A mobile phone has a mobile phone housing in which are integrated an actuator and a telephone module. The actuator can vibrate the housing to give a haptic or tactile alert to the user. The actuator is to vibrate in accordance with an input signal. The telephone module activates the input signal during the making of an outgoing call to a destination phone, so that the housing vibrates to alert the user while the destination phone is ringing. In another embodiment, the telephone module signals a display screen integrated in the housing, to show a graphic indicative of the outgoing call. In addition, the telephone module activates the input signal for the backlight of the display screen during the making of the outgoing call, so that the backlight flashes the display screen while the destination phone is ringing. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.