Okay, the title is a little peppery, but that’s what they’re referred to. Have you ever placed your cell phone in your back pocket, sat down and found that your rear end placed a butt call? My daughter’s posterior had an uncanny habit of making butt calls until she figured out how to prevent them.

Oh, this also works for preventing friends from seeing your phone when you really don’t want them to see what’s on your phone (in the old days we would just say “No”).

If you have the Verizon prepaid cell phone service and want to stop your body parts or your hand bag ore anything else from making unwanted calls (or you don’t want your friends to see personal information on your phone), here’s a quick way to lock your phone:

Phone: Samsung Intensity

Go to Menu and press Settings and Tools. From Settings and Tools select Phone Settings. From there you select Security (which by default is the last 4 digits of your phone number). Enter the security numbers and select Lock Phone Now.

If you have followed the directions correctly, you’ll need your security code to unlock your phone.

If you don’t want to go through reading all of the above directions, just go to the Menu and type in 9, 6, 9 and enter your 4 digit code and press 4. That’s the quick way to lock your phone.

Answering a Locked Phone

Not to worry, you can still answer incoming phone calls if your phone is locked. You can also make outgoing calls, but the caveat is that you must manually dial the number. When the phone is locked, you are prevented from scrolling through your contact list to auto dial the number.

Changing Your 4-Digit Security Code

If you want to change your security code, follow the above directions until you get to the Security option. Once at the Security menu select Edit Codes and then select Phone Only.

Enter your new 4-digit code and press Set. You must remember your 4-digit code, because if you forget it your phone is permanently locked.
Go back to Security put in code

Locking a Verizon LG env2.

You can lock it the quick way by going to Menu then press 9, 6, 6, enter your security number and then press 4. Or, you can go do it the long way by going to Menu, Settings & Tools, Phone Settings, Security, enter our number and then press Lock Phone Now.

Since my cell phone is off more than it is on, I see no need to lock it, but if you get tired of people calling you saying “Why did you call me and not say anything?” You might need to lock your phone because your body parts are using your phone when you’re not looking.

Setting a text message signature is a common practice for younger text messagers. If you have received a text message from your son, daughter, niece, nephew or anyone under a certain age, more than likely the text message is appended with a witty phrase or text icon. Setting a text message signature on an EnV2 phone is not difficult to do (yes, you can even do it on an EnV2 using prepaid cell phone service). Here’s how to create a text message signature on an EnV2 prepaid cell phone.

1. Open the EnV2 phone (flip it up) and press “OK” to get to the Media Center (you cannot access the text message signature function unless you use the QWERTY keyboard).
2. Scroll up using the up arrow to get to “Messaging” and press “OK.”
3. Select the “Settings” option by pressing the left most selection button.
4. Scroll to the last option on the “Settings” screen. You can get there quickly by pressing the up arrow key (it will bring you to the last option) and press “OK.”
5. Select the “Custom” option and press “OK.” This will bring you to the screen where you can type in your signature. You can insert a sideways rear end by depressing the less than sign “<” and the number 3 to create “<3” which (means heart/love) or you can type in a favorite phrase or inside joke. If you are lacking imagination and don’t mind using a much overused icon, you can insert the less than unique smiley face by depressing the colon “:” and closing parenthesis “)” or the equal sign”=” and closing parenthesis”)” =). Don’t get too crazy with your signature. Keep in mind that the EnV2 limits your signature to 15 characters.
6. Press “OK” to save your brand new signature.
7. Test out your new signature by sending a text to your BFF (best friend forever).

Warning

Your signature reduces the number of characters in your text. Text messages are limited to 160 characters. Therefore, a signature of 10 characters means your text messages cannot exceed 150 characters.

How many times has your cell phone rung and in your attempt to answer it you disconnected the call? C’mon admit it. You search for the “Send” button in order to answer the phone but because the buttons are so small (or your glasses were dirty), you inadvertently hit the wrong button and the call is gone.

Well, if this has happened to you (even if you don’t want to admit it), there’s a way to program your Verizon prepaid wireless cell phone to enable you press any key to answer the phone. Since this method

Here’s how to configure your Verizon prepaid cell phone to use any key for answering an incoming call.

Turn on your cell phone and access the “Menu” option and scroll over to “Settings & Tools.”

Scroll down to option # 7. “Call Settings”

Go to the first option “Answer Options” and press the “OK” button.

Once you’ve entered the “Answer Options” page, you’ll be faced with three methods to answer your phone:

• Flip Open (or Slide Open depending on your phone’s model) which means you automatically answer the phone once you flip or slide it open,

• Any Key, that means you don’t have to hit the elusive “Send” button to answer the phone, you can hit anything,

• And the third option and final option, “Auto with Hands free,” which comes in handy if you are using a hands free device.

Highlight the selection(s) you want and “Mark” them by pressing the “OK” button. You can select one, two or all three options. Once you have made your selections, select “Done” and that’s it.

Have someone call your cell phone. Prove to them that you have learned how to answer a cell phone without disconnecting the caller. Now that you know how to answer your phone, why not use a special ringtone to help your ring stand out from the crowd.

With everyone having a cell phone now a days, when one rings its difficult to tell whose phone is ringing. After awhile all of the ringtones sound alike. Even if you do realize that your phone is the one that’s ringing you’re not sure if it’s a text alert or an actual phone call.

There’s a surefire way to solve that problem. You can create special voice recorded free ringtones telling you exactly whose phone is ringing and whether it’s a phone call or a text message. You could use your own voice or your child’s voice, it’s up to you. Which ever one you choose, you’ll recognize the sound and answer your cell phone. The best part of it is that it won’t cost a dime…it’s absolutely free.

Because each of the Verizon prepaid cell phone models are a little different, these instructions pertain to the Samsung Intensity phone. You can set special free ringtones using other Verizon prepaid cell phones, but the steps may vary slightly.

Verizon’s Samsung Intensity Free Ringtone Instructions

1. Turn on your Samsung Intensity and access the “Menu” option.
2. Go to the Media Center option, select “Music & Tones” and press “OK.”
3. Scroll to the “My Sounds” option and press “OK”
4. Highlight the “Record New” option and press the “OK “button. You will be prompted to record a sound. Try something like “Mary, your phone is ringing. Reach in your pocketbook, find your phone and answer the call.” Or, you can create a text message ringtone such as “Incoming text message. Not to be confused with incoming telephone call.” Once you record the message(s), press the OK button again to stop the recording. Your new ringtone is automatically saved.
5. Now its time to associate your new ringtone with the appropriate Samsung cell phone function. Highlight your newly recorded ringtone and select “Set As.” You’ll have several options to choose from. If you recorded a ringtone, select “Ringtone” and press “OK.” If you recorded a text message notification, select option #3 “Alert Sounds” and press “OK”. From there you can choose which function to associate your new recording with.

Test your new free ringtones. Have someone call your phone or send a text message. You can bet that your free ringtone will be unique and that you’ll never have a doubt in your mind as to whether the ringing is coming from your phone or someone elses.

For some reason some people still think that prepaid cell phones don’t have the same capabilities as monthly contract cell phones.
That’s not quite true. Even prepaid cell phones can receive text messages from email addresses.

How to Send a Text via Email

To send a text message to a pre paid cell phone via email is the same as sending one to a contract phone. There are two very important things that are required:

1. The 10 digit cell phone number
2. The Cell phone service provider

Each cell phone service provider has an SMS address (which usually takes on the form of @name.com) which allows computer folks to send text messages to cell phone folks. The 10 digits appearing before the @name.com is the recipient’s cell phone number, and the @name.com is the cell phone provider’s messaging address. You’re on your own when it comes to the cell phone number, but I can help you with the cell phone service provider’s SNS address.

Listed below are the @name.coms for some of the most popular cell phone providers.

Emailing the Text Message

Now that we have all of the necessary info, it’s time to send the text. So, if I were to send a text message to my friend on the Nextel network, I would open my email program, insert the 10 digit phone number followed by the SMS address in the “To” line. I would then send a short message (remember it’s SMS which stands for short message service) to my friend.

For brevity sake, I usually send the entire message in the “Subject” line, keeping in mind that it’s a text message and not a regular email. Once I start typing in the body of the email program, I know for sure that my message will be too long for the cell phone to accept. The maximum character length of a text message usually falls somewhere around 160 characters.

After I finish my “Subject” text message, I send it. Simple as pie.

In an earlier post I got to interview a few ‘professional’ texters. They don’t get paid for texting but they should. Anything you do all day you might as well get paid for it.

Anyway, one of the complaints they had about their LG enV2 was the “OK” button is the first thing to go (pretty hard to send a text without the “OK” button). However, we also discovered that not only the “OK” button has a tendency to kick the bucket, but the front screen on the enV2 shows signs of wear by turning white.

A white screen means that the cell phone user must always open the cell phone to see who sent the latest text (what a drag).

Now that We’ve Identified the Problems with the LG enV2, What Does One Do?

Well, hopefully the problems all occur within the first year of owning the phone while its still under warranty. From the experience of my test group, that’s not a problem. As a matter of fact, it’s almost guaranteed that the problem will occur within the first year of owning the enV2 cell phone.

At first sign of a problem, call your service provider. In this case the service provider was Verizon (yes, it was a pre-paid service). We took the phone to a Verizon service center and they ordered a new one. That was it.

A day or two later a phone was delivered to the home. All we had to do was place the battery from the old phone into the new phone, use the Fed Ex shipping label and box to send the old phone back to Verizon and we were all done (there’s a 30 day window in which to send the old phone back).

One Question Remains

What happens when the warranty runs out? Does that mean its time for an upgrade (actually that was two questions)?

In order to get an honest review on a cell phone you need to talk to folks who really put the phone to the test. Who better than a few pre-teens understand how to maximize the use of a cell phone.

The three young ladies chosen in this interview are cell phone aficionados and have put the
Verizon LG enV2 phone through quite a few hoops. Barely a feature has gone untested. These quick talking, fast texting cell phone experts managed to take a few minutes out of their busy day to answer a few questions:

What features do you like the best about the enV2?

General consensus answer: Texting with the keyboard. I like the keyboard because its’ like a true keyboard. It has the Shift key and everything. The keyboard is just the right size, not too big and not too small. We especially like the camera and video camera. The pictures are very clear with great sound.

Amber: I also like the notebook feature. The other day we were on the school bus and my friend and I were working on a project. Well, we weren’t really working on the project but we were thinking about how to do it. I was able to use the notebook to write down the ideas so we wouldn’t forget them.

Sam: I like the alarm clock feature. I use it when Steph comes over. I usually set it for the time that her mom is supposed to pick her up so that way we’ll be prepared.

Sam: It’s also easy to navigate. You can change the display, themes and other stuff easily. Also, you can change the menu options. You can remove the ones that you don’t use. Like Messages. Why would they put Messages in the menu when Messages shows up as soon as you look at your phone? I don’t get it.

What don’t you like about your enV2?

Amber: It’s missing the loop thing for me to add a handle. You know how other cell phones allow you to add a handle so you can wear it around your wrist, well the enV2 doesn’t have it.

Sam: I also don’t like the front of the enV2 because the menu options are limited. You can only do quick messages, but what I do like about the quick message feature is that you can add new quick messages to the list.

Steph: I don’t like having to lock it. You ALWAYS have to unlock it.

If there were one thing you would change about the enV2 what would it be?

Amber: I would change it so that the OK button works. The OK button on the front of my phone doesn’t work. That’s really bad because you have to use the OK button to lock and unlock the phone. If I don’t lock the phone and put it In my bag or pocket, the numbers get pressed and the phone calls random people. But, now my OK button doesn’t work. The same thing happened to Darlene. Her phone’s OK button doesn’t work and she has the LG Voyager model.

Steph: I would change the ringtones that comes with the phone.

If you had to give a few tips to other kids who just got the enV2 what would you tell them?

Steph: First I would tell them to make sure that if you put your enV2 in your pocket or something, make sure noting is banging into it because it can accidentally call someone if it unlocks it.

Sam: Yeah, that actually happened to me. I had it in my boot (Ugg) and somehow it unlocked and texted two of my friends and called a number that I didn’t recognize.

Sam: Oh, yeah, and I would tell them that you can send and share ringtones, but you cannot send them unless they’re in your ‘sounds’ folder. You can put ring tones into the sound folder by sending the ringtone to yourself in a text message and then save it to both your ringtone and sound folder.

LaForey: Why save them in both?

You save it in your ringtone folder so that you can use the ringtone. Save it in your sounds folder so that you can send it to your friends.

With all of the good points and the problems with the LG enV2, would you recommend it to someone else?

A resounding yes from all three participants.

There you have it, out of the mouths of babes.

NOTE: The LG enV2 phone works with both the prepaid and contract plans.

If you’re undecided as to which pay as you go service to use, there is one factor that cannot be ignored when making a decision. You have to make sure that the wireless cell phone provider has service in your area.

To make it a little easier to find the coverage location of the various providers, below are links to the national coverage maps for several prepaid wireless cell phone providers. Once you have confirmed that there is coverage in your area, you can take the search to the next level.

By clicking on the national coverage map below, you’ll be taken to the wireless provider’s current coverage map. The maps as displayed below are current as of January, 2009. Be advised, however that although the maps may display as providing wireless coverage in many locations, check with each cell phone provider as the national coverage map is much different than the regionally available plans.

National coverage maps display where phone service is available and whether roaming charges apply or not. It is not an indication as to whether or not the wireless provider offers a prepaid plan in your area. For that you must contact the wireless service provider.

National Coverage Maps
AT&T GoPhone	Alltel Pay Per Day
Boostmobile PayGo Plan	Jump Mobile Prepaid Wireless
Kajeet	Net 10
TMobile	TracFone
US Cellular	Verizon INPulse Plan

Additions (and subtractions) are made to this list quarterly.

The features offered by Verizon on its prepaid INPulse plan pretty much mirror those offered to annual contract cell phone accounts. With

features like Caller ID, call forwarding, local and long distance service, call waiting, three way calling, voice mail and international calling to name a few, if someone borrowed your cell phone it would be tough for them to tell that you have a prepaid wireless plan.

International Calling
Many of the features are automatically included with the phone, but customers need to be aware of the international calling charges if they intend to make out of country calls. International calls do not fall under the scope of long distance service. You can make calls to Puerto Rico for no additional charge, but calls to Canada, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Saipan and Mexico cost .29 per minute. Calls to Mexico are .29 per minute to a wireless phone number, but calls to a landline number costs .10 per minute.

All other available international calling locations are charged at a rate of 1.49 per minute. Verizon has an extensive list of available countries (From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe). Visit the Verizon Prepay International Services web page for an up to date listing of available countries.

International Texting

Rates for sending text messages to an international location is 25 cents per test message. Income messages, on the other hand, follow the pricing on whichever INPulse plan you have chosen.

International Roaming

You may use your Verizon Prepay cell phone in Puerto Rico, Canada, US Virgin Island, Mexico and Bermuda, but be aware that roaming rates apply. From as little as .69 per minute in the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada to as high as $1.99 per minute in Bermuda. Roaming in Mexico will cost you .99 per minute.

Ancillary Features

You have the option to download ring tones, surf the web, and play music though V Cast Music (Being an ‘old timer,’ I don’t quite understand the need to have a cell phone filled with music, but that’s just my personal opinion). You can also download or create your own ring tones, download games and use VZ Navigator as your personal GPS to get street-by-street, turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

Bottom line, prepaid cell phone plans offer pretty much everything the contract phone offers.

Related Reading:

Verizon Prepaid Cell Phone for the Texting Teen in Your Life

In order to continue using your prepaid plan, you must have an available balance from which to draw your per minute charges and you also must have time available. Unlike annual contract wireless phone service, prepaid cell phone plans must be funded up front (thus the term pre-paid). The amount of available funds on the account in conjunction with the amount of available time tells you how much talk/text time you have.

Here are the Verizon time purchase options:

From an economical standpoint, it makes sense to purchase $100 up front to secure 1 year’s talk time for your cell phone plan. Of course you will have to replenish the account once the available minutes are used up, but at least you are guaranteed to keep your phone service (and phone number) for the entire year. Purchasing time cards of $15 per month in order to keep the phone activated will cost you $180. This is especially important if you only use your cell phone for emergencies. There’s a chance that you’ll still have an available balance to make calls, but no available time.

Funding the Phone:

There are several ways in which to fund your Verizon prepaid cell phone plan:

• Purchase a phone card from participating retailers
• Purchase time through Verizon wireless phone
• Purchase time online and activate online from the Verizon Wireless website
• Call the Verizon Customer Service center and either use the automated service or speak to a customer service representative.
• Auto pay option whereby automatic payments are deducted from your debit or credit card.  You choose whether or not to deduct monthly or only when your balance is getting low.

Word of caution: It has been this author’s experience that even when you request Verizon to remove your credit card information and not store it for future use, they do not always honor your request.

The Account Balance Depletion Theory

Here’s how the balance works. Let’s say on January 1 you purchase one year’s worth of time for $100 and elect to add the $20 per month text messaging feature to your prepaid phone plan. We’ll also say that you use your phone an equivalent of $15 in talk time each month. That means that from the $100, $35 will be deducted each month until your balance gets to about $5. At that time Verizon will notify you by text and/or cell phone call of your low balance.

Although technically, your cell phone account is still active because it only took you a little over 2 months to use your available balance, you must still fund your account. If you don’t fund your prepaid account, you won’t be able to make calls or send text messages. Once you add funds to your account before the January 1 expiration, you’ll be able to continue using the phone keeping same phone number.