phone notification

[+flask]

yes, i attempted a search on this one, but i have terrible luck gettign searches here to yield my desired results.

 

feel free to markwell me.

 

how do i set up phone notifications of new caches? i know how to set up email notifications, but don't see a phone option. i know some people do it. how?

[+Lasagna]

Most cellular providers have an email enabled interface to which you can send short messages.

[AZcachemeister]

You merely set up your phone to receive your EMail.

Usually a service you will need to pay for via your provider.

Your handset may or may not be capable.

This will be most useful if you have a phone that can access the web, at least via WAP. As you probably know, the insta-notifications do not include much information about the cache, most notably no co-ordinates. (unless that has changed in the last three months)

[+Lil Devil]

This handy list might be of help.

[AZcachemeister]

Did I forget to mention that you could also get mail sent to your phone as a text message?

See above list!

Another caveat is that you might end up being charged a per-message fee ($0.35 per from T-Mobile, YMMV) if you go over your message limit for the month.

[Skippermark]

Flask, what carrier do you use?

 

One problem with an SMS message is that the message is limited to 160 characters, and cache notifications are much longer than this, so the notifications get split over several SMS messages. Some phones automatically merge up to 6 messages into one big message, but if it doesn't, it can be confusing to read. If you don't have a bundled plan for a certain amount of free text messages, you end up getting charged for each SMS message you receive.

 

So, if the notification splits into 6 messages, you'll get charged 6 times for that one notification.

 

Please note that by "charge," I mean if you don't have any free text message allowances. If you have free messages, then it doesn't matter.

 

A better way might be to send the message as a "multimedia" message (MMS). They support larger messages (over 1000 characters usually), so the notification will come as one message, and if your phone has internet access, the links to the new cache page will be "live" and you can select them and go view the cache info right on your phone.

 

Typically, text messages are around 10 cents each, and a multimedia message is 25 cents without any kind of allowance for free ones. So, in the long run a MMS may actually be cheaper.

 

Edit to say that you might want to check with your carrier after reading AZcachemeister's message about his text prices. I was quoting approximate prices for CT carriers, but cell phone prices & plans vary greatly by region.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Skippermark

[Rhialto]

Ok don't tell anyone about this but what I've done is very simple and very effective for my needs. I'm a Rogers subscriber in Canada and I have a very beasic plan with no data BUT it is still possible to receive message by entering my phone#@pcs.rogers.com

 

When a new cache is published, what happen is my phone ring a special tone thus I know it is a new cache. Rogers want me to send text READ so I can read the email and fee apply but I don't do that, I simply delete it and jump on the nearest computer and get all the infos! Note that I only do this with geocacing so I'm sure that when my phone ring the special tone, it is because a new cache has been published and nothing else.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Rhialto

[+wesleykey]

I have a Blackberry and all my hotmail goes to the Blackberry.