Do you know what I can do with my mobile phone?
by Candice Lopez

Today, we know that a mobile phone is more than just a phone. With the numerous features that manufacturers come up with constantly, a phone can be an address book, a camera, a video recorder, an organizer and more.

And now with terms like 3G adding to the lexicon consisting of GSM, GPRS, and WAP, things are starting to sound more complicated than it used to be. I suppose it means advancement, but I’ve found out that it doesn’t take a supremely advanced phone for me to take part in today’s technological progress. See, even with a lowly no-frills phone, I found out that I have so many options to spruce up my mobile way of life.

Fun Messages
At the very least, my mobile phone doesn’t just connect me to friends through text messages and phone calls that are so commonly exchanged, I also get connected to them whenever I forward a joke that I receive from my subscription to the funnies. In return, I get forwarded love quotes and inspirational words from my friends who opt to be subscribed to their own dose of regular SMS and MMS content.

I also get to indulge in a guilty pleasure: tuning in to artistas. I don’t even need to watch my gossip shows so much when I can have Kris Aquino sharing her stories or Robin Padilla calling with an update. Did you know that I can even get a singing greeting
that I can pass on to others? Now that’s a riot.

Timely Reminders
My mobile phone has also proven to be very useful when I need to be alerted about several things. Every time I need to sell something or am shopping for something in particular, I no longer need to hang around by my computer to know how my transactions are progressing. Because of Bidshot.com’s mobile-enabled auctions and classifieds, I get alerted directly on my mobile phone and I can be easily reached by my buyers and sellers at any time of their convenience.

It works almost the same way when I’m in the mood to meet someone new. Crushcow.com apparently is much more than a dating and personals site. Their cool features allow me to get match alerts on my phone and, if I choose to, it lets me chat anonymously with my matches through my mobile as well.

Besides those handy options, I also get to be reminded of something very basic. I don’t know about everyone else, but GreetAlert.com is my answer to remembering everyone’s birthdays. Finally, I no longer have to be known as the thoughtless and ungenerous friend, because not only am I able to greet people on their special days on time, I can even send them a mobile gift appropriate for the occasion, like a cute MMS greeting card!

Practical Ideas
Of course it’s not all fun and games with mobile phones, after all, they do have a primary purpose: to open lines of communication. It’s especially important to have quick and uncomplicated access to certain people in times of emergencies, like the police for instance. In such a case a simple access code and keyword is all I need to know and I can send them a message right away and have them respond to me just as easily.

While it is less of an emergency, topping up my airtime credit is an urgent matter. Thankfully, not having load is no longer a problem for me. For one thing, I can still send a text message to someone else, as long as my recipient shoulders my message. It’s like texting collect! Also, I don’t need to hunt around for retailers just to load my phone credits. My friends can simply transfer airtime credits to my number just as simply as sending another text message.

Ubiquitous Presence
The great thing about the mobile experience is that while my mobile phone has become a most necessary, essential and compulsory accessory to my everyday activities, my mobile lifestyle does not end with the use of my mobile phone. A favorite discovery is the Chikka Messenger, because this way I can reach and be reached by anyone, at any time!

Certainly, with an instant messenger that uses my phone number, I can use it to reach my friends’ mobiles when I’m at my PC and they get all my messages just like an ordinary text message. Because the Chikka Messenger has evolved so much recently, I can now even send MMS, e-mail or load to these mobile users!

Conversely, this also means that I can text my friends who are online. As long as they are using the Chikka Messenger, we can send messages to each other constantly—from PC to PC, from PC to mobile, or from mobile to PC. And I don’t even need to be a techie genius to understand how brilliant an idea this is.

So even as I save up for the latest coveted phone model, I’ve got more than enough to have a totally enhanced mobile lifestyle. After all, as I’ve found out, there’s really no reason to be left out in today’s culture of mobility for me—or anyone else.

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