Image via WikipediaIt’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the idea of using mobile phones in the classroom. In fact, I recently posted a roundup of all the different applications I had installed on my phone, along with an educational spin for each. Without fail though, when I do post something along those lines, I always receive a few emails from people saying, “But you have a special super dooper phone. There’s no way you can do that with MY phone.” First of all, more than likely you can. It’s amazing what an average phone will do nowadays. BUT even if it can’t, there’s a way that you can receive your choice of Nokia’s phones mailed to you for a trial period… for free.

The Nokia event I attended in Helsinki was organized by WOM World. While there, I learned that people can go to their site and request just about any Nokia model current released in the wild to be sent to you for a trial. I was just a little dubious, so I put in a request shortly after returning to the US. Then, just last week I got confirmation that my request had been approved and a Nokia N78 was being sent to me for a two week trial. During that time, I intend to install every free application I can find and to really put it through its paces. And when it comes time to send it back… Well, suffice to say I intend to apply for another phone that very same day.

Think about how cool that is. Pick a phone that intrigues you. Register for a free trial. When it arrives, just throw in your SIM card. If you don’t have an internet plan, perhaps you might want to register for one for just that month (or few weeks). Then try out every new feature, application and site you can find. From live streaming to geocaching, see what you can do with it and what you can’t. And when you’re done, you can just send it back.

I think it’s a great opportunity and well worth your time to try.

If you aren’t too familiar with Nokia phones, you may want to consider starting off with the N96 (successor to my current phone), N810 (tablet device), or e71 (Blackberry style).

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Jethro
10/21/2008

So, this is great, but since I don’t have a SIM card, it wouldn’t work would it?

Cursed Verizon.

Jethro’s most recent blog post.. How I Use My Document Camera

Damian
10/21/2008

oops… in my rush to sign up to trial the N96, I overlooked the SIM card requirement (I’m on Sprint). Maybe I can still find a way to play with the apps…

Damian’s most recent blog post.. Team Tommy Needs You

Steve Dembo
10/22/2008

Good questions. Not sure about that one. You may be able to try a pre-paid sim card, or borrow a friend’s for a period or two during the day. Of course, if the phone has WiFi you could always use that.

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