IDNetters Forums

Technical News & Discussion => IDNet Help => Topic started by: robbo1 on Aug 26, 2009, 13:25:31

Title: Text Notification
Post by: robbo1 on Aug 26, 2009, 13:25:31
Hi there.

I am new to IDNET (loving the much improved download speed by the way).

I was wondering if there is anyway I can get my IDNET email account(s) to text my mobile phone a notification message when I get a new email in my inbox?

Thanks

Robbo1
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Rik on Aug 26, 2009, 13:26:32
Hi Robbo and welcome to the forum. :welc: :karma:

In a word, no, sorry. :(
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Simon on Aug 26, 2009, 13:42:38
You can, however, download your email to your phone, if your phone supports email.  Data charges may apply, depending on your mobile provider and package.

Oh, by the way, :welc:  :karma:
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: zappaDPJ on Aug 26, 2009, 14:00:36
 :welc: :karma:
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Sebby on Aug 26, 2009, 16:42:49
:welc: :karma:

Setting up email on your phone is the best option, but this will incur data costs if not included in your price plan.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: robbo1 on Aug 26, 2009, 19:41:35
OK, thanks all for the help and the warm welcome.

Is this something that could go in the "suggestions" area as a possible new service, or is it unlikely to be a popular requirement?

Robbo
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Rik on Aug 26, 2009, 19:44:57
My own guess is that it would be too expensive. IDNet would have to set up a texting facility, and that would incur costs. As not everyone would want the service, I'd expect it to be charged at a relatively high price per text, so it might not be attractive. Given the 200+ emails I receive a day, I certainly wouldn't fancy even 1p/message. ;)

I'll mention it, though, as see if I can get an official answer for you.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: robbo1 on Aug 26, 2009, 19:50:04
Thanks Rik
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Rik on Aug 26, 2009, 19:53:00
Email sent. I should hear something tomorrow, I'll chase them if I don't.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Simon on Aug 26, 2009, 21:29:46
Is there any reason why you can't set up the email on your phone, Rob?  Unless you're on Pay and Go, of course, in which case it would be prohibitively expensive, most calling plans have a small data allowance, and you should be able to set the phone to download just the email headers, so you know you've got one.  That would be much the same as the service you're looking for, wouldn't it?  The emails would still be left on the server for later collection.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: robbo1 on Aug 26, 2009, 21:51:23
Simon,

I have 2 phones one personal PAYG phone and one work phone which I don't want to be billing data charges to.

It isn't a major issue, I just thought I would ask the question.

In terms of my priority it is a 2 out of 10 in the overall requirement so not worth really worrying about.

Thanks all for your help

Rob
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Simon on Aug 26, 2009, 21:54:43
Ah, right, sorry, I wasn't being pushy, just curious.  :)
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Ray on Aug 26, 2009, 22:42:16
 :welc: :karma:
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Gary on Aug 27, 2009, 08:48:01
O2 do a service where emails are sent out as an MMS for free on certain tariffs, saves battery life is you have push email.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Rik on Aug 27, 2009, 10:35:00
I've checked with IDNet on this. While it's technically possible, there's not been sufficient demand for them to consider implementing it, as it would involve a charge for each email (with the risk that spam could prove very expensive). In addition, with most phones now being able to receive and send email, they feel that less and less people would want to pay for an SMS service, thus increasing the costs for those who did use it.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Gary on Aug 27, 2009, 10:39:54
Quote from: Rik on Aug 27, 2009, 10:35:00
I've checked with IDNet on this. While it's technically possible, there's not been sufficient demand for them to consider implementing it, as it would involve a charge for each email (with the risk that spam could prove very expensive). In addition, with most phones now being able to receive and send email, they feel that less and less people would want to pay for an SMS service, thus increasing the costs for those who did use it.
I can see that I have my email on my phone and with WiFi and an unlimited data plan dont need an sms or mms for it myself, although if they did a push service that could be good
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Dangerjunkie on Aug 27, 2009, 10:46:05
Hi,

Welcome to the gang :karma:

A good solution to your problem would be a Blackberry.

I have a Blackberry Bold on Vodafone. for £40 a month I get 700 minutes to any network, all calls to 01,02 and 03 numbers up to an hour are free, 250 texts, Blackberry Internet Email (monitors up to 10 internet email accounts) and 500MB of data for web and email. My email accounts are regularly checked by the Blackberry server for new email and new emails are automatically pushed to the phone. It's a fantastic user experience. The only downside on the Bold is that the battery life is short. It's definitely a charge-every-day phone. The slimmer berries that don't have the huge screens and multimedia stuff give better battery life I believe.

Cheers,
Paul.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Simon on Aug 27, 2009, 11:15:57
You want to try the Storm, Paul.  If I use mine a lot during the day, I'm charging again by the end of the afternoon!

Mine is bought, but unlocked, and on O2, with a £20 per month SIM only 'BlackBerry' tariff, which includes 600 minutes, 1200 text, and unlimited BlackBerry data.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Dangerjunkie on Aug 27, 2009, 11:31:59
My record was when I connected my Bold to my TomTom by Bluetooth and subscribed to the real-time traffic and "safety" camera updates. It hammers the 3G/GPRS every 5 minutes to see if traffic has changed on-route in case it needs to replan my journey. I ran the phone totally flat 3 times in a day. I now only use the TomTom data service when I've got the phone plugged into the cigar-lighter charger.

Anyone who's thinking of getting one, please don't let this put you off Blackberries. Other than this one time my Bold battery has only failed to get me through the day once. It's always worth keeping your device software up to date as there have been a number of improvements to the battery life as a result of updates.

Cheers,
Paul.
Title: Re: Text Notification
Post by: Simon on Aug 27, 2009, 12:08:35
I have a Weather app on mine that checks for updates every 30 minutes, so I could cut that down to 2 hours, and save a bit.