Product Review: SimplyMobile Mom

by Amy S.

Cell phones are the lifeline of the working mom. We may not use our cell phones to send videos of dancing cats (like my 21-year-old niece sent me last week), but we use they for practically everything else. So when I got word of a free new program designed to send just about anything from my desktop to my cell phone - I was on it.

SimplyMobile Mom is software you install on a personal computer that lets you easily send content to your phone. (You can also share content with others by adding them to your network.) The premise is simple - take lists, to-dos, photos, even blogs with you by adding them to your SimplyMobile Mom software on your desktop and then "sending" the items to your phone. Most of the interface involves SMS texting, so a good text plan is a must. I still pay by the text message, so I didn't want a ton of text notifications.  Although you don't have to use the text version - there's a web version for those with smart phones - it seems pretty important to have a good text plan, because even the web version relies on texts to send the web links to your phone.

There are lots of good ways to use this service - an on-the-go grocery list you can update from home or work and have sent to your phone, connect to your email account, send photos to your phone and lots more. It's a great way to make a basic cell phone "act" more like a smart phone.

For those with a smart phone it may provide an easier way to "sync" content from computer to phone. As a smart phone user, I really like the idea because it would allow me to share content across multiple computers without having to use Active Sync. But based on the few hours I spent with the software, I'm not sure it can really "take the place" of syncing data. It can definitely enhance it.

The set-up is pretty easy - the program is downloaded to a PC and several text messages sent to your cell phone. The interface isn't quite as friendly as I'd hoped - I consider myself to be pretty tech-savvy but still had to watch several online tutorials on how to use the service. In addition, keep in mind that this software is still in Beta testing - so it's not without its quirks. For one thing, the grammar snob in me noticed a few typos along the way! It also bugs me that when you're in the program, it can "disappear" when you're using it and you have to double-click it again to make it "reappear" for use.

Now is a great time to register with SimplyMobile Mom - they're offering a contest for all who register with the site to win an 8gb Apple iPhone and 2-years of service from AT&T. The contest ends May 19th.