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Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine Vol 02 Issue 03
------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine -------
Vol 2, Issue 3
I've been doing a bit of upgrading on my cell phone lately. I
picked up a new memory card (2 Gigabytes for $16 and it's smaller
than my pinky fingernail -- crazy!) and a bluetooth headset. I
find it somewhat amusing that I've gone from a person who wanted
*nothing* special on my phone, to someone who uses his phone for
a wide array of purposes. This issue, I'm taking a brief look at
the many ways you can use an Internet-enabled phone and some of
the pluses and minuses of each.
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In This Issue...
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1. Article: Phun Phone Tools
2. Blog Posts
3. Shameless Self-Promotion
4. The Fine Print
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1. Article: Phun Phone Tools
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OK, I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a cell phone junkie. I use my
phone for everything from taking snapshots, to reading email, to
keeping track of my "to do" list. Heck, I can even use it as a
GPS when I'm out looking for a client's office.
Some of these tools are a part of the phone itself. Others,
however, reside out on the Web. That means, whether I'm sitting
at the coffee shop, or relaxing on vacation, as long as I have a
cell phone connection, I have access to my information.
So, what are some of these services and how well do they work?
Here's a quick rundown of some of the ones I've been using:
1. Gmail (http://mail.google.com/): Google has done a pretty
good job of setting up their webmail client to work on the
smaller screen of my smart phone. I can send and receive
email with no problems. About my only complain is that the
navigation functionality can be a little clunky at times.
Still, it's a minor difficulty when compared to the benefit
of being able to check and recieve my email wherever I go.
2. Remember the Milk (https://m.rememberthemilk.com/): This is
my choice for "to do" list apps. The "phone" version has all
the functionality needed to maintain the list, though it's
missing some of the more esoteric features which allow you to
manipulate multiple task items at the same time. About my
only complaint with this service is that I have to login
every single time. For whatever reason, I can't get it to
remember me -- possibly a deficiency with my phone.
Otherwise, very useful.
3. Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/): If I
find myself waiting for an appointment or with a spare few
moments on my hands, I can fit a little bit of reading in
using this tool. I can keep up with the various blogs that I
read and make myself more effective with those small chunks
of time. I can't think of any features that are really
missing from this one on the tiny screen.
4. Weather Underground (http://mobile.wunderground.com/): I've
actually got this "Favorite" pointing to their animated radar
map, but the entire mobile site is well-designed for the
smaller screen. Forecasts, current weather, radar imagery --
it's all there and available at the touch of a button.
5. Google Calendar (http://www.google.com/calendar): Another
fairly well designed Google mobile site. Of course, the
limited screen real estate on my phone prevents all of the
functionality of the Calendar from working, but it's
particularly useful for viewing items for the next couple of
days. The only flaw in this phone app is that you can only
enter new events in your main calendar. Personally, I
maintain calendars for business, personal, exercise, and
family appointments. I'd like to be able to specify which
calendar in which to record a new event. Minor flaw, but
irritating. Oh, if you have an address associated with an
event, Calendar will provide a link to Google Maps.
6. GasBuddy (http://gasbuddytogo.com/): Gas prices for your
area. I don't usually use this to locate the lowest price in
the area. Often the cheapest gas is so far from me that it
costs more to drive to that station than I would save by
going there. If I am out and about, though, I can be sure to
hit the cheapest gas along my route.
7. Google Search (http://google.com/): I wrote about this in a
blog post not long ago. If you search for a business through
Google Search, often the business will come up with the
telephone number as a link. "Clicking" on that phone number
causes the cell phone to actually dial the number. No need
to try to memorize it or find a scrap of paper and writing
implement to record the information.
8. Jott (http://www.jott.com/): OK, this isn't really a phone
appropriate website (in fact, I can't login to the website
with my phone). As I wrote in last issue, this is a
(currently) free dictation service. Just call the toll-free
number and tell them to whom you want to send a message
(email, IM). The targets of the message have to be in your
online contact list, but otherwise this is a wonderfully
convenient service. You can even hook it up directly to a
number of online services. I've done so with Remember the
Milk (which I use a lot) and three of my Google Calendars. I
just make a quick call and that new appointment magically
appears on my calendar.
I hope these tools give you some ideas on other ways you can make
your phone work harder for you. If you know of any other useful
sites which have been well-designed for the tiny screen, I would
love to hear about them. Drop me a line at
gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com and I'll feature them in an upcoming
blog post or in this newsletter if I receive enough interest.
Copyright 2008, Greg Peters
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2. Blog Posts
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Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the
last year:
Monday, February 11, 2008 -- An SEO Primer
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/02/seo-primer.html
"As I mentioned the other day, I've been catching up on my
podcasts recently. For free content, I'm always surprised about
the amount of quality information you can get from them...."
Tuesday, February 05, 2008 -- Make a Name for Yourself
http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/02/make-name-for-yourself.html
"Anyone who's read this blog for any length of time knows that I
think that Scott Ginsberg is a pretty cool guy. He's got a fun
way to look at the world and really 'walks the talk'. I even got
a chance to meet him a little while back at the Women Mean
Business conference back in 2006...."
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3. Shameless Self-Promotion
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The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg
Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data
Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better
web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us
on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your
webmaster.
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4. The Fine Print
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