For years, I pedantically said that my only New Year’s resolution was to not take any resolutions, since it was the easiest one to keep. This year, I’ve set myself a few goals which I’d like to achieve, such as learning to use my Digital SLR camera beyond its most basic features.

In the spirit of trying new things, here are 8 great ways to show your mobile phone a bit of love in 2008. It may be a ubiquitous necessity in our lives, but it’s also a really fun device that can brighten up your day in all sorts of ways!

1. Free your photos

   If you’re anything like I used to be, you take occasional photos on your mobile, but they rarely see the light of day after the event.

   The odd one might be sent by MMS to a friend, but that’s about it. Make a resolution to post your pics to a blog, moblog or a service like Flickr, which is accessible from your mobile.

   With cameras improving, not only can you take candid shots, but you can have a bit of fun with artistic photography - Entire groups are dedicated to mobile photography!

2. Backup your address book

   Close your eyes for a moment and imagine the worst - your phone’s been stolen, it’s given up the ghost or you’ve dropped it in the toilet. Whatever the scenario, what would you do if you lost all the information contained on your phone?

   Now, avoid getting that horrible sinking feeling from becoming reality by regularly backing up your address book and, if necessary, your SMS inbox, your photos, etc. Usually a quick look at the user manual or search online will tell you the best way to backup your data whatever device you own.

3. Stay organised

   You know that little calendar or organiser on your phone that you’ve barely ever looked at? Set it up to sync correctly with your computer and benefit from having access to your calendar while on the go.

4. Get back in touch

   Look through your address book. Are there some people you know you should be getting in touch with, either for professional or personal reasons? Use the beginning of the new year as an excuse to reconnect. Whether you ring them for a long catch up chat or arrange to meet over coffee by SMS, get back in touch with the important people you may have neglected recently.

5. Do a Spring cleaning

   While looking through your address book, why not clear out the numbers and names who aren’t relevant anymore? That guy you met at the pub one night out on the razz or your sister’s old mobile number from 6 years ago, just get rid of them.

   If you’re paranoid about deleting numbers that could one day come in handy, back up your address book to your computer. You’ll be able to refer to that list if that day comes.

6. Reduce, reuse, recycle

   If you’re a chronic mobile upgrader, you’ll most likely have a spare phone or two sitting in your drawer gathering dust. Consider donating it to a charity that will either give it a new lease of life or recycle it in an environmentally friendly way.

   The NCH Children’s Charity in the UK will gratefully accept mobiles, and so will a number o recycling centres in the US.

7. Try one new feature

   When we shop for a new phone, we often look for the shiniest one with all the bells and whistle. But when it comes down to it, few of us actually use any of the features beyond the basic calling, SMS and camera functionality.

   Take five minutes this week and try something new on your phone. Never sent an MMS? Surprise your kids by showing them you’re cool enough to figure out how to send one. Not familiar with the barcode scanner on your N95? See what happens when you scan that curious QR code advert you’ve been seeing every morning on your way to work.

   The rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t worry too much about breaking something by trying something new! If you’re worried you’ll lose data in the process, see #2.

8. Take time offline

   This might seem to be an odd one to add to a list like this one, but in this age of 24/7 availability and connectedness, it’s healthy to unplug sometimes.

   Take a day a week, if you can, where you leave your mobile turned off and go for a long walk in the countryside. Or go do some crowd watching in Covent Garden if greenery and fresh air isn’t your thing. Just disconnect for a while and you’ll love your mobile more when you get back to it.

   You might be surprised to see that the world doesn’t spin off its axis even if you sever the connection for 24 hours.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Mobile devices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.