Expert: DebiN - 8/31/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Debi

I just bought a Sony Ericsson W395(walkman series). Till now I have only used Nokia phones and have been quite comfortable and satisfied with it. Just thought should break the trend a bit and went in for  a Sony Ericsson. I am also a heavy user of the calendar/reminder feature, which is very user friendly in Nokia. But with this new instrument I see that whenever I set an appointment or a reminder, it doesn't ring an alarm to inform me of the time approached.
Moreover, for b'day reminders it rings a very very soft bell which I'm not able to custom-change. Kindly help me by telling me any site from where I'll be able to safely download such a planner for myself which will be both userfriendly and flexible.

It will be a great help

Regrads
Smitha Renny

ANSWER: I'm not aware of a site where you can download something that would change the features of your phone. Cell phones features are determined by the manufacturer and the wireless provider and since a non-Smartphone only has a basic proprietary operating system, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be able to download anything for your phone that would change a feature. In otherwords, if the alarm doesn't ring today and the phone isn't capable of it, nothing you can download will change that and there wouldn't really be anything out there to download. Though I'm not personally familiar with the phone model you have, I would think it's safe to say that if there is an alarm sound at all, that it is customizable. If it rings for birthdays, it will ring for appointments. What would be the difference between a birthday and an an appointment? They are both appointments. I'm thinking that the way the birthday is set up should be the same way that an appointment is set up and if it isn't, i.e., the birthday is in the contacts and the appointment is on the calendar, then there is a calendar setting that can be changed to alert you for appointments. Also, the volume of the alarm should be able to be changed, just like a ringtone. If you don't have the manual, I would suggest using the on-line manual and I'm pretty sure you will be able to find this.

One thing to keep in mind - Nokia, at least in my opinion, has the best "cell phone logic" of any standard cell phone. I think they are better than Motorola, Sony, LG, Samsung. Nokia basically dropped the ball a few years back and priced themselves out the market with many of the US cell phone providers, but making their phones way too expensive for the cell phone providers to subsidize. That opened the door wide for LG, Samsung and others to jump right in. Nokia also, smartly, got completely out of the CDMA market since it is a dead arena and they now sell mostly outside of the US.

So, my personal opinion is that if they have the option of trading in your Sony for another Nokia or better yet, a true SmartPhone, you should think about it. For someone who likes the calendar feature, a SmartPhone is definitely the way to go. I hope this helps. Thanks. DebiN

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Debi
Thnks a ton for that info. Guess I'm just stuck with this one. There are a couple of things I'd like to clarify though.

1) I'm not looking for anything that would change the way my phone works. What I'm looking for is additional software that can be downloaded into my phone with which I can manage my b'days, appointments etc. Do you think you can help me now?
2) I did check the phone thoroughly and the online manual too. It doesn't have a feature for changing the reminder tone or volume.

Thanks a lot for all the help
Regards
Smitha Renny

Answer
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any software that can be downloaded to do what you are wanting to do. I'm very wary of anything third parry for a cell phone anyway due to the proprietary operating systems. If there is something that can do what you are wanting it do, I'm not aware of it. I wish that I could help more. Thanks. DebiN.