Nov 21

GQ App Marks the Future for Magazines

By Chris Samaras Phones In The News 1 Comment »

gq_magazine_iphone_appGQ Magazine’s new iPhone app seems to offering a glimpse into the future of what we think of as a magazine. Released by Conde Naste, GQ’s Man of the Year issue is now available, in its entirety, as an app that you can purchase (for half the normal magazine price) from the iTunes store to be viewed on your new or refurbished cell phone. For an industry that has seen subscriptions steadily declining as web technology advances, this app should symbolize the leather used to re-tie the wagon to the horses.

The natural question to ask about a magazine app is, “How does it differ from just going to GQ’s website?” If you’ve ever gone to a magazine’s website, you know that the sites don’t give away all of the content from that month’s mag because if they did, there’d be no reason to buy the printed issue. The goal has been to give you a taste of each article to entice you to actually go buy a copy of the real thing. This GQ app marks a total change to the paradigm.

This GQ app actually is the magazine, which you can flip through on your touch screen just like a real magazine. It’s actually more than a magazine because all of it’s content is “live,” meaning that the advertisements now move and talk if you click on them, they’ll take you to their source. The release of this app makes me wonder why anyone would want to actually produce printed magazines anymore. Think about it; they can charge half the price of a printed copy because they’ve saved money on printing, warehousing, and shipping, and readers now get more out of the product because they can actually interact with it. In reality, apps like this save trees and reduce household clutter. It seems like a win-win situation. That being said, I can’t shake this lingering feeling that I will miss the actual pages in my hand. I mean, do I really want my iPhone on the toilet with me?

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Oct 24

A Plea to the eBay Consumer

By Chris Samaras Cell Phone Reviews, Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News No Comments »

PleaseHaving worked in the customer service side of a start up cell phone Internet retail company for a little over a year now, I find myself frequently frustrated by the demands of unreasonable customers and by how easy eBay makes it for a customer to extort a small business through their feedback system. Our company was founded with the simple intent of providing quality products at discounted rates so that we could make a living by saving people money. Yet week after week, I find myself frustrated, disgruntled, and actually depressed by the attitudes and demands of a certain “class” of eBay consumers, who are people that we are trying to save money. It seems that the giant corporations of America have bred a new class of e-consumer who seem to have forgotten about the working class business owners and who feel that they are entitled to what they want for cheaper than it costs at impossible speeds and if something should happen to go wrong in the process, the world itself should be stopped until they are completely satisfied. So on behalf of the small businesses on eBay, I have put together this list of pleas to the eBay consumer.

1. Think About the Seller – Most companies selling on eBay are not multi-million corporations who employ thousands of people but are, instead, a team of a few average people (or in a lot of cases, just a single person) trying to earn an honest living. Our company started out of a disgust for the unbelievable markups that large companies charge for their products, and we saw the opportunity to help people save money on products of the exact same quality. The saddest part about what I deal with on a daily basis is that when a problem arises, people are so quick to overlook the fact that they are saving massive amounts of money (on average, more than 50%) and to start making unjust demands to compensate for their inconvenience.

2. Understand What is Given Up to Provide Large Discounts – Now don’t get me wrong, when a problem arises, the customer must come first and any business should do everything they can to make the situation right. But that being said, the customer must realize that the incredible amount of compensation for consumer inconvenience that they are used to receiving from giant corporations (like free express shipping, immediate assistance, free products, replacements being sent out before a product is returned, etc.) are possible only because of the extreme markups on the prices of their items. Unavoidably, problems arise in life, but to expect to receive same reparations that some giant corporation would offer you from a small business on eBay is simply unreasonable. These companies are offering you the same products as the large corporations at a fraction of the price, which means they make less profit so, naturally, they will not be able to adhere to the same “anything you want” types of policies.

3. Be a Responsible Buyer – It is important to remember that because these smaller companies on eBay want to provide you with honest, quality service, they clearly state their policies in their listings and on their parent websites. As a responsible buyer trying to save money, you owe it to these companies to read their policies before purchasing. I can’t tell you how many times a month we deal with irate customers who are mad about policies that were clearly printed in the listing that they purchased. We offer a 30-day warranty on our items so how do you justify leaving negative feedback because you can’t return a broken car charger six months after you purchased it (for 85% less than it would have cost in a store)?

4. Understand the Severity of Negative Feedback – If a problem arises with your order from a company on eBay, I guarantee that the company will be willing to honor any policy they advertise as quickly as they can because negative feedback is absolutely detrimental to a company on eBay. The feedback system is a great way to ensure that companies stick to their word but when customers decide to make unreasonable demands, the feedback system is often used to extort free products and services from companies who really can’t afford to be giving things away. I would say that when a problem arises with a customer’s order, 70% of those customers will threaten negative feedback in the first message that the send to us (before even giving us a chance to let them know that we will be happy to fix the issue). Sadly, eBay permits people to leave negative feedback over issues even if the issue is clearly not covered in a seller’s policy. When a seller receives more than a once percent drop in feedback, their listings are then dropped from their earned search result spots, which literally costs a company thousands of dollars per week.

5. Be Reasonable About Shipping – As an eBay consumer, it’s important to remind yourself of the benefits that you are receiving. Not only are you getting the same item that you would see in a traditional retail store at a fraction of what it would cost but you don’t even have to leave your home to shop for it, which saves you time and money on gas. It’s also important to remember that the companies you purchase from on eBay are not out there flying planes and driving the buses that actually bring the packages to your door. Once a company ships your order, they have absolutely nothing to do with the shipping time of the order. A customer once emailed me and said, “I just bought a car charger from you. Email me when it’s on my doorstep.” First, customer service people are not slaves to be ordered around and, second, if it’s important for you to be able to track you package, pay for trackable shipping. Also, inexpensive items are highly susceptible to theft during shipment, but most companies will be happy to work with you to get the situation resolved if you just give them the opportunity.

Our company works day and night (often long into the night) to provide a quality service at incredible prices, but eBay makes it very hard to succeed in this ever-increasing land of unreasonable consumers. To start a small Internet retail company without eBay, however, is nearly impossible. We just hope that customers will start understanding that they need to put as much effort into being a reasonable, responsible buyer as the sellers put into being honest and fair retailers.

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Oct 12

Another Reason To Buy a Refurbished Blackberry

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News 1 Comment »

BBTwitPicIf you are anywhere near the technological forefront of today, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Twitter and the ease at which it allows you to share your thoughts, status, information. But are you aware that you can now just as easily tweet videos from your Blackberry cell phone through sites like Twitvid and Twiddeo?

Assuming that you already have a Twitter account, all you have to do is go to Twitvid or Twiddeo, log in with your Twitter user name and password, and then follow the simple instructions for uploading and tweeting video tweets. The only catch is that your cell phone needs to have video recording capabilities (which most iPhones do not). Blackberry has a bunch of models that come with video recording capabilities (shown below), and the best part is that most of these models are now available refurbished, meaning that you can purchase them for a fraction of what they cost new.

Blackberrys with video recording:

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Oct 09

Three Reasons You Need a Wifi Cell Phone

By Chris Samaras Cell Phone Reviews, Interesting Phone Stuff 1 Comment »

WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) is a technology that lets devices, like your cell phone or laptop, connect the Internet without using wires. WiFi is becoming a standard feature with all new, high-end electronics and for good reason. Here are five of the best reasons for why you need to purchase a Wifi Cell Phone.

Number 1 – UMA, S1208185285896971921coredump_Glassy_WiFi_symbol.svg.hikype, and Google Voice.

UMA is a technology that allows you to make phone calls over the Internet. The benefit of using UMA is that when you are making calls over the Internet, you are not using your regular cell phone plan minutes. Companies like T-Mobile are now offering plans built around UMA, which give you unlimited calling when you are within range of your home Wifi network or any T-Mobile Wifi networks of which there are over 8,000 across the US (T-Mobile has set up accounts with companies like Starbucks and Borders). The best part about T-Mobile’s Wifi plan is that all calls initiated within T-Mobile Wifi hotspost are free for the entire duration of the call, even if you walk outside of the hotspot and your call switches over to T-Mobile’s network. The switch is seemless, so you don’t have to worry about your call being dropped and you save a ton of minutes.

Companies like Skype and have cell phone applications that allow you to make phone calls over the internet from any Wifi network, not just your own. While using Wifi from your cell phone, Skype will allow you to call anyone else on Skype for free at any time, and Google Voice allows you to call any number (land line or cell) within the US for free any time. Think about it; with Wifi calling, you don’t need minutes any more.

Number 2 – Apps

Apps, or applications, are changing the world as we know it. There are apps for everything from using maps and directions, streaming music, and planning trips to finding the closest pizza joint and then finding the closest public toilet. All the most popular social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter have apps, so you can constantly keep your virtual world updated. Most apps are free and with Wifi, you don’t have to pay to use them. Check out more at Blackberry App World.

Number 3 – Price

Although Wifi is a fairly new technology, especially in the cell phone world, some of the greatest Wifi models have been out long enough to where they are being recycled and refurbished. This is great news for consumers as you can now purchase refurbished cell phones that have Wifi for a fraction of the price of what they cost new.

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Oct 01

Newsweek Says Buy Refurbished Cell Phones

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News No Comments »
Refurbished Cell Phones

Refurbished Cell Phones

Newsweek has recently released a video containing facts that support the fact that purchasing refurbished cell phones is a very Green thing to do. Obviously, purchasing second hand anything is good for the environment as it eliminates the demand for new materials to be usurped in order to produce new products, but most people don’t understand how important it is to purchase refurbished cell phones until they actually see the numbers.

According to Newsweeks’s video, eight out of ten people in US own a mobile phone, which means more people in the US have cell phones than passports and Internet access. Newsweek claims that if mobile phone users made up their own country, it would be bigger than the US, China, India, Russia, Mexico, France, and Japan combined. Because the average life of a cell phone before it is replaced is approximately 18 months, there are more than 500 million cell phones in the world right now that will be thrown away. If these phones were recycled into refurbishment programs, we would save the world more than $40 million in copper, $61 million in silver, and $392 million in gold.

The best part about purchasing refurbished cell phones, besides the fact that it helps the environment so much, is that refurbished phones are of the same quality (functionally wise) as a brand new phone. Sure a refurbished phone may have some minor cosmetic scratches on it, but you can save a boat load of money and help the Earth by purchasing refurbished as opposed to new. Most refurbished phones have brand new housing on them anyway, so the majority of refurbished phones look brand new as well. So if you can’t afford to solar panel your house or purchase a Prius, do yourself and the environment a favor and purchase a refurbished phone the next time you need to upgrade.
Mobile Matters on Newsweek

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Sep 20

Most Common Reasons A Cell Phone is Refurbished

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff No Comments »

Broken Blackberry RefurbishedThere is a lot of material on the internet these days explaining the benefits of purchasing refurbished cell phones as they function like new, save the creation of hazardous material for the environment, and cost a fraction of the price of new phones, but there isn’t much information about why a phone is refurbished in the first place. Because consumers are often hesitant to purchase products of which they no little about, I have compiled a list of the most common reasons for a cell phone to be refurbished.

First of all, refurbished means that an item has been purchased and then returned for some reason. Returned products are examined and fixed (if there was actually a problem with the item), but, by law, they can never again be sold as new. Most cell phones that are returned have nothing wrong with them. The customers simply change their mind about their purchase and decide to take the item back. So most refurbished phones are virtually brand new as they have hardly been used, if they have been used at all, and they have been cleaned for sanitary reasons after they were returned.

When a customer returns a phone because it has actually malfunctioned, the technicians in the refurbishment department take the phone apart, run a diagnostic exam to determine the problem,  and the replace any part that is not functioning properly. Parts that are most often replaced range from motherboards to speakers or microphones. The most common part of a phone that is replaced is the LCD screen. Because LCD screens are so delicate, they are easily cracked if a phone is dropped or slammed into something. If a phone is returned because the screen no longer works, the screen is simply replaced with a new screen, the phone is then tested for full functionality, and then the phone (which now functions as new) is sold for a fraction of the original cost.

Besides the internals that are often replaced, there are several common external problems that lead to refurbishment. Most common would be simple external, cosmetic wear and tear. If the internals of a phone test successfully but the outside of the phone shows wear, the outer housing is simply replaced with a brand new one. Another external part that often needs to be replaced from wear is the charging port. This is another simple fix that just requires the replacement of the port.

The issue that seems to concern consumers the most in regards to purchasing refurbished phones is water damage. Often, phones are exposed to water, whether it be that the phone was dropped in a pool or simply caught a few rain drops. If the water happens to make its way to the “Water Damage Sticker” that is located in the housing of each phone, the sticker will turn red. Water damage often affects little more than the sticker in reality, but phones returned with water damage are, just like all other returned phones, fully inspected, and any damaged parts are replaced. Customers, however, often see the red sticker and immediately assume that they have been taken advantage of but in reality, the phone functions as new.

Let’s say the insides of a water damaged phone are fried, but the housing still looks brand new – in this case, the insides will be scrapped and replaced with new parts, but the housing will be placed back on the unit. The internals of the phone are now basically brand new, but the sticker will still indicate water damage.

Batteries also have a water damage sticker, which is extremely sensitive. If a customer purchasing refurbished items receives a battery with a red water sticker, they should test the battery before beginning to worry. Often, batteries are purchased in large over stock lots consisting of hundreds of batteries in a container, which has been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse for an extended period of time. If the batteries are exposed to high levels of humidity, the stickers will activate and indicate water damage even though the batteries still function as new. These types of batteries are often wiped down after being taken out of their containers to remove any dust that has accumulated from the warehouse, which will also often activate the stickers.

Because any phone that has been truly refurbished will function like new, any retailer selling refurbished phones should offer some sort of warranty on the device. When shopping for a refurbished phone, make sure to purchase from a retailer who has enough confidence in the refurbishment of their phones to offer you a customer satisfaction guarantee so that you can rest assured that you are purchasing a fully functional phone for a fraction of the original price.

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