It seems like your smartphone can do anything, doesn’t it? It can go online, look up the weather, help you navigate, store documents, play music, and everything in between. But what if you want ingenious assistance with the phone’s basic feature—placing and receiving calls? Read on, because these services are for you. Best of all, they should work with any smartphone.

Where’s My Cell Phone
To make or receive that call, you definitely must be able to locate your cell phone. And those small little buggers seem disappear into any crack, crease, or crevice. If you’ve misplaced your cell phone, tap into WheresMyCellPhone.com, type in your cell phone number, and the website will call your phone for you.

Sorry Gotta Go
On the phone, but don’t want to be? If you’re too polite to cut the phone call short, log in to SorryGottaGo.com and choose a sound file that will be sure to put an end to the conversation. Examples include: doorbell, crying baby, wrong number, honking horn, car alarm, fire drill, cat’s meow, dog barking, and more. The service is free, but you must be near a computer to use it.

Fring
Fring has been around for a while, but if you’re just getting into the smartphone or social networking game, you’ll want to check it out. Fring allows users to make free mobile calls, video calls, and live chats to other Fring users, or users on other internet services such as Skype, Messenger, Google Talk, Facebook, Twitter, and more. It does not matter what device, network, platform, or community the users belong to—Fring connects all! One central contact list can connect you to one or more people at the same time, and through the Fring interface, you can check a contact’s status, their profile, initiate a live chat, send and receive files, and so on. To download Fring for free, visit Fring.com.

Jaxtr
“No hassle. No download. No Wi-Fi.” That’s the motto at Jaxtr, a service that allows you to save big time on international calls. To use the service, head to their website, and enter your phone number to be assigned a local Jaxtr number. Dial the Jaxtr number on your mobile, and after the prompt, dial the number in the international country you’re wanting to reach. Free calls are available in over 50 countries, though your standard mobile calling rates still apply. To use the free call service, you must choose the Free Connect option by pressing 0 and then 2. Otherwise, rates do apply. For a list of rates, see Jaxtr’s rate page.

Fonolo
Hate automated menus? If you use Fonolo, you can skip them. This web-based service allows you to browse a company’s phone directory online, and select where you want to go. Fonolo will then call your phone and connect you directly to the right department. Fonolo is free, and was voted one of the best 50 websites in 2009 from Time.com.

Slydial
Need to pass along a message, but don’t want to get stuck talking on the phone for an hour to Chatty Cathy? Use Slydial. Slydial is a free service that connects you directly to a person’s mobile voicemail. To use, call 267/SLYDIAL (267/759/3425) and enter your contact’s phone number. When their voicemail picks up, you can leave your message. Talk about a time saver!

Google is best known for its mighty search engine, but Google’s reach goes far beyond that. Google has its hands in nearly every aspect of the online world. In the past several years Google has launched Gmail, an email service; Chrome, it’s own web browser; Maps, a mapping service; and dozens of applications and software services such as Alerts, Docs, Sketch-Up, Picasa, and many, many more. Here are some of the best from 2009.

Google Squared
Launched in June of 2009, Google Squared presents your word search in a spreadsheet type grid. Unlike its search engine, it does not provide links to web pages on the topic, however. Instead, Google Squared retrieves and organizes the data you’re in need of, and allows you to build, modify, and refine the spreadsheet “square” through further web searches. Google said: “It essentially searches the Web to find the types of facts you might be interested in, extracts them and presents them in a meaningful way.”

Gmail Tasks
This easy to use Gmail function allows you to keep track of your To-Do List. To use on your computer, simply enter Gmail, click Tasks on the left hand side bar and enter your tasks. The tasks automatically show up on your calendar, which can be found on the top toolbar in Gmail. To modify your tasks, use the actions toolbar. Gmail Tasks can also be used on your mobile browser, and an iGoogle widget is available for your homepage. Gmail Tasks was launched in July.

My Tracks
Designed for Android phones, My Tracks is a free download that enables users to record where they’ve been (their “tracks”), display their tracks on a map, and share their tracks via online services. The map shows elevation, time, speed, distance, and other live statistics. Way points and positions are shown on Google Maps, either in map mode or satellite mode, and track data can be also be uploaded and shared on Google Maps. Requires internet connection.

Sidewiki
Introduced in September, Google Sidewiki is a free browser plug-in toolbar that installs alongside the Google Toolbar. It shows users comments about any page on the internet, and allows any user to publish their own comments about a web page or topic. Sidewiki entries can be shared on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and other social media sites.

Sky Map
Use your Android phone to find planets, constellations, stars, and other celestial objects. Just point your phone at the night sky, and Sky Map will use your phone’s GPS, accelerometer, and compass to produce a Star Map based on your location. In manual mode, you can search for constellations by flicking through space or searching the database. To find what you’re looking for in the night sky, Sky Map’s arrow system will guide you. Click the link above to watch a video about Sky Map.

Fast Flip
Part of Google Labs, Fast Flip is based on a magazine’s presentation of content. Users can “flip” through pages to find stories, click on the page, and be taken directly to the publisher’s website. Content is grouped by categories so it’s easy to find, and topics are generated automatically by stories coming online. Readers can vote on articles, and if an article receives enough votes, it will be added to the Recommended section. Fast Flip users can also use their Google account to see which stories their contacts like, and to personalize their content. Currently, Fast Flip works on the iPhone and Android mobile devices as well as your PC.

Look forward to Google Wave, a real-time collaboration and communication tool.

Google has many features most of you are aware of—Google Maps, Google Earth, Chrome, and Blogger, for example. But they also have many useful applications you’ve probably never heard of. Explore the Google features below, and you’ll undoubtedly find that using them makes tasks a little easier.

Also, be sure to visit Google Labs, where you can get a sneak peek at what their techs are up to and try the beta version of their latest creations. Your feedback can help turn their experiments into Lab graduates.

Google Transit
Google Transit is part of the Google Maps program. If you use public transportation to get to work, or plan on using buses, subways, or rails on an upcoming vacation, a stop by Google Transit will make your ride easier. With Google Transit, you will get:

• a list of transit stops in your area, or the area you are traveling in
• step-by-step directions
• station schedules and information

Google Transit covers major US cities, including the San Francisco Bay area, Southern California, Denver, Miami, Atlanta, Honolulu, Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, New York City, Portland, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Dallas, Fairfax, Seattle, Milwaukie, and many more, as well as international locations throughout Asia, Australia, South America, and Europe.

To make traveling via public transport even easier, you can use Google Transit on your mobile phone.

For a demonstration, see the You Tube video available here.

Google Translate
If you’re in need of a translation service, check out Google Translate. Whether you need a word rendered into a different language, a page of text, or entire website, Google Translate can transform your native language into 34 foreign languages, or vice versa, within seconds.

Google Translate also allows you to add a gadget to your website that will allow visitors to translate your page into a language more comfortable for them, and/or add a Google Translate Toolbar, which translates words into your native language when you pause your mouse over them.

Customized Searches, Special Searches, and Query Refinements

With more and more content on the web, it can sometimes be a challenge to find exactly what you’re looking for. Google has many advanced options for getting the information you need, however. In addition to their advanced search, you can also search books, blogs, and images, but did you know that you can set up a customized search, conduct a specialized search, and use query refinements?

With a customized search, you input the sites you want to search and Google gives you results from only those pages. You can host the search box on your personal or business website, if you wish, and even tailor it to match your site’s design.

Special searches include seven specific options: Public Service Search, University Search, Government Search, and the ability to search Linux, BSD, Apple/Macintosh, and Microsoft platforms.

The Public Service Search allows educational institutions and non-profit organizations free worldwide SiteSearch.

The University Search option allows you to search specific university websites for admissions information, course schedules, and more.

The Government Search searches only government sites, including the IRS, BLS, NASA, and state agencies.

The Query Refinement features offer more ways to narrow your search.

Use the Plus Operator to ensure that key words Google otherwise ignores—such as the, where, and how—don’t get left out. Simply add a + sign in front of the word, and Google adds it to the search.

The Related Search searches the web for pages that contain similar content to a given site. To use the related search, type “related” followed by the website’s address into the Google search box.

Fill in the Blank is yet another query refinement you can use. If you want to know what Isaac Newton discovered, for example, you can ask Google to fill in the blank. Use an asterisk (*) at the part of the question you want Google to finish, and you won’t have to waste precious time searching for the right answer.

Other Articles You May be Interested In

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an overview of Google Sketch Up

“Write, Edit, Access, and Share Your Documents From Anywhere Online”
features an overview of Google Documents

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