Fast, Free Texting -- for Now

LOS ANGELES -- Gadget Grrl has found an e-message service that's free! Dictate a message to an automated operator and have it sent to anyone on your list. This is great for texting on the go. Plus, here is a Bluetooth headset with an incredibly flexible and thin ear hook -- so you can wear your cool shades at the same time.

Dial2Do Free dial2do.com

Dial2Do is a new service that just might get you off those teeny-tiny keys on your Blackberry. First of all, it's free. Who knows if that will always be the case, but for now it's a service worth checking out.

How it works is you dial a number they give you (they gave me a number in New York) and you'll be routed to an automated operator. The operator will ask, "what would you like to do?" At this time you can chose, email, text, reminder or note. Please note, you'll have to enter your contracts online at the Web site first in order to send emails and texts.

I dictated a short email to the operator and asked to send it to myself and it arrived within three minutes. There are email services online that take longer than that. Not bad for a free, automated service that gets me off those tiny keys.

I also liked the note feature. When you choose to send a note or reminder to yourself it appears as a post-it. So it's a nice way to save money, trees and your thumbs.

Motorola H12 BT Headset $64.90 myeurocell.com

There are a number of Bluetooth headsets out, there but one of the most comfortable I have found is the Motorola H12. This tiny, stylish, headset weighs just .04 ounce and measures only 1.65" by 0.7" by 0.47".

Aside from the sleek, silver, diamond-cut metal housing, I like the incredibly flexible and thin ear hook.

Many other models fail to either stay in your ear or around your ear because either the device is too heavy or the ear hook is too rigid. In addition, you can also sport a pair of sunglasses or eyeglasses and the ear hook will not get in the way.

Another feature I like when travelling is the magnetic charger. All chargers should be magnetic. If they were, it would eliminate the age-old problem of having to search for the black slot in the black charger to match up with the black cord. By the way, the charger on the H12 is nice and compact too, so it won't weigh you down.

I used this headset with the Blackberry World cell phone and pairing was not a problem. Using the H12 is easy because there is a large circular button on the front that is easy to locate as are the volume controls on the side because they are raised. On the very top is the power with an indicator just below it with a light that will blink when on.

Of note here is that some users might like to power off when not in use to save on the battery life, but I found that more trouble than it was worth. The reason I wear a headset is so I don't have to mess with my cell phone, so to take extra steps turning it on and off seems to be to be defeating the purpose.

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