2 Minute Web Tips: Mobile phone

I am truly astounded that no-one has worked this out yet . . .

When you send an sms there is no signature file attached to the sms.

And what that means is that if . . .

English: based on the graphics by tomta1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

the sending phone number is not in the recipient’s phone contacts, the recipient has no idea who the sms came from.

With the advent of mobile phones with contact lists, we got out of the habit of memorising or even remembering phone numbers.

Therefore, very few people will recognise you as the sender of an sms from the phone number alone.

Why is this important?

Not the least would be the number of sms scams going around – an unidentified sms may be deleted instantly.

In a business context, it means that your sms to a client or potential client may get ignored, or at least deferred . . . which could mean lost sales for your business.

A solution

There is a simple solution – sign your sms.

When people who know me get an sms from me, it always ends with -

Regards . . . Philip

If they don’t know me, then I will add a further hint, like our business name.

Make it easy to do

Typing out an sms is laborious at best, and adding more text is a pain!

So . . .

1. Use the voice activation option on your mobile phone.

On the iPhone and iPad, this is a microphone icon in the lower left corner of the keyboard.

2. Use the Shortcuts option on your device

On the iPhone, click on

Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts > + (plus sign to add a new shortcut)

Create a shortcut that converts an unusual string of characters, like rpp, into a phrase, like Regards . . . Philip

And yes, that is quite simple really!

More ideas

Set up shortcuts to insert your website address into an sms to make it easier for your clients to find you.

e.g. on my phone

whpwwe > converts in the sms to > http://www.hotpinkwebsites.com.au/website-enquiry

whpwcu > converts in the sms to > http://www.hotpinkwebsites.com.au/contact-us

What should you do now?

Set it up now and get in the habit of using it.

Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

Your iphone 5 will be the perfect device to play with while you’re waiting in line for the iphone 5S.
~ Unknown

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Has no-one worked this out yet ??

Ever wanted to turn your favourite song into a ring tone?

Or record your own custom ring tone?

It is quite easy really.

Just follow these steps to create free ringtones for your . . .

iPhone using only iTunes and songs on your computer.

In iTunes, select a song to use for your new ringtone.

Listen to the song and decide what part you want to make into the ring tone.
You might want the first 26 seconds, 0 sec to 26 sec.
Or you may want something from the middle of the track, say 58 sec to 1 min 16 sec.
It should be 30 seconds or less.

Then . . .

Right click on the track and select “Get Info”.

Click on “Options” tab.

Click on the “Start Time” and “Stop Time” check boxes.

Enter the time you want your ring tone to start and stop.

Click OK. You have just changed the way this song plays in iTunes. Don’t worry, you can change it back later.

Right click on the “clipped” song and select “Convert Selection to AAC“.

If you do not see “Convert Selection to AAC” then
. . . click on iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > Importing
Change the “Import Using” drop down menu to “AAC Encoder”.

Next . . .

Open Finder and locate the song in your iTunes Music folder.

Drag it to your desktop. After the song is on your desktop go back to iTunes and delete the clipped version from you iTunes library (It won’t delete it from your desktop, it will only remove it from iTunes).

Change the filename extension from .m4a to .m4r

Double click on the file to add it to your iTunes library under the ringtones section.

Sync your phone with iTunes and you’re done!

Go back into iTunes and uncheck your custom start and stop times for the original version of your song so that the full song will play again in iTunes.

Got an annoying caller?

If you have an annoying caller, you can set a special ring tone for their number in your phone . . . one that makes no sound, so that you do not hear and cannot be disturbed by the call.

Just download the ring tone called The Sounds Of Silence . . . LOL

http://richardkmiller.com/702/iphone-tip-use-a-silent-ringtone-to-screen-calls-in-your-sleep

http://www.codingmerc.com/blog/silence-ringtone-available-for-download/

Upload the tone to your phone and then set this as the ring tone for that annoying caller or number.

Take it a step further.

If you get a lot of telemarketing calls, then set up a new contact in your phone and call it “Telemarketers“. Set the “sounds of silence” ring tone for this contact, and then add all those pesky telemarketing numbers to it.

Then you’ll know for certain which calls not to answer.

Hope this helps . . .