Is This True???

[Sam]

A "no nonsense" friend sent the following to me.

Has anyone had any experience with any of this or knows of individuals who know about these items?

Just wondering.

Thanks for the feedback.

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

For all the folks with cell phones. (This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.)

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.

Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.   Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST

Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find

Yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to Establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND

Have you locked your keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:

If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked

Our car over a cell phone!'

THIRD

Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

FOURTH

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it

somewhere safe.

When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....

FIFTH

Free Directory Service for Cells

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

[RobbyZ5001]

I have never head of any of them, but that is awesome.

[fourbizz]

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cellphones.asp

[KevO]

I had heard of all but the unlocking the car one.  That is awesome, too bad my old truck doesn't have power locks.

[Bassn Blvd]

2 and 3 are false.  Fox 29 news aired this on t.v.  

[Long Mike]

fourbizz nailed it.  Go to the Snopes site for the REAL information.

[Glenn]

#1 works with any cell phone dialing 911 (where 911 is available) as well as 112 (primarily Europe)

#4 - Your cell provider already has the number (provided you bought the phone from them).  You don't need to tell them.  This is also known as the IEMI number.

#2 and #3 are false.  

The only thing that's fully true is #5, and even then, you're saving what, 75 cents?

[flechero]

The only thing that's fully true is #5, and even then, you're saving what, 75 cents?

Well, we don't all have an income like yours!!    

People who work on the road, can save a lot of money that way... I've racked up over $50 in a single month on info calls for numbers. And I'm not an "outside" or "traveling" type employee... for self employed or family businesses, (non-reimbursed) those savings are real.

That translates into a new GLX rod and a Curado 200E combo annually.  

[Branuss04]

#1 works with any cell phone dialing 911 (where 911 is available) as well as 112 (primarily Europe)

#4 - Your cell provider already has the number (provided you bought the phone from them). You don't need to tell them. This is also known as the IEMI number.

#2 and #3 are false.

The only thing that's fully true is #5, and even then, you're saving what, 75 cents?

I've heard that they are going to raise the fee for 411.  So the "Free 411" voice activated system is always a good idea, although sometimes i've had problems with it and had to call 411 to geta real person.

[Calcutta]

I heard another one. I heard that all modern cellphones have a device that if you get lost, wether the phone is on or off it has a locator built in that can be activated by a satellite by law enforcement or search and rescue. About 2 years ago, thats how they found some climbers on mt. hood.

[fourbizz]

free411 is garbage

1800goog411 is where its at. why does google rock at everything they do? oh yeah, its free too, but no commercials, with much, much better voice recognition software and twice as fast.

[bmadd]

You can also send a text message to google. 46645. Type in the name and location of what you want and you get a reply in less than 10 seconds if they have it.

[Glenn]

I heard another one. I heard that all modern cellphones have a device that if you get lost, whether the phone is on or off it has a locator built in that can be activated by a satellite by law enforcement or search and rescue. About 2 years ago, that's how they found some climbers on mt. hood.

No, that's not correct.  It has nothing to do with satellites, and it NOT controlled, activated, or operated by law enforcement (or any other gov't agency for that matter).

What the cell phone company does, at the request of authorities, is "ping" the cell phone (send a brief signal).  They can then triangulate the general area of where the cell phone is using the cell towers that register the phone's signal to help authorities narrow down their search to a specific area.

True, some cell phones now have GPS capabilities, but it's not widespread yet, plus I'm not sure there's any such GPS technology that works even when the phone is off.

[Branuss04]

free411 is garbage

1800goog411 is where its at. why does google rock at everything they do? oh yeah, its free too, but no commercials, with much, much better voice recognition software and twice as fast.

Hmmmm, that's good to know.  I always get tired of the stupid commercials with Free411..... thanks va-jay-jay

[atx_newbie]

You can also send a text message to google. 46645. Type in the name and location of what you want and you get a reply in less than 10 seconds if they have it.

This can be used for many, many things.  A quick text to G-O-O-G-L-E (466453) will get you any information you could need.  Phone numbers, weather, movie times, flight statuses, stock quotes, driving directions, and much more.  Google's web page will tell you the exact codes to use for each, but it goes basically like this:

Text:  Movie Times 60622 (zip code)

Reply:  1) Gran Torino, 2) Defiance 3) Valkeyrie, etc.

then

Text:  1

Reply:  Movie Times for Gran Torino near 60622...

[Bassn Blvd]

I heard another one. I heard that all modern cellphones have a device that if you get lost, whether the phone is on or off it has a locator built in that can be activated by a satellite by law enforcement or search and rescue. About 2 years ago, that's how they found some climbers on mt. hood.

No, that's not correct. It has nothing to do with satellites, and it NOT controlled, activated, or operated by law enforcement (or any other gov't agency for that matter).

What the cell phone company does, at the request of authorities, is "ping" the cell phone (send a brief signal). They can then triangulate the general area of where the cell phone is using the cell towers that register the phone's signal to help authorities narrow down their search to a specific area.

But we do have technology and use it daily that will put us smack in the middle of your lap.