No iPhone? No iProblem!

Technology Expert Andy Ihnatko Explains How You Can Get iPhone Features On Your Cell Phone

(CBS)  The iPhone might be the coolest new device on the market, but that doesn't mean you've been left in the Dark Ages if you don't have one.

On The Saturday Early Show, Chicago Sun-Times technology columnist Andy Ihnatko talked about ways to add many of the iPhone's best features to your Palm, Trio or Smartphone.

There are five features that can be put on your phone that will make it closer to being an iPhone: visual voicemail, a music player, a video player, a better Internet browser and a weather forecast program.

The iPhone has a great feature which lets you pick and choose what voicemail you want to listen to in any order. SimulScribe allows you to have this for your phone for a small monthly fee.

SimulScribe takes the place of whatever voicemail services your carrier gives you. When you receive a voicemail, computers will transcribe the message to actual written text, and will send you the text as an e-mail. (Your phone must be able to receive e-mails.)

SimulScribe costs $9.95 per month for 40 voicemails; each additional voicemail is 25 cents.

Your current phone might have music features built-in, but there are better options available. Pocket Tunes by Conduit is an alternative to your built-in media player and it adds many more features. It allows you to build playlists without a computer and on the go.

Pocket Tunes also allows you to stream radio broadcasts directly to your phone. Because you will have music from the radio, this allows you to potentially decrease the amount of music that's stored on your phone.

In order to watch movies, Ihnatko recommends downloading Coreplayer onto your phone. This application works on any Windows Mobile phone or Palm Operating System and will allow you to put any DVD onto your cell phone.

If you want an iPhone-esque Internet browser, visit www.operamini.com. This company lets you download a free browser that allows you to see the whole web page as it would appear on a desktop. You can zoom in on an article or picture that you want to see.

While the iPhone uses Google Maps, you could download Yahoo! Maps for your phone. There is also a service called Yahoo! Go where you can download an application that has a built-in widget, which will give you a stock ticker and the weather forecast.

Despite the great applications that you can add to your phone, Ihnatko still loves his iPhone. He says that it turns out that there was an iPhone-shaped hole in his soul.

[chamberi]

Nice of CBS to grab the headline from GotVoice's Visual Voicemail, which came out a month or so ago.

http://www.gotvoice.com/visual_voicemail.php

[brianbwb-2009]

No iPhone? No iProblem!

And no need for another single word in this report past the title...

[flolake]

They'll do it every time. Those that have to have the newest first, pay the premium. And before you know it, Version 2 is out and so on...

[rwilkens]

UnderMyBoot: IF you don't think you're being 'spied' on wiht the iPhone as well because apple makes it, try cancelling your cell phone plan and see if you can get the phone to do anything (without, of course, hacking it).

A iPhone user in UK. This is the
test:
http://www.iphonestory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1186&Itemid=52

[glenmiller-2009]

The animosity displayed for a small utility device borders on irrational.
I think you need to accept that someone has better technology than Mr. Softy.

[cyberdjs4]

The only cool thing about the hypePhone is the much-needed update to the lame hypePod.

It's almost as cool as the iRiver Clix.

Now let's see if Crapple can figure out how to put a display on the shuffle.

[hypnotoad72]

aplman2 - and? Windows Mobile smartphones do essentially the same thing. PDAs do the same things except make phone calls. Either entity costs rather less than the iPhone, which is tethered to only one cell service - one that, forgive me, isn't all that good. Verizon and T-Mobile are THE best cell service providers.

[glenmiller-2009]

To mtfd1952:


Nice post Mr. Gates

[mtfd1952]

i stands for idiot.


That's the first requirement in owning an apple product.

[hawksprings]

To aplman2:

Nice post Mr. Jobs.

[jetranger7]

THE I-PHONE ? WELL I'VE DEVELOPED SOMETHING BETTER THAN THE I-PHONE, AND IT WORKS REALLY WELL TOO ! ITS CALLED THE "NO-PHONE" ITS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW EVERYWHERE AND FREE OF CHARGE TOO WITH NO SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE EITHER ! YOU CAN USE IT ANYWHERE AND NEVER WORRY ABOUT A DROPPED CALL OR DEALING WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE, OR NEEDING A BATTERY ! THE NO-PHONE IS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, AND THERES PLENTY IN SUPPLY, WE'LL NEVER RUN OUT ! SO HURRY, GET YOUR NO-PHONE RIGHT NOW !! SO, DON'T CALL ME, CAUSE I GOT NO-PHONE ! THANK-YOU, CUSTOMER SERVICE REP.

[aplman--2008]

But you don't get the interface!!! That is what iPhone is all about is the interface and anytime Apple wants to add a feature it is the software that needs to be created. There is never a need to drill a new hole and add a button. The iphone is absolutely brilliant. Why settle for anything less?