Help save your own life and the lives of others by keeping your eyes on the road. There’s no need to steal that glance at your phone’s screen to check the caller ID, especially when behind the wheel. Use the often overlooked “Say Caller’s Name” setting of your Nokia phone. With this setting “on” your phone will speak out (in synthesized voice) the caller ID (using the name you entered in Contacts) when you receive a call. You don’t need a car kit accessory for this; it’s a standard setting on every S60 phone.

I use this setting all the time. It’s even handy when you’re just walking or doing anything where averting your eyes isn’t smart. And, yes, you can insert a joke here about walking and chewing gum at the same time. When you hear who is calling, it’s easy to decide whether to need to stop what you’re doing and take the call or just keep going.

You’ll find the setting in Profiles (select Main Menu| Tools | Profiles)
• Highlight the profile you want to use. Typically this will be General (on an E-series phone and “Normal” on an N-series phone)
• Select Options | Personalize (on E-series and “Customize” on N-series)
• Scroll down to “Say Caller’s Name”
• Select it to change the setting from “off” to “on”
• Select “Back” on the right soft key.

You’re done!

Please post any other ways in which you use your phone in “eyes-free” mode.

I’m psychic and I predict that you will have trouble finding a parking space in the near future. OK, so that predication doesn’t really require any supernatural ability ‘cause we ALL have trouble parking at one time or another – at least those of us within a day’s drive of a major metropolitan area.

What to do? Point your phone’s browser to SpotScout [NOTE: currently test marketing only in Boston, New York, and San Francisco]. SpotScout is a Web-based service that takes a holistic view of the parking problem. It’s allows drivers to quickly find available spots (via their phones or PCs) but it also lets parking garages alert drivers of their availability and it even gives owners of individual private spaces the opportunity to rent their spots in small time increments.

Another US-based parking information site is Wheretofindparking.com, currently focused on Boston and New York City. Wheretofindparking offer tips on where to look and not to look for parking. It also offers a mobile site for browsing via phone. Both of these sites plan to launch in other US cities in the near future.

Don’t live in or near one of these cities? That’s why this is a blog! Please post any similar phone-friendly parking Web services that you use and tell us what city you’re in.

In case you haven’t heard, “An Evening with S60” events are fantastic. So far there have been three in 2007 – NYC (March), Chicago (June), and Helsinki (June). In addition to meeting a lot of great people and hearing insider S60 news, there are a lot of cool S60 tips that get shared at these gatherings.

Dan Shugrue of Nokia S60 marketing stumped several tipsters including myself with this tip at the Chicago event.

How do force a new line in a text message?

Enter three zeros on the keypad while in the text message (SMS) editor. The cursor will jump down to the next line. This allows you to make a new line or “paragraph” in a message or simply let you put your name at the bottom of your message in the appropriate place. Try it and add a little professional polish to your next text message.