Faster Cell Phone Text Messaging, Please!

January 4, 2007 9:37 PM

I have Verizon Wireless cell phone service. My phone is the LG9800 (aka "The V"). In order to send a text message to someone, I have to do the following:

• Click Message
• Select "New Message"
• Select "Text Message"
• Click "Add"
• Select "Contacts"
• Type in the first few letters of the recipient's name
• Scroll to their name, then over to the email address if they don't like getting these on their phone (bc of cheaper cell phone plans)
• Click the check box on
• Select "Done"
• Click the down arrow to get to the text field
• Type the message
• Click "send"

Please. There must be a quicker way! I am mostly texting my best friend and my boyfriend, with an occasional one to my mother. Can't I speed this up somehow for the people I text the most? What's the best way to "hack" this series of tasks so that it's just a click or two?

posted by abbyladybug to technology (9 comments total)

On most phones, you're better with

Contacts

first few letters of name

Click "new message to"

type message

Click send.

If your phone can't do it that quick, gedda new one. Nokias can definitely do it like this. Astonishingly, so can Motorolas, although their text performance is shit.

posted by bonaldi at 9:42 PM on January 4, 2007

Additionally, in the meantime you'll be better off putting your mother in the directory as 1Mum and boyfriend as 2Boy and so on, so that they pop up first in the search list.
posted by bonaldi at 9:43 PM on January 4, 2007

Yes, usually there's a way to bring up the contact list, jump to your desired contact, bring up a context-sensitive menu, select "SMS contact", and go from there.

I've also heard that LG phones have some of the worst UIs on the market, so that may not apply.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 9:49 PM on January 4, 2007

The random jab at LG's UI doesn't apply to your phone, as the V uses the Verizon standard UI.

There are a couple of easy ways to start a message.

If you are in Contacts, the right context button has an option for Send Message. You can select email addresses from here by using the right arrow until the email address is shown.

If you have talked to the person recently, hitting the left context button while their name is in the recent call list (brought up by hitting Send at the main screen).
posted by addyct at 10:07 PM on January 4, 2007

Well, this is my third phone while with Verizon, and while I like them in general, I'm not in love with the UI. Keep the suggestions coming. I'm going to print these all out and systematically try them all.
posted by abbyladybug at 10:09 PM on January 4, 2007

Yeah, this drives me crazy (LG 8300). The quickest way I've found is:

1) Set up speed dial for the people you text the most (Menu -> Contacts -> 4. Speed Dials)
2) Dial the number you set up, but don't hold it down or hit "Send" (that would call the person)
3) Press "Options"
4) Select 3. New TXT Msg (you can scroll down or just hit 3).

Unfortunately, that'll only work for phone numbers (you can't set an email address as a speed dial).

If you really send a lot of text messages to an email address, set up a contact just for that email address (and name it so it's at the top of the list, like bonaldi said) and then use the options menu to send the message (like addyct said).
posted by natabat at 11:07 PM on January 4, 2007

I have the new V, the 9900 En V. I found the steps for a text a bit excessive too, abby.
posted by jerseygirl at 4:51 AM on January 5, 2007

I have a phone like this.

What you can do is to ask each person who you plan on texting often to send you a text message with only their name in it. Later, when you want to send them a message, go to your inbox, scroll down to their message (indicated by their name), select and look at the message, and press reply. Voila!

As you get more and more text messages, their names will fall down to the bottom of the inbox, making it easier to find their names.
posted by suedehead at 7:33 AM on January 5, 2007

On the default Verizon Wireless UI you can change your shortcut keys so that when you press the up/down/left/right arrows to another shortcut than the default. This is done via the tools menu. I have my bottom key set to go into my inbox and then you have the Message button already hotkeyed. It will definately speed things up.
posted by Octoparrot at 12:36 PM on January 5, 2007