Postpaid versus Prepaid
Some cellphone users can’t decide whether to go with a postpaid plan or try the prepaid plan. I’m hoping to give you a jumpstart on how to decide on which plan to use. And to help you distinguish the right choice, I would give some advantage and disadvantage of both sides. To start this article, lets discuss the difference of these plans. Postpaid plans are plans where you would pay all your bills on a monthly basis.The mobile network would sum up all your expenses on services used then you would get a monthly statement with amount due. On the other hand, prepaid plans are plans where you have to purchase first for cellphone credits before you could use their services.
On purchasing plans, prepaid plans are easier to get since you won’t have to wait for approvals of any applications. You just need to purchase a prepaid handyphone, buy a prepaid load or credit, then you could readily use your mobile phone. Postpaid plans would require you to submit some documents that would be a proof that you could pay your monthly bills. Buying credits first before you could use the service would limit you on making unnecessary calls or sending of MMS messages. Unlike in postpaid plans where you could make all the calls you want (if your plan don’t have a limit), there won’t be anything to stop you. So prepaid plans would be an advantage for budget conscious users.
The thing with postpaid plans is that when your phone gets lost, the unit is registered with your mobile network provider. They would be able to trace the serial number of your cellphone and could either block it or trace it so the culprits won’t be able to use it. This is not the case for prepaid plans where you won’t have a way to trace back your cellphone. And talking about rates, prepaid plans would be more appropriate for budget conscious users but postpaid plans offers a much more lower rates. With free call times and SMS or MMS messages included in your postpaid plans, budget-wise, this is the best choice. But as I’ve said, you may not be able to control usage of these services.
For me, if you think you can control the usage of mobile services and you do frequently use your cellphone, postpaid plan would be the best choice. But if you would just be tempted to make unnecassary calls because it has no limit, try purchasing a prepaid plan. Some postpaid plans would still require you to pay monthly bills even if you didn’t use any of the services. So if making calls is a necessity, choose postpaid plans, if not, settle with a prepaid plan where you would only have to purchase a cellphone credit when you need it.
Cellphone Scandals
This is an article to make the readers aware of possible harms that could be made by this high-tech camera phones. You would be able to see in the net different scandals of pictures, videos taken without the knowledge of those involved in the said images. Since cellphone cameras are small and you won’t realize if the man in front of you is making a call or taking a picture of you, they would be able to take pictures of you without you knowing.
These cellphone cameras are even used by media personnel especially paparazzis. They are able to attend private occassions of know persons disguising as a guest and they could use their cellphone to take pictures that would be printed in the news moments later.
Just to remind you, especially the ladies wearing short skirts, be aware of these and don’t let them have an opportunity of taking shots of things that should be seen. Always be conscious of anything around you, you don’t want your picture to be the one posted on the internet.
Is Flip Phone In?
As a start for this blog, I’m not talking about flip phones on general. No brands, no models. But I’m discussing this, and would freely accept your comments - violent or not, based on my experience with my first flip phone, the Motorola V3x. I’m not sure if I’m experiencing this as a phone bug or malfunction, or because of the design of the flip phone.
Just to clear out things, I’m pointing out flip phones as those folding models. Most flip phones have an outside mini display where when you automatically close the phone, the display would transfer to the mini display. This is where I say, the bug occurs. Sometimes, not closing the phone completely (folding the phone but not until it is completely closed) makes the phone hang. I don’t know if the phone is confused what display to use, resulting to a system hang. Just making this blog to know if other users experience the same problem as I’ve read in columns that this problem is experienced by other users, not specifically using the Motorola V3x.
Cell Phones: What to Buy??
A lot of phones are out in the market sporting different features, different styles. How would you know which model to pick for yourself? Which phone suits you?
There are a lot of articles talking about ‘cell phone buying guides’. You could use those if you are planning to buy a phone. For me it’s just a matter of preference. It’s your own personal choice. Take a look at these basic points before deciding on which phone to purchase.
1. Know the Phone
Check out latest mobile phone reviews from the net or even from friend’s opinions. Check out the features and functionalities that the phone could give you.
2. Your Personality
You should know your own interests. Music lover? Go for the phones whose main feature is all about music. Photos and Videos? Then go for the high resolution phones. Internet geek? Go for 3G capable phones to have a faster internet access. Not into features? Then look at the design. A wide range of phones is there in the market, and for sure, there is one that suits your personality.
3. Is it Worth it?
Especially for price-conscious buyers, how much does the phone cost is a big factor. Now you know what the phone can offer, you know if you’ll love it or hate it, but the next question is, ‘Is it worth it?’. Don’t hesitate to check out other phones. If you’re already in a place where mobile phones are sold, why not look at the other models?
Try to choose a phone to make yourself happy — not to impress others.
How Tough is Your Phone?
How tough is your phone? You may have the most expensive mobile phone with the latest features, but is it durable enough? Let me share a bit from my own experience and the experience of friends as well.
My last phone was an Sony Ericsson K700i (I’m using a Motorola RAZR V3x now). Let me reminisce a bit. When we were out in the beach and having a drink, I was reaching for a glass, then suddenly, my phone jumped out of my shirt pocket and went straight to the bucket of ice, which was half-filled with water. Guess what? The phone still worked afterwards.
I’m not saying that this kind of phone is water-proof, but at least it’s not that sensitive like other models that are easily broken by the slightest damage test. If ever this happens, don’t panic and don’t cry like a baby. I’m not an electronic gadget expert, but if your phone gets wet, disassemble it quickly, remove the battery, then let it have air so that the water that may have seeped inside would evaporate quickly. Don’t try to turn it on, let it dry by itself for a while. Turning it on could do more harm, triggering a short circuit. It may not function perfectly at first because there might be grounded circuit lines remaining inside, but be patient and just hope for the best.
Well, another thing that bothers me are phones claiming that they are “shock-proof”. They may have designed it to minimize the damage from falling, but how minimal is this ‘minimal damage’, I ask? I remember a friend having a “shock-proof” phone. We promptly dared him to test the toughness of his model — and he did drop the phone on purpose. Alas! The phone bounced and its LCD hit a stone. Yeah, it was shock proof alright, but the LCD was broken in the end. Lesson learned? Don’t rely on your phone’s durability, take care of it!
Crying Can Be Bad For Your Cellphone
Highly emotional encounters can be bad for your phone. And I’m not talking of the throwing-the-phone-to-the-wall kind. Even crying may prove to be damaging to one’s mobile.
Unlike some of her more effusive phone conversations, the call in question had lasted only around 10 minutes, with maybe five minutes of actual water flow, she said.
Amy knew something was wrong almost immediately–and this time it wasn’t her relationship.
“The keypad started to malfunction. I couldn’t hit the ’send’ button, and that was very sad,” she said. The next day the Sprint customer support people told her the phone had water corrosion.
Tears are corrosive, indeed. After all, tears are mineral-rich. And sensitive electronics are better off away from any liquids that are mineral-rich.
Tear fluid contains water, mucin, lipids, lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, lacritin, immunoglobulins, glucose, urea, sodium, and potassium.
This should probably serve as a warning to the über-emotional. Either get a hands-free kit or a waterproof casing for your mobile.
Signing Up for a Free US or UK Number
If you’d rather not own a mobile phone, you can at least get your WiFi-enabled laptop or PDA its own telephone number so you can receive calls from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. It basically involves signing up for a free redirection service that routes calls made to an ordinary telephone number to your VoIP client. Some details at the J Spot.
- Sign up for an account with FWD.
- Download and install an FWD-compatible client.
- Sign up for a free DID number from IPKall (US) and/or CallUK.
The catch is, you have to be online (and have to have a headset or a laptop with a mic ready) to receive calls. However, you can activate the free FWD voicemail to pick up when a call is unanswered or when you are offline. Messages will then be sent to your email as .MP3 files.
If you’re running an offshore business that caters to US or UK clients, this might come in handy. You can even route these calls to your office PABX so you can receive calls as if you had your own US number.
You can probably even get free (or at least cheap) incoming phone calls this way, if your mobile phone supports internal VoIP clients connected either via GPRS, 3G or WiFi.
Usability in SMS Sending Interfaces
Jayvee writes over at Cellphone9 that he’s now thinking of choosing phones based on how the SMS editor handles error messages.
No. I want to resend the message. I swear, choosing a phone based on failure messages is actually something I’m considering now. Sony Ericsson phones send an error message asking if you would like to save the message in a draft folder to be sent later. But network behavior dictates that a failed message could mean that the network was down. So no, I don’t want to save the message in a draft. I want to resend it.
Maybe mobile phone software manufacturers should take into account a priority list of options that a guy with a phone would instinctively want to choose in only one button press.
I agree with Jayvee that this is one big factor to consider, especially with the growing popularity of SMS. I do know of some mobiles that do not even display any error message even if your message wasn’t properly sent (due to network congestion, weak signal or even account problems). Some phones would automatically save your message back in the drafts list. Some would have an error messange linger for a few seconds before reverting back to the message editing interface.
The point is that cellphone manufacturers should consider usability in the way they display these error messages, and possibly take into account user preferences. Should an error message be displayed until a user presses a key to close it? Should a user be asked if the phone should attempt to re-send the message or just save it in the drafts folder for the meantime?
I’ve had my share of miscommunications due to un-sent or mis-sent SMS messages only to learn later on that my phone was unable to properly send. I sometimes have this habit of just stuffing my phone back inside my pocket when I click that “send” key without waiting if the message had actually been sent already. Lately, I’ve been relying on audible alerts from my SmartPhone–I’ve set the “error” and “sent” alerts to be different so I can resend in the event of errors. Sadly, my phone still doesn’t have an intuitive interface for re-sending messages that were unsuccessfully transmitted. I’d have to manually go to the “sent folder” re-edit the message and send again. Not so smart for a SmartPhone, eh?
13 Tips for Camera Phone Use
The latest in cameraphone technology!
Phone-cams are crappy at taking photos, I agree. But I would have to admit that having a camera on your phone sure is handy, especially for those times you don’t have your real digicam on hand. You never know when you’ll have that perfect photo-worthy moment. So it’s either you bring your digicam everywhere you go (get an ultra-portable one for this purpose) or you use your trusty phone-cam. Digital Photography School gives us 13 tips on how to shoot better with a camera phone. A summary:
- Adequate light
- Get closer
- Keep still
- Post-process images
- Don’t delete “mistakes”
- Don’t use digital zoom (yes, it’s just cropping and zooming after all)
- Experiment with white balance
- Experiment and take lots of shots (in any case, even pro photographers would tell you that the “usable” shots only constitute a fraction of the total shots in a photoshoot)
- Follow the rules of composition (and get to break them, too)
- Keep the lens clean
- Observe cam-phone etiquette
- Rename the images
- Use the highest resolution
In short, it’s all about technique. The most important photography tool after all is having great imagination!
I’ve been using phone-cams even before I got my first real digital camera, and I can say many of the tips are pretty much intuitive, especially for one who understands photography and the technology involved in digital cameras. But these days I try to bring along my digicam almost everywhere–hey, digicams have grown smaller and smaller and I guess there’s no reason not to carry them around anymore. I usually use my phonecam in those instances that call for being discreet while taking snapshots.
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