10 Steps To Empower Your Dumbphone

There are a plethora of smart phones out there with features that allow you to play games, stream media content, and do just about everything else. "There's an app for that" has become the mantra for the possibilities available. But what about your old, dumbphone?

1. Get A Data & Text Plan

These are a must. If you want to use the gimped built-in browser on your phone, download ringtones, or pretty much do anything besides calling, you will be charged based on the number of kilobytes you download or text you send AND receive. And you will be charged an exorbitant amount. 

2. Opera Mini

Regardless of your dumbphone's make, model and carrier, it has a browser that sucks. Opera Mini combines blazing speed, traditional rendering and advanced features you usually only find on desktop browsers.

3. DIY Email Push Notifications

Now, you might say, "But even the iPhone didn't have push notifications when it launched! How can I get my dumbphone to accomplish this feat?" Well, the answer is two-fold and has some caveats. First, you have to take advantage of a technology called the SMS Gateway. Essentially, this tech is a hold-over from the days before the smartphones and allows emails to be delivered to cell phones and cell phones to communicate with emails addresses. Most carriers provides this functionality (if not advertised) that maps each cell number to a unique email address. A good list of them is located here: http://www.mutube.com/projects/open-email-to-sms/gateway-list/. Some carriers require you to "enable" this feature through your account, either online or over the phone, so do some Googling or experimenting to find out.

Some of you might have already anticipated the next step because you now have an email address which corresponds with your cell phone: forwarding. This will vary by your email provider, be they ISP or web-based, but set up a forward to the email address of your cell phone that does not interrupt the delivery of your existing email. This usually takes the form of "forwarding a copy" to your cell's email address.

Caveats: 140 character limitation, HTML email leaves something to be desired, replying replies as your SMS Gateway address (sometimes confusing), not 100% push (some delay)

4. Fun4Mobile.com

Great site with free applications, games, and ringtones. Indispensable.

5. Facebook Mobile

Where would we be without Facebook? Well, we'd probably go outside more often. Facebook helps us stay connected with a huge number of people with very little work. That's why we all use it, and not because of Farmville... right? To get the most of your dumbphone, you will likely want to have access to Facebook on the go too. Check out Facebook Mobile (m.facebook.com) for your stripped-down version. Once you log in, even in your built-in browser, you will be able to see your wall, comment on people's posts, and otherwise waste time! Ahem. Stay connected.

6. Facebook SMS

I know what you are thinking: didn't he just mention Facebook Mobile? Yes, yes I did. Isn't Facebook SMS the same thing? Not quite. How else am I going to fill all 10 steps?

Facebook SMS allows you to post from your mobile phone using SMS. Simple as that. Go to your Facebook account, Account Settings (should be a drop-down on the top right), then check out the Mobile tab. Add a mobile phone number to your account. You will be sent a confirmation text. Reply to the text to have the number activated. You can now text from that mobile number to FBOOK (32665) to update your status. Now that you have set up a mobile number, you can configure your notification options on the Notifications tab.

7. Google Maps

My life completely changed when I could see the roof of my house from space on my dumbphone in 2005! Download the mobile version of this app and you will be equally impressed. Well, maybe not, but it's still pretty cool. Great for finding the name of the cross street or just getting around. Check out http://m.google.com/maps for more information.

8. Google Search SMS

Google has this great service which lets you text a search query to GOOGLE (466453). Google will then text you back the results. I use this to find phone numbers instead of using 411!

9. MMS

Almost all dumbphones these days have one big upside: cameras. Check with your carrier, but most text messaging plans also allow for the sending of Multimedia Messages. This means pictures and videos. See someone getting tasered and caught it on video on your dumbphone? Send it to your pals or the local news agency. Ever heard of sexting? Google it.

10. Buy a Smartphone

How else do you think I would end this? Here are 9 interesting things you can do with your old cell phone, but there are a million more you can do on a smartphone. And the more people who buy smartphones and get on data plans with their carriers, the more money is invested in the wireless data infrastructure and the lower the costs of smartphones become. Be it an iPhone, a Blackberry, or an Android device, smartphones are just that: smart.