Receiving faxes on CDMA mobile phone

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Mayhem

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Master Geek

#10715 6-Dec-2006 12:08

Hi guys i was wondering if there is a way to receive a fax to my nokia 6235 mobile phone and or a cable that can connect it to my computer so i can download them there???? any help would be most appreciated.

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#54849 6-Dec-2006 21:50

I'm not sure of that, at least not on 027 but I do know you can setup a virtual mailbox and get people to send faxes to that number then when your ready, find a fax machine... anywhere... get the number of said fax and tell the mailbox to spit the fax back out to the fax your standing next to.....

Does that help?

I don't know of any services on a standard 027 mobile to do what your after but the above is at least a stop gap..

grant_k

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#54855 6-Dec-2006 22:09

How about coming at this problem from a different angle:

1) Use Faxaway to receive your faxes (it costs only US$1 per month)
2) Somebody sends a fax to your Faxaway number
3) It appears in your e-mail moments later as a file attachment

One small issue with this is that Faxaway only have US phone numbers. However, it costs just 15c to send a 1-page fax to the US, so I find this to be a very good service. Reliability has been excellent since I started using it around April this year.

If you are interested:

www.faxaway.com

Has all the details. To sign up you need to pay US$10 which will provide you with 10 months of received faxes. It's a bargain really!

lapimate

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#54862 6-Dec-2006 22:24

Grant17: ... However, it costs just 15c to send a 1-page fax to the US, ...

So do you have automatic forwarding set on your NZ fax number, or do you publish your Seattle number?

grant_k

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#54864 6-Dec-2006 22:30

lapimate: So do you have automatic forwarding set on your NZ fax number, or do you publish your Seattle number?

I don't have an NZ fax number any more because I don't consider it's worth paying $42 per month for a landline which is of no other use to me. I just give out the Seattle number to the small number of people who need to send faxes to me.

Faxaway was the easiest solution for incoming faxes. For outgoing faxes I can send them through VFX from WorldxChange. No landline required at all

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#54865 6-Dec-2006 22:33

Yac provides free phone forward and fax receiving. I use it sometimes and you can receive faxes in TIFF or PDF formats. The phone call option allows you to enter up to three numbers and it will "hunt you down" in order.

The service is free, but the catch is that it's a UK number only.

grant_k

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#54867 6-Dec-2006 22:50

freitasm: Yac provides free phone forward and fax receiving...
The service is free, but the catch is that it's a UK number only.

It looks like Yac make their money by loading quite substantial costs on to the caller:

Cost to Caller when dialling an 07092 Yac Number (from a standard BT line)
Daytime	31.91 pence per minute (NZ$91c per minute)
Evening	21.27 pence per minute (NZ$61c per minute)
Weekend	10.63 pence per minute (NZ$30c per minute)

Prices exclude VAT. Please note that 070 personal numbering services are not guaranteed to be accessible when called from outside the UK.

Or have I missed something here?

freitasm

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#54869 6-Dec-2006 22:57

0709 are special numbers in the UK. Come to think of it, NZ$.30/minute is not more than a mobile phone call here in good old New Zealand if you don't have a special plan.

I put things under this perspective: why pay for something I don't need to make it easier for the others. Really, not being mean, but think about a landline for example. You can move to having a mobile phone only and save yourself $40/month on landline rental.

"Hey, I get free local calls", you'd say. Right, but most mobile phone plans offer some minutes as part of their package, so you can discount that. "Yes, but now people can't call me for free"... At the end of the day you are paying $40/month so others can use the phone for free?

I use Yac once every few months. Why would I want to pay for a landline to have a fax attached to it - or even buy a fax machine?

Nope...

The OP wants to receive faxes on a mobile phone to connect to a computer. It will cost almost the same to a sender to call the UK from a landline as to call a mobile phone from a landline. Much better have the service not costing the receiver anything, and get the fax in PDF format on your e-mail address.

But that's just me...

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sat

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Master Geek

#54874 6-Dec-2006 23:43

You need Telecom fax address, It gives you a local number for faxs you receive notifications on your phone and you can dowloand your fax to any fax machine close by

sbiddle

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#54884 7-Dec-2006 06:44

satellitesam: You need Telecom fax address, It gives you a local number for faxs you receive notifications on your phone and you can dowloand your fax to any fax machine close by

But this doesn't solve the problem of receiving faxes on a mobile phone in a mobile environment.

This may be one area where GSM has a solution that CDMA doesn't - if you get a Vodafone fax number you can just plug your phone into a laptop and receive them straight to your laptop. It's funny how BellSouth used to promote this 10 years ago (remember the ad with the guy in the paddock?) but it barely seems to get a mention now that faxes have gone the way dinosaur! You can also set the faxes sent to your own Vodafone mailbox and then send them to your PC as required so you don't need the phone connected to the PC permanently.

Mayhem

82 posts

Master Geek

#54895 7-Dec-2006 10:09

I have looked into the Fax Address and like the idea but do not like having to use other peoples fax machines.............. Also looking into getting a tellular so that i can have it set up with a fax machine in my van next to the computer but the expense is great........... Thanks for all you help and keep the ideas coming.

tonyhughes

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#54899 7-Dec-2006 10:21

Fax should be dead.

It isnt.

But it should be.

I never make a first offer of faxing someone - I always say "Is it convenient for me to email this to you?" and most people gleefully say yes.

When people say they will fax me, I ask if they have it on electronic copy, and if so, they can make their life easier by emailing me.

Fax should be dead.

It isnt.

But it should be.

tonyhughes

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#54901 7-Dec-2006 10:23

Mayhem:
I have looked into the Fax Address and like the idea but do not like having to use other peoples fax machines.............. Also looking into getting a tellular so that i can have it set up with a fax machine in my van next to the computer but the expense is great........... Thanks for all you help and keep the ideas coming.

Why not use the Tellular unit with a laptop using fax software - the laptop thinks the Tellular is a PSTN line, the Tellular is capable of passing fax signal through, you end up with an electronic copy that can be filed easily, or forwarded out to anyone via email (perhaps automatically via a rule), or printed any time (again, perhaps automatically via a rule).

grant_k

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#54905 7-Dec-2006 10:30

tonyhughes:
Why not use the Tellular unit with a laptop using fax software - the laptop thinks the Tellular is a PSTN line...

How much do these Tellular units cost Tony?

This is a problem I have when away on a road trip. I can receive faxes but no longer send them since "upgrading" my mobile phone.

Both previous Ericsson phones I had supported faxing, but the Panasonic phone I now have no longer supports this useful function.

I agree that "faxes should be dead", but they aren't just yet!

tonyhughes

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#54906 7-Dec-2006 10:39

Grant17: How much do these Tellular units cost Tony?

I believe around the $800 mark (all Orb/LECom stores should be able to quote you, Orb Karamu Rd Hastings have a dummy unit in store and can obviously source them). They are unsubsidised. They are also 1X, so although they do packet data anywhere in 027 coverage, its at the slower 100Kbps mark, rather than EVDOs 400-800Kbps.

Niche unit that works well. A lifesaver if you MUST have the functionality.

Time after time I have been in front of people who say "I NEED to do this - no ifs, buts or otherwise" and make out that they are so desperate to get a fax working in their $60,000.00 car or $400,000.00 truck, but as soon as they see its eight hundred bucks, they decide that their impending doom should they not find a fax solution is suddenly not so real.

Go figure.

I have been approached at least 20 times over the years by customers seriously wanting mobile fax (to a real fax machine, not a laptop). Never sold a single one.

I barely entertain the idea now, because the percentage of customers who will actually take up such a proposal is so low.

My standard response now takes 10 seconds - "Yes, we can do it perfectly, it costs eight hundred dollars for the hardware, and you supply a standard fax machine and the power supply".

You of course also require some sort of mobile connection (i.e. a voice plan).

"You lost me at $800"
"Yeah... I figured I would"

Customer climbs into $60k car and zooms off...

grant_k

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#54910 7-Dec-2006 10:55

tonyhughes: My standard response now takes 10 seconds - "Yes, we can do it perfectly, it costs eight hundred dollars for the hardware, and you supply a standard fax machine and the power supply".

"You lost me at $800"
"Yeah... I figured I would"

Yep, exactly as you say. For $800 I think I can live without the ability to send faxes while on the road.

I used to find it handy to hook my laptop up to my old mobile phone and send the odd fax, but for $800 I can live with e-mail.

QED.

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