Phone Phun

Need to make a phone call but not so interested in letting your recipient know who's on the other end of the line? Or maybe you're just a big fan of Mr Roboto. Either way, here's an interesting find for you. Point your web browser to TextDialer, enter the number you want to call, and type in your message. This service will then call your number (in the US or Canada) and read your message back to whoever picks up the phone. The sound quality is about what you would expect from a synthesized voice, and some of the pronunciations were a bit off, but it definitely gets your meaning across.

TextDialer is a free service.

Thanks to K3ntucky for pointing this one out to us.

Whether you've been naughty or nice, you've decided you need a new Nintendo DS for Christmas. You've left notes lying around the house. You've left store ads open to the right page. You've even absent-mindedly wondered aloud "what would it be like to have a brand new gaming system?" Are you sure that everybody gets it? Maybe it's time to call in reinforcements.

Do you think it might help if Mario himself were to make a call on your behalf? Check it out here. All you need to do is to enter your name and the name and relationship of the person to whom Mario is going to send the message for you. Answer a couple of questions, and everybody's favorite plumber will make that phone call for you–or send an email message with a link to an audio file that your recipient can listen to.

It doesn't cost anything to get Mario to put in a good word for you. And hey, I'll bet you'd rather get a couple of new games than a new pair of socks.

If you're more than about two years old, you've no doubt received a gift from Santa Claus. If you're lucky, you may have gotten a letter from him as well. But what about a phone call? If you, or someone special, needs to get a jingle from that Jolly Old Elf, you'll want to check out ChristmasDialer.com.

Just enter your phone number and choose one of three messages. Click the button, and in a minute or two, you'll get a call from Kris Kringle himself. Imagine the joy on your child's face–or the look of shock on the face of your spouse–when The Big Guy calls.

Santa assures us that he doesn't keep track of your phone number, so you're not going to get a bunch of crank calls from the elves anywhere down the road.

Do you take a lot of photos with your phone? It's a pretty handy thing to always have that camera with you. Not only is it easy to share vacations and outings, but more "serious" stuff as well: here's the apartment we're looking to rent; here's the cute new dog we're looking at adopting from the local animal shelter.

You can send those images to other folks through MMS, but if you're hitting more than one or two contacts, that can get expensive. It'd be handy if you could hit a bunch of folks all at once.

You've got an online account for sharing pictures, right? If it's with Photobucket, you can take advantage of their service that lets you upload pictures directly from your phone.

Log in to your account, click on the "albums & upload" button, grab the email address and send a message to it with your picture as an attachment. In a short time, your image will be included in your album. Now you can point people there to see your handiwork.

If you don't already have a Photobucket account, you can sign up for free.

We've all been there. You hear a song, your toes start tapping, and pretty quick you know you've gotta' own that song. Only problem is, you have no idea what it is or who's performing it. What are you gonna' do?

You could try 411-SONG. To ID a song you're hearing, you just dial 1-866-411-SONG (1-800-411-7664), hold your phone up to the speaker, and in about fifteen seconds, they'll identify the song and text you back with the title, performer, and a link to buy the song. It couldn't be easier.

The first call is free; after that, it costs $0.99 per call, or you can get unlimited song IDs for $3.99 a month.

Dial-a-story services generally allow you to call or log in to listen to a story. This one's different, in that you are encouraged to leave a story, as well as listening to one.

The Story Collector is an opportunity to share with others the story you never got to tell, or the old favorite that the kids keep pestering you to tell again and again. Stories run from serious to amusing, touching to outrageous, and just about everything in between. While you can listen to stories submitted by others, this is your chance to make your own mark.

Fill in a web form with some minimal information—your name, email address, and any comments you want to make, and you'll be given a toll-free number to call to tell your story in your own voice. If you want to remain anonymous, that's an option as well. Make the phone call, tell your story, and you're good. Now everybody can hear about your most memorable vacation, the time the cat died, or why Aunt Mabel insists on bringing fruitcake to holiday dinners when nobody can stand the stuff.

Got a lot on your mind? Need to get it off your chest? More naughty than nice? Maybe it's time to 'fess up.

Call to Confess doesn't care who you are or what you're about. Just phone them at 1-848-482-5568 and tell them all about it. It's not the same as going to Confession, and nobody's going to assign you penance, but you may just help yourself out.

Of course, you should remember that the standard rules of the confessional don't necessarily apply here. You can listen to the confessions of others—and probably your own also—on their website.

Are you a connoisseur of the ripped-bodice romance novel? How about just looking for a good giggle? Either way, we've got just the thing for you.

Point your web browser to fabiofone.com, answer a few simple questions—name, occupation, hobbies, and of course your phone number—and the Great Mane will give you a call back.

Sure, he's trying to sell you his favorite non-dairy spread, but hey, how often do concerned celebrities care about what you put on your toast?

A tip of the Phone Phun Phedora goes to Izzy for turning us on to this service. We hope we're not just being "buttered-up" here.

Need to get back at someone who has rickrolled you one too many times? No problem. Just have them call 248-434-5508, and good ol' Rick Astley will serenade your friend with his #1 hit tune.

Jott (1-866-JOTT-123) has added a silly new feature: when it asks "who do you want to send a Jott to?" say "8-ball" and the thing will answer your question like a Magic 8-Ball.

Used it's "real" way, I've found Jott to be an incredibly useful tool for sending myself reminders: send a Jott to "myself" then speak a short message — they turn it into text and e-mail it to you. You can also post to your blog using the service, but I don't think I'll be trying that until they can guarantee perfect transcriptions.

Another cool new feature: you can create a Google Calendar event in a single step using Jott. Just call Jott, say “Google Calendar”, and then the time of the event and what it’s about. They'll take your voice, convert it to text, and insert it into your calendar for you.