PhoneTalk

Tomorrow, at 2:00 PM PST, I'll be hosting a chat on LetsTalk's Facebook page. I’ll be taking questions about phones, plans, apps, and can even help Facebook fans pick the best phone for them. If there's something you want to know about mobile, but didn't know who to ask stop by and ask me on Facebook at 2:00 PM PST this Friday.

Updated: October 20, 2011

Last week, BlackBerry users around the globe suffered an extensive service outage. Although, RIM had service up and running again within a few days the company wants to help compensate for the outage by offering its customers a selection of free premium applications that have a combined value of over $100. The selected apps will become available for download starting today and remain available until the end of the year. Once users download the app they want it’s theirs. They won’t have to pay for the app after the free download period. Although, there isn’t a complete list of apps available (new apps will appear over the next four weeks) some have been announced:

• SIMS 3

• Shazam Encore
• Photo Editor Ultimate
• Vlingo Plus
• Bubble Bash 2

BlackBerry users should check the BlackBerry App World on their phones and look for the “A Thank You Gift from BlackBerry” category to get more information and start downloading the available apps. The offer is available for all BlackBerry smartphone customers, so be sure to check the special section in the BlackBerry App World for free premium apps.

Starting today through the end of August, customers who didn’t sign up for Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection program can do so now. Typically, if you want protection for your Sprint phone you need to sign up for the service at the time of purchase. The service costs $8 a month for each line of service. There’s a $50 or $100 (depending on the type of phone) non-refundable deductible for lost, stolen, or damage phones. The plan includes the following features:

• Service and Repair available at one of Sprint’s 1300 service and repair locations
• No additional repair costs for in-store services
• Next business day replacements for loss, stolen or damaged claims
• Ability to file claims online with email notification of claim and shipment status
• Extended customer service hours
• The Protection App which allows eligible devices the ability to remotely locate lost devices, erase, backup, manage and restore contacts

Should you sign up for the additional coverage? People have all sorts of opinion on this type of service. The best way to decide is to think about how you personally use your phone. For example, do you tend to drop it a lot or does it get tossed around in a bag? Maybe you have kids that you lend the phone to so they can play games. If you answer yes to those questions then you should probably get it. However, if you tend to be more careful with your phone and know where it is at all times, you’re probably fine without it.

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we tell you how to keep from dowloading apps to a BlackBerry smartphone and what you can expect to get from a 2GB data plan. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. You can also ask me on Twitter. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

Sometimes when I send a text on my HTC EVO 4G the letters won't come up. I have to keep going back to it and exiting out a few times before I see what I am writing. Is this a common issue? - Intelligence

You're not alone, this does happen occasionally. It's a bug in the HTC SMS program. One of the easiest ways to handle it until a fix becomes available is to simply hit the back button and try again. The good news is that since it's an Android phone there are updates available for download over-the-air periodically and there are usually fixes for these random bugs.

I would like learn more about Value Lock. What is it and how does it work? - mmtt

Value Lock is a feature offered on the LetsTalk site when buying a new phone. Essentially it works like this: when buying a new cell phone click on the Value Lock banner and enter the manufacturer and phone model (ex. Samsung Fascinate) you want to buy. You'll then find out how much that phone will be worth a year from now. Value Lock "locks" in that amount and in a year or so when you want to upgrade that phone, you'll need to send in your old phone (the one that has the original Value Lock) and as long as it's in good working condition, the value will be applied to the purchase of your new phone from LetsTalk. You can find out more about Value Lock by clicking this link.

Earlier this week, California's new Governor Jerry Brown announced that he plans on collecting 48,000 of the 96,000 government-paid cell phones currently in use by June 1, 2011. To help those employees who will be losing their cell phones, LetsTalk.com is offering those consumers a $25 discount on a new cell phone. All phones, except prepaid models, are eligible for the discount and it can be used in conjunction with other discounts already offered on the site. California state employees should also be aware that once they have a new phone they are likely eligible for additional discounts from the carriers. Most carriers offer a 15% discount, which amounts to a $200+ savings annually for even the most basic plan. Once they have a new phone, those consumers should contact their carrier directly to check eligibility and to learn about enrollment. To find out how to get this discount, visit www.letstalk.com/ca-employee.

If you're someone who has a wallet full of loyalty cards or stored in a drawer somewhere CardStar is a mobile app worth checking out. In short, the app in its current form lets you store all your loyalty card information in one place (currently available for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry smartphones). In addition to having the information in one spot, it can also locate nearby stores and you can even use it in the store to redeem loyalty points or discounts when purchasing items. Sounds pretty good already, doesn't it?

The newest version of CardStar adds quite a few new features in its latest software release. According to CardStar CTO Danny Espinoza the latest update is "bringing location into old style loyalty programs." The company is doing this by integrating FourSquare into the app and consumers who use FourSquare a lot will be eligible for unique promotions. For example, every time you go to CVS and use the app's FourSquare feature you become eligible for additional promotional opportunities. Instead of just becoming the Mayor of your local CVS store, you may even get more perks for your CVS loyalty card. Additionally, you can choose to save that particular CVS as a Favorite Place and each time you're in that store it will open the app for you.

The company has also added another feature called CardStar Connect that lets you create an anonymous user ID so when you get a new smartphone (iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry) you can download the app enter your user ID and the app will get all of your loyalty information so that you don't need to re-enter it on each new cell phone you use.

The newest update will initially be available for iPhone users (and will work with phones running iPhone OS 3 and later - so you can even it use it on an iPod Touch) this week at the app store. While versions for Android and BlackBerry cell phones will be coming soon. To learn more about getting CardStar (by the way, the app is free) visit MyCardStar.com.

I first learned about CardStar at CTIA earlier this year. The company had an app for the iPhone that lets consumers manage all of their loyalty reward information in one place. It's also a bit more interactive than that, it could tell you local stores and even let you get loyalty credits just by showing your cell phone at check out. The service is now available for BlackBerry and Android users. Better yet, the app is free to download. To get the app on a BlackBerry cell phone you'll need to enter this URL http://m.metova.com/cardstar.xjad into the browser in order to download it. I just downloaded a version to the DROID Incredible by HTC from the Android Market. I'm going to give it a try and report back on my thoughts in an upcoming post. In the meantime, here's what the app looks like:

CardStar Loyalty Programs App on the BlackBerry

CardStar Loyalty Programs App on a Google Android smartphone

Recently, I rented a car and was on my way to return it at the airport. Seeing as I review cell phones, I always like to put them to the test whenever possible. In this situation, I didn't remember how to get to the airport so I decided to use the GPS service in the LG enV Touch that I had on me. The GPS service had a hard time locating the airport in the search, but it did find several other locations on the same street, so I simply selected that option. The directions were great - even gave me a shortcut to get through traffic. Once I was in the vicinity and started seeing the signs for the airport, I ended the application (it drains the battery a bit too fast for my tastes) and threw the cell phone on the front passenger seat. As far as I was concerned it was smooth sailing from there. Until I realized I had 45 minutes to return the car, board the rental car shuttle to the airport, check-in and get through security in time to board the flight.

After pulling into the rental car return parking lot, I checked out, grabbed my bags and ran for the bus. It wasn't until I got on the bus that I realized I had left the cell phone in the car. Gasp! I decided the wheels were in motion - literally. Thankfully, I had other cell phones with me in order to call the rental location. I know that's not the case for everyone, but the check-in counter has a phone that they would have allowed me to use. After spending 5 minutes calling the wrong 800 number on the envelope of the rental agreement, I looked deeper and found that I needed to call the number on the actual agreement. That's the number to the local office. Here's a tip: Call the number on the rental agreement and ask for lost and found. Through this method, I was able to inform them of the lost cell phone and get a direct number to call the next day.

Thankfully, in that time my cell phone battery died so I knew my information on the device was secure. I knew this because when i landed I called my number and it went right to voice mail. Next step: call Lost and Found. They had found the phone and are sending it back to me (at my expense). Here's another helpful tip: If you ever worry about the information on a cell phone set a lock code for the phone. This feature is available on most smartphones out-of-the-box.

All and all, if you lose a cell phone, best bet is to call the phone first. You might just get lucky. If not, retrace your steps and chances are you might just find it. Of course, you can always use a service like YouGetItBack for a different kind of insurance. It all helps, but the thing to really think about is how important is your cell phone to you? Have a story and tips to share? Post a comment below.

When in need of support many of us might not consider checking out our own cell phone for help. But in the case of the BlackBerry Bold and Storm that's what you should do first. According to this story, RIM has improved the BlackBerry browser experience to help answer questions on how to use BlackBerry features and more. Simply type in the URL http://mobile.blackberry.com/ in the BlackBerry browser and get started.

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we give advice on how to check remaining Sprint minutes from your cell phone and compatibility issues. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I have a Nextel Motorola ic502 cell phone which is an, but I have nTelos service, how can I use it with my existing service? –Todd

The good news is that the Motorola ic502 will technically work on the nTelos service. However, you’ll need to check directly with nTelos to see if they can program it to work with their service. If it will work with the service, we should note you will not be able to use the Nextel Direct Connect feature.

What number do I dial from my cell phone to check the minutes that I have used on my Sprint cell phone? -Thanks

If you want to check out the amount of minutes you’ve used in your plan for the current monthly billing cycle and find out how many you have left in that cycle, simply dial *4 from the phone application and press send. You’ll get all the information you need.

BlackBerry smartphones are loaded with functionality and the more you use one, the more things you discover it can do. Don't keep that information to yourself, let other BlackBerry users in it on too by visiting the recently launched Official BlackBerry Support User Forums. Maybe you just want to know how to do something on your BlackBerry, for example, this user wanted to find out how to send pictures to a BlackBerry if you don't have an e-mail address. Other users wrote in with answers and better yet, you can even see in the forum which solution was chosen. Check it out for yourself. It's shaping up to be a great resource.