Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mobilephones

A Yankee needs an Eastern European Blackberry

ps6000 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:18:12 -0800

How can I (an American) get a Blackberry with an Eastern European number with unlimited data. My company is going to have a new employee working in Eastern Europe. I have been tasked with getting him a Blackberry. Due to the nature of his work we would like to get him a Blackberry with a phone number local to him. This would be Slovakia, Czech Republic, or Austria. I have no idea on how to go about this. I have asked this individual to look at plans, but all he finds are plans with limited data, and prepaid options. Not being versed in European cell phone customs, is this the norm?

Do you have any similar experience that would be applicable and could help?

What do other people/companies do in similar situations?

How will cold weather affect my wearable electronic devices?

evercool — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:34:00 -0800

How will cold weather affect my wearable electronic devices? I love running and I always have a few gadgets with me when I'm out and about. I have just gotten a new handsfree to my Sony Ericsson mobile phone and I would like to carry it outside my jacket when running in winter (phone in my pocket). This particular handsfree has a remote unit on the cord with an OLED display. Is there any possibility that the cold weather (around 23F/ -5C) will ruin the remote unit and the display? And how does cold weather generally impact electronics in winter if worn outdoors?

Help me find my dream urban design, community and technology job.

pipstar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:01:25 -0800

I've decided that I want to research / work in the development of strong, sustainable local communities using social networks, web and mobile technologies and urban design practice (particularly new urbanism). The problem is, I don't know how or where to get started in this field. Does anyone know which organisations are doing this kind of research and work? What publications / websites are the best to start looking at? Are there any good conferences I should think of attending?

I'm Australian, but am currently located in Finland and can work in the EU, so I would love to find out more about organisations in the UK, Europe and Australasia rather than North America.

For further background, my degrees are in Computer Science and New Media and since graduating I've primarily worked in games development but have also floated around bartending, some education and retail, so I have very little research experience (yet).

Gmail on a mobile phone?

Myeral — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:14:05 -0800

I have Gmail on my mobile (Sony Ericsson W850i running on the Vodafone UK network) at last. Hooray! I can read my mail. Hip hip hooray!! When I try to reply or compose a message though I get a Java null pointer message. Boo. I have tried the Google mobile help centre, have downloaded Java certificates, been on some Sun Systems forums (wish I hadn't) but so far no joy. I know nothing about Java, and next to nothing about WAP. Can anyone please assist me?

How instant is a Twitter update?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:43:25 -0800

How long does it take for a Twitter update (via SMS) to reach a follower (via SMS), all between Dutch mobile phones in the Netherlands using the UK (+44) Twitter number?

What is the best device for cellphone and easy text messaging

jayder — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:16:43 -0800

My wife and I need a pair of Blackberry-type devices (which also function as cell phones) for lots of text-messaging between ourselves throughout the day. We were thinking we wanted Blackberries, but when we went to the Cingular store tonight (we're locked into a Cingular contract until February 2008) the clerk made it sound as though a Windows Mobile device would be better. Any advice? The Cingular clerk said Blackberries have the virtue of having a shorter learning curve, but he said the drawback of the Blackberry is that you have to pay for Cingular's Internet service to use the Blackberry-brand device, without the device being able to use the full range of Internet applications a Windows Mobile device makes available.

The clerk said there is no appreciable difference between the speed with which you can text message using a Blackberry, versus using a Windows Mobile Device.

Our basic needs for this device are as follows: (1) Cell phone functionality; (2) Easy, quick text messaging and a full keyboard; and (3) [optional, but highly preferred] an easy calendaring function that can be synced with a desktop computer.

So, my question is -- given the above needs, can a Blackberry-brand device satisfy them? Or should we go with Windows Mobile? Is it true that text messaging is as quick and easy on a Windows Mobile device as on a Blackberry? Is there any other device we are not considering that can satisfy these needs?

(The clerk said the only thing we need, for the device to be compatible with Cingular, are that the device use GSM technology and be unlocked. FWIW, the clerk highly recommended we buy this LG F9100 phone.)

Where can I buy microsd to minisd converters in the Sydney area?

ranglin — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 06:05:48 -0800

SydneySiders Filter: Where can I buy microsd to minisd converters in the Sydney area? I recently upgraded from a phone with transflash/microsd to a phone with a minisd card slot, but I now have two 64mb (yeah, I know, small!) and one 256mb TF card that I don't want to waste.

I found this convertor on google, but 4.95 british pounds is about $12 AUD (which is ridiculous when I can buy a new 256mb miniSD for $30!), so I figure they must be available cheaper to me, either from a local store or from an Australian online store.

So, does anyone know where I can get the aforementioned adaptors in the Sydney area?

Good websites for cell phones?

pwally — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:13:14 -0800

What are the best websites to view on a mobile phone? I have a Samsung A900 and it has a pretty large viewing area, what websites would be best that are specifically formatted for cell phones? I am interested in any website that you can think of but specifically good news sites. Also any website that is leading the pack in UI for cell phones would be great. Also if you know any sites that aren't formatted for cell phones but still function well i'm interested.

Why does my NOKIA 6820 say that some SMS are Unreadable?

Manouk — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 07:26:33 -0800

Why does my NOKIA 6820 say that some SMS are Unreadable? When I receive SMS from some phones, the phone says that it cannot show the message, or that the message is unreadable. I know the problem is in my device because if I change my SIM to another phone the message can be read perfectly. I called NOKIA Argentina (where I live) and they are clueless. Any ideas?? ever happened to you?
More info: The software on the phone is the one that came loaded but it's version number is supposed to be the latest. The phones from which I cannot receive are on the same carrier.

Help me cancel my Japanese cellphone contract

deafmute — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:13:23 -0800

I have a cellphone contract with J-Phone in Tokyo that just renewed itself for another year. The problem with that is that I'm no longer in Tokyo. The English J-Phone website says I must report in person to cancel my contract. This is not a possibility. Is there another option I have for canceling this contract? Would it be possible to do it through my credit card company? I don't speak any Japanese, or know anyone currently in Japan who might be able to impersonate me well enough to cancel it for me. Anyone have any experience with something like this?

GSM mobile phone / PDA: should I get a secondhand Treo 180 or one of the Series 60 Nokias?

brownpau — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 14:31:00 -0800

With the sudden and untimely death of my Zire, plus growing dissatisfaction with my Sony/Ericsson T300, I'm in the market for a cheap combo GSM mobile phone and organizer, but cannot yet afford a Treo 600/650. Should I get a secondhand Treo 180, or spend a little more for one of the Series 60 Nokias? And if the latter, which one should I go for: 3660, 6600, 7650, or something else?

What's the best pay-as-you-go mobile deal in the UK?

the cuban — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 01:37:19 -0800

What's the best pay-as-you-go mobile deal in the UK? I have a mobile, sans SIM card, and wondered what the best (ie. cheapest) pay-as-you-go deal is.

I currently have a T-mobile contract phone and spend about 20 mins per day dialing 0844 (1p-5p landline tariff) numbers at present. This costs me 8p p/m thru T-mobile.

Mobile Skype

timyang — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 20:36:07 -0800

What would I need to get Skype to function on a pda or mobile phone?

Can You Hear Me?

TurkishGolds — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 21:35:51 -0800

I just moved 15 minutes from where I used to live and my cell phone is suddenly getting bad reception (Motorola v120t). Can buying a new phone help me to get better reception in this town without changing service providers?

Are there any websites with mobile phone application reviews?

internal — Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:36:38 -0800

Are there any websites with mobile phone application reviews? I have a Verizon Wireless phone and most of the ~~games~~ applications on Get It Now! don't have demos, and I don't want to pay money just to find out that a game stinks.

What can you do with a Bluetooth- and WAP-enabled cell phone?

bondcliff — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 06:39:38 -0800

I just got a new cell phone, a Nokia 6820. It's awesome! It has Bluetooth and it can do WAP! Cool! So, um, what the hell can I actually do with Bluetooth and WAP? I'm pretty clueless about the whole cell phone thing. The process of selecting a new plan and phone was more painful than it should have been.

I just came off a very basic plan with a clunky old phone the size of my shoe. The potential of both WAP and Bluetooth sounds like it might come in handy but I know better than to believe the cool Flash demos I see on AT&T's website. I may even be using the wrong terminology with WAP. AT&T calls it mMode.

I'd really like to be able to email (or transfer somehow) pictures right to my Blogger-based blog but so far Blogger doesn't allow email attachments. I've checked out some of the add-ons (HelloBot or something like that) but they seem to be a bit too much of a hassle.

Are there any actually useful mobile websites out there? I have no use for sports scores and I don't see why I would ever need a weather forecast via my cell phone.

What good is Bluetooth? Do I need to go by a BMW in order to use it? Will a Bluetooth USB thingy be useful?

I'm suspecting these bells and whistles are mostly marketing gimmicks but I'm curious to know how people actually use them in their daily lives. Googling just gets me more Flash demos that tell me Bluetooth will make my nails salon-perfect and get me laid on a regular basis.

I'm tempted to play with WAP

Fupped Duck — Tue, 17 Feb 2004 13:11:22 -0800

I just switched to a new Cell Phone provider and I'm tempted to play with WAP. I have a bunch of questions to ask of anyone who's used it especialy by way of T-MObile's T-Zone service...[more] I have no interest in buying ringtones, etc. I would like to able to check mail (on yahoo), perhaps use AIM over WAP and be able to look up tel# and theatre schedules, without getting billed beyond T-Mobile's 5 a month flat rate.
Are these goals reasonable/practical?

Are there better browsers available that enable control over cookies etc that I can download onto my phone?

Will surfing over WAP potentiallyy make my phoneknown to places I visit and subject me to recieving spam SMS (at my expense)?

Is/are there killer WAP app(s)? Have you put it to good use or is it really just a passing gimmick or novelty?

Best Advice for cellphone & service (northern california)

keswick — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 19:53:05 -0800

I'm in the market for a new cell phone, and I'm trying to find some knowledgable reviewers (particularly of carriers and coverage). [more inside] Epinions used to be good, but it isn't updated much anymore. Can anyone suggest some sites with good (current) reviews?

Alternatively, can anyone recommend a carrier? I live in Northern California (read: two hours north of Sacramento) and the coverage maps indicate AT&T and Cingular have the best coverage for the areas I spend most of my time.

Cell phone recommendations?

widdershins — Wed, 07 Jan 2004 13:54:11 -0800

My company is buying me a new cell phone. I don't need anything super-high tech, I just want something sturdy and lightweight, and I like the ones that flip open. My current phone is a Motorola StarTAC, which I've been very happy with, but they're not making it anymore. Does anyone have any recommendations? My service provider is Verizon (don't know if that makes a difference) and I'm considering maybe the Motorola T730 or LG VX6000 from this page. I certainly don't need photo capabilities, but since the firm's paying, why not? Does a camera significantly impact battery time or anything else?