Pinger

So as I begin to start doing my own personal review of products, I couldn't think of a better one to review besides the product that support, Pinger. So a disclaimer here is that I work for the company. For those who know me, know that I will not work for a company that delivers crap. Plain and simple, I live to make changes to everyone's life and I try to do it in a positive way. Pinger is a product that for the first time in a long time, believe will change a lot of our lives for good.

Pinger is a "Text Messaging for Your Voice" according to the official verbiage on our website. While it's true, it is simply much more than that. I use Pinger so much everyday that I'm to the point where I don't see myself living without it, unless I was banned from using it.

It's simple to get started. Just dial (858) 2PINGER or go to Pinger and sign up. It really is a piece of cake. Once signed up, you can upload your contacts and then use your voice to address anybody in your contact list. I was initially amazed by the voice recognition stuff. Now I take it for granted.

After addressing your Pinger, you simply speak your message and hang up. It's that easy.

Receiving a message is just as easy. When a person receives a Pinger Notification on their phone, they simply dial the number listed on the notification to immediately listen to their message. On my phone, I just click Send twice to listen to the message. After you listen to it, you can quickly reply by pressing 1 or your can forward by pressing 4.

Another benefit of Pinger is that it doesn't matter what carrier you are on. As long as it's a US carrier, you can send messages pretty much to everyone who has a mobile phone.

They have special software for Treo and Blackberry Users. There is a nice Web 2.0 interface for changing your options, uploading contacts, downloading messages and even sending new ones.

Another benefit of this service that I enjoy is that you don't have to deal with the annoying prompts that come with voicemail. I can't tell you how much I dislike those things. I just want to get the message.

I use Pinger for most everything, but here are some basic examples of how:

Communicating with My Wife.
We both are talkers and have really strong personalities. There are many times I just need to get a message to her and not have a long drawn out conversation. (i.e. "I'm on my way home now, don't forget to pick up some bread"). A phone conversation may end up with her shopping for the rest of the week, me getting dinner started and figuring out what we are doing this weekend. For me, that's face time type of conversation. We just need bread.

One Message to Many People
My step-son is fortunate, or unfortunate, to have 2 sets of parents. We all want to know when he rides his bike to school that he has made it there safely. He was calling everyone individually and letting them know that he made it safely. This was seriously cutting into his valuable recess time. Upon giving him his new cell phone for his 11th birthday, I clued him into what it is I do and he's been hooked. Every morning when he got to school, he sent a Pinger to all 4 of us and we knew he was alright. Except for the time he ran into a pole with his bike, but that's a different story.

Another 1-to-Many Story
My father's been ill and anytime one of us kids visited dad in the hospital a message was sent to the other two. We could all three take our turn and have a conversation via Pinger. It was really helpful and everyone heard each others voices without any interpetation.

Communicating with Teens
I absolutely hate to text message or texting as the kids call it. It takes to flippin long to get a message across. I could call, but that defeats the purpose of a text. Pinger rocks for this. Teens don't have to feel that they aren't cool by talking to their parents on the phone. They can just leave a message and you can just respond. I send Pinger's to my neices all the time.

Traffic Problems
One example of this is when I was driving the family to our middle sons T-Ball game. The main intersection to the ballpark was blocked and I knew that there were 12 other families trying to get to the game. I sent a Pinger to all of the team members parents and they were able to drive around the blockage.

ADD or Whatever They Call What's Wrong With Me
So I have this problem or "Feature" where my mind doesn't sit still, not even for a second. I'm always thinking up new ideas, problems, next steps or just bringing past memories. Some of these things I want to capture so I don't forget. I quickly call Pinger and say what's on my mind so I can always go back and have a listen and try to sort out things later.