Cells much more than a phone!

by Rick Castellini Nationally syndicated computer columnist Special to PRIME Less than twenty years ago, cell phones were carried by few people, came in bags the size of a small typewriter and weighed more than 15 pounds . and the only function they provided was making and receiving calls. Today, most phones weigh in at less than seven ounces, are small enough to get lost in your pocket . and they do everything from taking pictures and movies to sending e-mail and getting directions from the web. Some will argue that the quality of cell phone calls hasn't improved much in twenty years, but they certainly have gotten smaller and smarter. In fact, these multifunction phones fall under the class of phones called "smartphones". Is your phone "smart"? Today's smartphones perform a plethora of functions including, but certainly not limited to: Phone calls Text Messaging (SMS) Address Book Calculator Camera Games E-mail Internet Access Video Calendar Alarm Clock Stopwatch GPS DDUTXTM? Phone calls aside, text messaging or SMS (Short Message Service) is the most popular secondary function of a cell phone. Once the domain of teens, text messaging is catching on across all demographics. These short (less than 150 characters) notes can be sent instantly to someone else's phone or e-mail address. Cell phone users like to use text messaging for three key reasons: speed, brevity, and discretion. Sometimes rather than making a phone call, messaging a quick 'I made it to school' or 'I will meet you at 5 p.m. @ Chili's' is plenty of information for the recipient. Punching out messages can be cumbersome on a traditional phone with only digits so a system that guesses your likely word called "T9" was developed and adopted by many cell phone manufacturers. The Blackberry Many of you have probably heard the term "Blackberry". In addition to being my favorite fruit, a Blackberry quickly became the mobile email device of choice by corporate America in the past eight years. The little gems sport a full QWERTY keyboard that allows its users to punch out messages quickly using only their thumbs. About three years ago, the Blackberry evolved from being an e-mail only device to a smartphone with the addition of cell phone and Internet capability. Surfing by phone Internet capability may seem superfluous for a cell phone, but having mobile Internet access actually can be quire practical. Once cell phones became "Internet capable", many companies catered to the small screen and designed quick loading, easy-to-read web sites made specifically for phone access. Cell phone users use Internet access on the run to look up directions, get movie times, look up sports scores, search product pricing, and much more. Search engine power house Google has an extraordinarily useful mobile version of itself that makes searching any topic on a phone quick and practical. Phone games Except for the Palm Treo line of smartphones (which I have written about in previous articles), games and pictures on a tiny phone screen seem pointless. However, many phone users like snapping low resolution pictures with their phones and then send them to their friends or family member's phones. They also kill time playing solitaire or Tetris while waiting for an appointment. Yes you can learn it all Although cell phones can perform all these functions and more, just like computers don't be intimidated. Start slowly, learn to use the built-in address book to help make and receive phone calls then branch out from there. Learning to be adept at every single function of your phone can't happen over night, but when you do start to learn a few of its functions, the little marvels will quickly become indispensable for much more than just talking. As smart as phones have gotten in the past five years, I can't wait to see what they will be able to do in the next five or ten years. Rick Castellini is an author, computer consultant, and hosts a nationally syndicated computer radio show from Colorado. Visit his web site at HelpMeRick.com for new tips and technology information every day and sign up for his free weekly email newsletter.