• Limit your usage of non-voice features such as web browsing and playing cell-phone games. If you have a picture cell phone, realize that taking pictures can eat up battery power, especially if you have flash turned on.
| Set up Voicemail |
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| Most cell phones come built-in with a voicemail feature. Think of it as an answering machine, but you don't have to hook it up or rewind tapes. If you can't take a phone call, instead of the caller just getting endless ringing, they will be able to leave you a message you can pick up at a later time. |  |
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| There are many ways voicemail can be useful: |
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| 1. If you travel out of your cell phone network, friends and family can still call and leave you messages. |
| 2. If you get a call from an unknown number, you might consider screening the call. If someone leaves you a message, more than likely they are really trying to get a hold of you and are not just a wrong number or telemarketer. |
| 3. If your cell phone battery loses its power, you can still get messages from people. Some cell phone companies even let you access your voicemail from a landline phone. |
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Talk to your cell phone provider about setting up and accessing voicemail.
| Read the Manual |
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| This is about as basic as a cell phone tip as it comes. When you purchase a new cell phone, take a few minutes and browse the manual, no matter how comfortable you are with cell phones. |
| Just about every cell phone is different. Configuration features can be buried underneath many levels of menus. Your cell phone customer service representative may not know, or forget to tell you, about all your cell phone's features. |
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| Reading your cell phone manual may save you money. Some cell phones will not actually say "Roaming" or "Roaming Mode" when you leave your network; instead, they just may show a small icon on the screen. Knowing what this icon means can save you from making a very costly phone call. |
Only by browsing your cell phone manual can you truly learn the capabilities your cell phone has to offer.
| Downloading |
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| Be Careful about Recurring Fees with Downloads |
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| While many people enjoy the entertainment features available with today's cell phone such as games, wallpaper, ringtones, and screensavers, realize that many of these features involve recurring fees. |
| While some cell phone games, wallpapers, ringtones, and screensavers may only entail a one-time charge, many of the larger entertainment providers charge recurring monthly fees for the use of such features. Granted, some companies charge a monthly fee and let you choose different games, wallpapers, ringtones, or screensavers every month; thus, this may work for you. Just remember to read the fine print before installing any software on your cell phone! |
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| Watch for Transfer Fees when Downloading |
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When purchasing games, screensavers, ringtones, or other "goodies" for your cell phone, note that the purchase price of the items may not be all that you pay. Cell phone companies may charge transfer fees while you download the items. If so, these fees may be waived if you download items during non-peak times. If you're concerned about extra fees, you may wish to contact your cell phone company's customer service for more information before purchasing these items.
| Roaming |
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| Caller ID May Not Work When Roaming | |
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| While roaming, when calling people from your cell phone, don't be surprised if they don't always pick up their phone. Depending on your cell phone carrier and your current location, your phone number may not appear on the recipient's caller ID. Instead their caller ID may just list "Unknown Number" or "000-000-0000", prompting many to not answer your call. |
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| Roaming Can Happen Anytime, Anywhere! |
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| As mentioned in my cell phone tip about reading the manual, it can pay to know your cell phone's features and how it reports information to you - literally! Knowing whether your cell phone is roaming or not can prevent you from making a potentially costly call. |
| Just because you are in a city that is supposed to be covered by a cell phone's network doesn't mean that "holes" or breaks in coverage can't occur. For example, on a recent trip, my cell phone switched from digital network to analog network to roaming - all while walking between rooms inside a single condo! |
| Your network status can change even when traveling extremely small distances, so if you want to save money, always check your cell phone's status and icons before making calls. |
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