DiscGolferPro
New member
Allow me to elaborate a bit. I'm sure you guys all know that you can send a text message to 466-45 ("GOOGL") with your zip code and whatever search terms you want and get local results sent back with the names of establishments, their addresses, and their phone numbers. Since learning about this service, I've found it to be insanely helpful, and to be quite honest it's probably the most useful non-voice function that I can perform on my current phone, a Sanyo PM-8200.
The main problem is that I text Google frequently enough that it would be nice to have some of the process automated. On my Sanyo, it takes no fewer than nine keystrokes from the main screen to create a text message addressed to 466-45 (and yes, I added it to my Contacts list). From there, I still have to enter the zipcode and a space which is a delightfully awkward process involving switching from T9 to Number and back to T9 and/or ABC depending on the name of the organization.
I'm switching my contract over to T-Mobile in late November, which will give me a boatload of options for cool phones -- and I've set the sky as the limit. Currently I'm looking at either an HTC TyTN or a Nokia E70 (provided a quad-band version of it is released in time). Since these phones have QWERTY keyboards, the text entry issue is immediately eradicated. But, I'm curious as to whether there's a way to "program" a function so that I can pull the phone out of my pocket, push one button, and have a text message addressed to Google create itself and automatically populate the contents of itself with "80521 " so that I can immediately start typing the name of what I want to search for (80521 is my zip code). I've never used WM5 or S60 before, so I don't really know how robust either operating system is and/or if this is a weird request that's far outside the realm of possibility, but man oh man, would it ever be sweet. After all, I've got a Google search bar integrated into Firefox, why can't Google SMS be integrated into my phone?
Additionally, do either the TyTN or the E70 smoothly handle text messages that take several messages to send? I'm a frequent texter (and I'll have an unlimited text message plan with T-Mo), but as you can tell by the length of this post I'm a wordy guy and I often wind up with a message that takes two texts to send because of the 160 character limit. On my current phone, this is a really awkward process of picking where to stop typing, saving the message to a "Drafts" folder, and composing a new text message to whoever I'm writing to all while trying to maintain my train of thought so that the messages flow correctly. I want my next phone to just let me keep typing as if it were an e-mail, and then to tell me where it had to break things apart to send and how many total text messages my message used. Does this make sense, or am I being an idiot?
Lastly, does either phone allow me to get directions when I'm within WiFi range via Google Maps or whatever and then allow me to keep the directions displayed in the phone's cache so that I can take them with me without having to print them out? I don't wish to purchase a data plan because I'm within range of WiFi access so often that I can't see it being particularly useful. Not having to print out directions ever again would be super nifty, though.
Thanks so much for any and all help. I feel really lost when trying to pick out a cell phone that will cater to my ridiculously specific needs.
EDIT: Clarity.
The main problem is that I text Google frequently enough that it would be nice to have some of the process automated. On my Sanyo, it takes no fewer than nine keystrokes from the main screen to create a text message addressed to 466-45 (and yes, I added it to my Contacts list). From there, I still have to enter the zipcode and a space which is a delightfully awkward process involving switching from T9 to Number and back to T9 and/or ABC depending on the name of the organization.
I'm switching my contract over to T-Mobile in late November, which will give me a boatload of options for cool phones -- and I've set the sky as the limit. Currently I'm looking at either an HTC TyTN or a Nokia E70 (provided a quad-band version of it is released in time). Since these phones have QWERTY keyboards, the text entry issue is immediately eradicated. But, I'm curious as to whether there's a way to "program" a function so that I can pull the phone out of my pocket, push one button, and have a text message addressed to Google create itself and automatically populate the contents of itself with "80521 " so that I can immediately start typing the name of what I want to search for (80521 is my zip code). I've never used WM5 or S60 before, so I don't really know how robust either operating system is and/or if this is a weird request that's far outside the realm of possibility, but man oh man, would it ever be sweet. After all, I've got a Google search bar integrated into Firefox, why can't Google SMS be integrated into my phone?
Additionally, do either the TyTN or the E70 smoothly handle text messages that take several messages to send? I'm a frequent texter (and I'll have an unlimited text message plan with T-Mo), but as you can tell by the length of this post I'm a wordy guy and I often wind up with a message that takes two texts to send because of the 160 character limit. On my current phone, this is a really awkward process of picking where to stop typing, saving the message to a "Drafts" folder, and composing a new text message to whoever I'm writing to all while trying to maintain my train of thought so that the messages flow correctly. I want my next phone to just let me keep typing as if it were an e-mail, and then to tell me where it had to break things apart to send and how many total text messages my message used. Does this make sense, or am I being an idiot?
Lastly, does either phone allow me to get directions when I'm within WiFi range via Google Maps or whatever and then allow me to keep the directions displayed in the phone's cache so that I can take them with me without having to print them out? I don't wish to purchase a data plan because I'm within range of WiFi access so often that I can't see it being particularly useful. Not having to print out directions ever again would be super nifty, though.
Thanks so much for any and all help. I feel really lost when trying to pick out a cell phone that will cater to my ridiculously specific needs.
EDIT: Clarity.