Did you know you can have a lot of fun with your (and your your friends’) mobile phones? There's no end to the pranks you can pull. But that’s not the only thing I'll cover in this feature; I’ll also tell you some simple ways of doing more than the usual with your handset.

Message Tricks
While messaging is the second most common feature today, you will find there's more to it than just sending an SMS. For phones that don’t come with Office Tools etc, you can use the message space to save notes. Just compose whatever you need to, and save it as a draft.

Secondly, if you're at a loss for venting your anger, especially with your boss, you can simply start by writing the meanest message. Save it, and go to sleep. Wake up the next day, and promptly delete it. Anger gone, and there will be no unfortunate repercussions!

Alarm Tricks
Did you know you can keep more than one alarm for a single day? I’m sure there are many like me who find it difficult to wake up early for office. What do you do? Just keep multiple alarms, time it every 10 minutes, and irritate yourself to wakefulness. In old phones that may not have this option, just press the center button and it will keep switching off for short durations (the 'snooze' option).

Though most people use the phone alarm to wake up every morning, I use it to wake others! It's very simple. If you find your friend's phone lying around (and you will), just set an alarm for an unearthly hour. But please don't blame us if your friends aren't as amused as you are.

Multiple Uses for Camera
If you're thinking I’d suggest you record some candid moments between you and your significant other and upload them to the Internet, think again. My suggestions are (as always) more virtuous.

Use One: You know how some people have a knack of being called Amit or Sameer or Salil? At any given point, if you are social enough, you will find at least two of each in your contacts. This creates confusion. Obviously, you can use some established naming conventions (Such as Amit2 or Henry VIII) , but that’s passé.

You can simply use your camera to click a picture of the person and save it to his/her contact entry. Most new camera phones allow this. Those who don’t have this option will have to buy a new phone.

Use Two (for metrosexuals mainly): If you feel carrying a compact mirror is too narcissistic, remember that most new 3G phones have a front VGA camera (above the screen), which works just like a mirror. Just take a quick pic of yourself and do the necessary adjustments.

Multiple Uses for Camera Flash
The flash has today become more than "a device used in photography that produces an instantaneous flash of artificial light (typically around 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500K to help illuminate a scene". (Thanks to Wikipedia.)

Use One: Instead of just using the flash while clicking pictures, you can also bring it out on those odd situations when you find yourself stuck in the middle of the jungle, or, more ordinarily, in the lightless confinement of your house during a power outage. While most flashes these days are really meant to light up the dark, they certainly aren't a replacement for tube lights!

Use Two: You can use the flash from your phone to generate effects while clicking arty pictures, especially in the dark. Try positioning your subject, and then use a couple of phone flashes to light up things.
There are many uses for Bluetooth, as we all know. But one of my favorites happens to be pinching songs, wallpapers, pictures etc from others’ phones. Apart from that you can use bluetooth for listening to music on a Bluetooth headset. This will require your phone to be equipped with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile).
Currently, there are only two ways of finding out whether your phone has A2DP or not. Firstly, read the product manual; secondly, look it up on the internet. Still no help? Drop me a line.

Other Uses:

• Wirelessly communicate with your PC using a Bluetooth adaptor
• Use a Bluetooth headset to talk while driving
• Play multiplayer games with your friends.

The list doesn’t end here. It all depends on which phone you are using. If in your experiences with your existing or previous phones you have come across anything interesting, do leave a comment. With enough input from you all, I could be inspired to compile another full-length feature, with you as the stars of course!

Labels: Mobiles