Email/Messaging Questions... - Treo Forums

PattiNYC · 06-19-2005, 01:24 AM

Hi all-

Although I am not new to Palm Devices, I am new to the 650 and to Smart Phones. My only cell phones prior to this were black and white and for calls only. I have never sent or received a text message (I know, dark ages :-P)

OK, so here are some quick questions which will probably spark more questions...

If I understand correctly, I can get text messages at mynumber@verizon.txt.net and I can get Picture messages at mynumber@verizon.pix.net but what if I want to email myself a midi file to use as a ring tone?
OK, second question... Would it be easier to set up VERSAMAIL to pick up my home email (from Eudora) and forget about the text and pix emails or would that be too much trouble?
Last question for now... I know everyone's phone plan is a little different, but I have no idea how much sending and receiving these messages costs, can you tell me? And howmuch do you usually pay if you go to through the phone's web service to pick a new ringer?

Hope these are not too many questions... I am just afraid of trying to do some cool stuff with my new toy and getting a $100 bill at the end of the month...

THanks!

xxpinballxx · 06-19-2005, 03:48 PM

well depending on your plan a 100 bill won't be hard to rack up if you are not on a data plan.....

who is your carrier....

I use versamail to get my mail on 4 different accounts and works like a charm

as for the ringtone I think it would be much easier putting on an SD card then using an app like mring, treoguard, or mringer to name a few, to access it for a ringtone...I use treoguard which only does on ringer for every call but ther are others that can be made to ring differently for each caller's ID.

Sending pics form the phone are a breeze and as for the costs of the messages and pics I believe most if not all work on a rate based on Kbs. sent. I have unlimited data plan so I do not worry but some are 3MB or 8Mb. plans....

Check with your provider.......

Hope this helped some.....

PattiNYC · 06-19-2005, 04:27 PM

Thanks for the response XXpinballXX!

I have Verizon and often have an SD game card in the slot so mp3 ringers would probably be a waste of money.

The verizon site said I could email myself a midi file, I will try emailing it to my pix email account and see if the attachment comes through.

Thanks again!!

BobK · 06-20-2005, 02:57 PM

Patti,

I too am new to the text messaging vs email, data cost world. I have Cingular so telephoned their customer service reps for cost, best methods, etc. One advised me it was better to use the email for text messaging to save money. If I remember their data packages start at 5mb, on up to unlimited for $39.95/mo.

I was very confused with what I needed for my purposes. I called them more than once until I was confident I understood the differences. The rep at the store sold me the wrong data package. At Cingular's network, the requirement for the TREO is different than for the other types of smartphones or cellphones.

That's what they're there for - use 'em. You're paying for the service in your total bill anyway!

Bob

PattiNYC · 06-20-2005, 09:59 PM

Thanks Bob! Just in case, I also installed versamail and sync with my home email address. I used this to upload a new midi ring tone to the phone, so that was fun.

I love this new toy, and can't wait to make the most of it...

narbeauchamp · 06-21-2005, 04:41 AM

Do you have a data plan in addition to your voice minutes or do you have just voice minutes ?

I would suggest first investigating the specifics of your plan before setting things up to avoid an unpleasant suprise on your next bill.

I have an unlimited plan with my provider (T-Mobile) so I don't worry about the data charges.

I no longer use VersaMail,but have several accounts configured in my mail application,including my personal home ISP accounts.

HTH

BobK · 06-21-2005, 11:42 AM

Yes, I have a the Cingular unlimited data plan.

Bob

narbeauchamp · 06-21-2005, 01:47 PM

The question was directed at the original poster,PattiinNYC as to the specifics of her data plan,or lack thereof,lest she end up with an unpleasantly large bill for data usage.I had a friend who thought they wouldn't use the data much,and after trying all sorts of things,ended up with a huge bill because they had not enabled a seperate data plan and were being hit with overages all over the place.

Nicole

BobK · 06-21-2005, 04:59 PM

Nicole,

Yes, sorry about that. Even with my careful planning, the store rep sold me the wrong package. Thankfully I checked with the "Home Office" and they put me on track. Even with that, my first "experiment" bill was much higher than I would have liked. Oooof!

Patti,

I'm having lot's of fun with this new 'toy' too, and it's already served me well in several situations. The convenience of taking care of things now, or when you think of them, really makes life easier, and more relaxed. Less things lingering around the back of your mind.

Bob

narbeauchamp · 06-22-2005, 07:28 AM

Since I am with T-Mobile,I had to get an unlocked version if I was to use it with T-Mobile.I did briefly consider going to Cingular,and got various responses,from clerks insisting I had to purchase one of the Cingular branded Treos,and could not use my own unlocked Treo which I had already purchase.And each time I asked a different clerk,I got a different answer on what was the right data plan to order with the device,it seemed that there was no agreement on what was right.Trying to figure it out on the website seemed to confuse me even more.Then there was the matter of figuring out a comparable plan with Cingular that would be roughly the same in terms of price and minutes to my current T-Mobile plan,and also considering that would've had to switch over various family members at the same time as well.

My decision not to go with cingular was based on the fact that to configure a similar plan would have found me doubling or tripling my cell phone bill ,and that was before adding the additional lines.And combine that with no one being able to explain with certainty which plan I should add,I was not looking forward to adding the wrong plan and then being slammed by overages (we are fairly heavy email users and always go for the safety of an unlimited usage plan)

So I decided to stick with what I knew.And even still it took some configuring,as I was getting conflicting reports from different reps as to what plan I needed to get with the PDA phones on our accounts.But in the end we sorted it out and it all makes sense.

And it can be easy to get hooked on all the new things,and quickly run up the bill.I still remember when one of my nieces discovered text messaging !