Best phone (sms) management software?

[Fat Tone]

I need to set up a project where volunteers (in pairs) will be given phones for a while and will be expected to text each other as they normally would. There will probably be several pairs.

We need to get at the text messages afterwards to analyse the language used.

Can you recommend a phone or an application that makes this as easy and as manageable as possible? The texting needs to be phone based as using a different type of keyboard (e.g. PC keyboard) affects behaviour.

Many TIA

T.

[Sasq]

I would suggest contacting the telco directly and see if they can peel out a copy of the sms in transit

The telco software will do it, if considering the cirumstances they will let you access to the info is a different question.

My phone has memory sticks that makes it so much easier to deal with, then again, i just email from my phone.

[Fat Tone]

Thanks Dan.

We probably will contact a few networks to see if they will help, but not for this initial pilot phase. If the pilot shows promising results it may well be scaled up, in which case we'd go to them not just for help, but maybe even funding, kit supply etc.

My shiney new LG 8110 comes with phone manager s/w that lets you drag'n'drop sms, contacts, emails etc etc to/from the PC, but I gather there may be issues with multiple handsets.

T.

Edit: Memory Sticks - excellent idea

[Wombat]

If your phone software is like mine, it can't retrieve SMSs that the user has deleted from the phone. So that may not be a good enough solution.

[Fat Tone]

Users deleting texts could be a problem, but it is unlikely. We've done simillar things before with emails, and people were surprisingly open!

The experiment will be designed so that the researcher looking at the data does not know who the user was, so they have a degree of anonymity. We have to to satisfy Ethics criteria anyway.

[Paddy]

You psychology department has some wierd ideas for experiments. Can't you just make them up and keep the cash?

[Fat Tone]

What Paddy Wrote:
You psychology department has some wierd ideas for experiments. Can't you just make them up and keep the cash?

What Paddy Meant:
You psychology department has some wierd ideas for experiments. Can't you just make up the results and spend the cash on new computer parts?

Oh Yeah!!!!

[Paddy]

What Paddy REALLY Meant:
Your psychology department has some wierd ideas for experiments. Can't you just make up the results and give me the cash??? me love you long time...

[Fat Tone]

Seriously though, can anyone particularly recommend their phone's ability to copy data to PC?

[GuchiGuh]

Hi Fat Tone.

Personally I'd recommend the Siemens S55 to you. I've been using the asian counterpart (S57) the past 2 years, am really pleased with it.

Main difference is that the S57 does NOT have Bluetooth and Voice controls.


SMS messages are stored on the phone and on the sim card (total of 100 SMS on the phone and 15 on the sim card), both outgoing and incoming.

These messages can then be transferred to the phone memory in the so called "SMS Archieves" Folder.

These then can be downloaded onto a computer via Infared or supplied data cable and the Siemens Data Suit Software onto the computer. It saves them in .rtf format, so MS Word can read them. The transfer is automatic, but using Infrared, it may take a while, I recommend the Data cable.

I've collected all my SMS message since I got the phone

I can also transfer data from and to the Mobile phone. So its kinda like a portable storage medium (but the Memory is a mere 900kb, but I can still jam pack it with SMS messages. Had around 600 messages stored in the Archieves before I moved them onto computer.)

All current Siemens mobiles are capable of this feature, the S55 might be a bit too old now. So the next best choice is the the S65, which is just getting released.


I have no regrets with Siemens, my parents use a Siemens as well. Excellent Phones

Hope this helps

Alex.

[Wombat]

My motorola (a v400) does what you want. I have the $30 USB cable, and it syncs with a phone control software program. All my SMSs are there, unless I delete them before I sync. I can even delete them from the phone after the sync, and the program still retains a copy.

[Rakido]

Samsung's does that too, doing it all the time with my E700.
The soft is called Easystudio.


Rakido

[Fluff]

If you use sony ericssonn T610 / T68i / (K700i soon). Get a program called Float's Mobile agent. It is the dogs. Works via bluetooth.

Allows you to backup sms off phone easily. Manage phone book,

When you recieve an sms, a popup appears on PC screen with the message, and you can reply via your pc.

And its free.

Pete

http://fma.sourceforge.net/index2.htm

plus you can do silly things like control winamp from phone.