Messaging, SMS and MMS, is hands down the most used feature on my phone, so I thought I’d write up a few of the tips and trick I use the most. Of course there are others but these are a few I thought people might not know about and would find helpful. Please let me know how they work out for you.
Shortcodes
Those 4, 5, and 6 digits numbers
that aren’t phone numbers have become the staple of mobile messaging services
around the globe. If you’re like me, you create address book entries for them
also. Here’s a trip that will prevent you from sending MMS (a.k.a. picture
message) to shortcodes
accidently. Add the number in the pager field of a contact. If you create a picture
message Nokia (others may also) phones won’t show you contacts you aren’t able
to send the message type. For example: contacts with only email addresses won’t
appear when adding people to a SMS and those entries with a number in the pager
field only won’t appear either.
Personal Contacts
If you save a number
for a friend for IM services e.g. Yahoo
or AIM add the
assigned shortcode to the contact as a pager field. This way you can find the number
easily for the person but you can’t accidently send MMS to them using the IM
shortcode.
This same idea applies to Twitter.
Twitter uses code 40404 in the USA, There are a number of messaging services
for sending pictures which in return posts a link to the picture. All of these
services accept these pictures via an email address. Put Twitter’s shortcode in
the pager field and the email address under Twitter. Wow, one contact doing
double duty. Texts go to the shortcode and MMS go to the email address.
Setting defaults
One of the lesser known features
of Contacts is setting the default. What the default does is as it describes it
allows users to set the default phone number for texting, voice calls, video,
internet, email, MMS, PTT (Push to talk).
To use default do the following:
Open Contact %26gt; Select Options
(left soft key) %26gt; scroll to and select Defaults %26gt; Select defaults for
Phone, Video, Text, MMS, Email, Internet phone, and PTT as desired. Not every
default need be selected. Set the ones you want and skip the phone you don’t I
typically will set the text field for most everyone, because most everyone has
more than one number but lease the MMS unset so I can choose to send to their
phone or email.
Archiving SMS
PC Suite now offers the ability to
pull text off many devices but this tip will work regardless of phone, carrier
and without the need to install any software or even be near a computer.
Treasuremytext is a handy service
that allows you to forward any SMS to them for archiving. They have numbers in
several countries and the service is free. Forward any text and the message
immediately shows up on their site. I’ve been using my TMT account to save
memorable tweets, jokes and other messages I want to keep. Archived messages
can be public or private. TMT also gives you your own URL and an RSS feed for
your archived messages.
Quick MMS
While browsing the gallery within Nokia
S60 and S60 devices you find a picture you simply must post or share with a
friend: Hit Talk. Pressing the green talk button will bring up the send menu so
you can send via MMS, email, Bluetooth or Infrared or Post to Web. This quick
sending option also works while previewing a recently captured photograph and other
files, as allowed by DRM.
Outlook Contacts
One thing that has always bothered me, and quite a few others when I was Googling for a fix or hack, is Outlooks number formatting. When entering phone numbers as 10 digits or preceded with a + the number is formatted with ( ) and -. One way to avoid this is to enter the number USA numbers as eleven digits. Most wireless plans include nationwide long distance even if they don’t; many wireless carriers will call a 10 digit number with or without the 1 and charge long distance.
Here are the examples:
817-555-1212 becomes (817) 555-1212
+18175551212 becomes +1 (817) 555-1212
18175551212 stays 18175551212
Using this method you only need add the + to the mobile numbers of your contacts to ensure delivery to your foreign contacts, when traveling overseas and especially when using foreign carriers SIM.
Do you have more tips or tricks? Please share with us. Also let us know how these worked out for you.