Those misleading cellular prices

You see the commercials. $49 for the new Blackberry Tour, or $29.99 for the Motorola Rival. Verizon, Sprint, ATT all of them do it. They advertise these prices left and right with the small print almost off the picture. These prices are for renewals for 2 year contracts. These prices are only available IF you are eligible for an upgrade.

Most cellular contracts are the same. You have to have made it roughly 20 out of 24 months through the contract to be eligible for the advertised prices I mentioned. I get calls every other day from people confused about this. They are 6 months into a contract, break or lose their phone, do not carry insurance and then I quote them "$289, are you kidding me I saw it on TV for $29.99" Well that is for an "eligible" customer.

The retail price of most all of these phones is not cheap. A Blackberry for example will run well over $400 to replace at retail if you do not carry insurance or have eligibility to get an upgrade with a discount off the new phone. In the carriers defense, when they discount or subsidize the phone they are losing money and have to keep you under contract for several months to reclaim the discount and actually be profitable.

Be careful of the E-bay purchases for replacements. Carry insurance on Smart phones and create a relationship with a broker that has access to wholesaler's if and when that dreaded day comes.

Welcome to the Future.

Mike

Observing New York technology

My wife brought me to the Big Apple this last weekend as a pre birthday party. I turn 40 in January and she knows I love that city so we went there now before winter kicks in.
We met some friends there and had the time of our lives, what a city with so much to do.

As we toured midtown from day to day I watched and listened to the people and how business is happening. Ironically we flew in on the the morning of the 11th. As we got into the city, there was obviously a somber mood, that day will never leave any of our memories, let alone New Yorker's. The cab we were in had a touch screen GPS. So even though our driver did not speak English well, I knew where we were going. The girl that sat next to us on the plane was on Facebook on her IPhone the minute we landed. We used my Blackberries GPS to find our way around the city as well. I traded e-mails with people from Arizona to North Carolina with them having no idea I was not in the office. Almost every other person that you walk by is on their cell phone. The digital age is abundant in Times Square, it is quite a spectacle for your eyes to see. There are high definition TVs in all the bars and restaurants. The studios where they film NBC's nightly news look like something from 2112. Technology is everywhere. We have come so far since even 1980. Now we just need the people in New York to be as helpful as the gadgets we all own!

This is a weekend I will certainly remember forever for personal reasons. But once again technology strikes!

Welcome to the future.

Mike