the most advanced type of ringtones, are clips of actual songs, just as you would hear on your stereo. Mastertones are typically compressed to save space.
Ringback tones are slightly different in that you set this type of tone that you want your callers to hear when they call you. This tone is played to the caller until either you answer the call or your voicemail picks up. Ringback tones are a more recent development and provide another creative way to personalize your mobile phone.
Most ringtone providers charge anywhere from $1 to $3 for a ringtone, though the monthly subscription option is also very popular. Subscription services may offer incentives of anywhere from 1 to 15 free ringtones upon signing up for the service. Now that we’ve got the basic ringtone terminology down, we’ll get into the more interesting uses of unique ringtones in future articles.
