Peter Vatistas

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow (02/29/2008) and you will start to receive sale calls.

…..YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:

888-382-1222 - National DO NOT CALL list.

It will only take a minute of your time and it blocks your cell phone number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

Do it now and save yourself from annoying sales calls and paying for the minutes to listen to their sales pitch.

A few weeks back I went to the Apple retail store and picked up a 8GB iPhone for $399. I didn’t immediately post about the iPhone because like most things I buy I always think it is the best thing in the world for the first few days.

So it’s been close to a month using the Apple iPhone and I think this is just the best phone ever. It is very easy to use, fast response, and does everything I need and want in a phone. The only real thing that took some time getting used to is typing but after a good week or so it feels normal.

I have noticed 3 problems with the iPhone that are either from manufacturing defects or from lack of innovation. First being the camera. Taking pictures during the day with a lot of light works great but with little light its crap. Even with light it can still be a pain in the butt because you have to remain very still for a few seconds, even the slightest movement will completely blur your pictures. A flash would have been a smart idea for this phone to prevent this issue and allow people to use the camera in darker settings. Probably a battery killer though…

 My next problem with the phone is the battery, or lack there of. Right off the bat I noticed that my phone was losing its charge pretty quick and from a full day of calls, emails, internet browsing, and pictures I’ll have a dead battery by the end of the night. I find myself now making decisions on whether I want to do certain tasks on my phone or not because of the battery which sucks but I make it work; I’ve never had the battery completely die so I am doing something right.

The third issue I have is more of a nuisance, the black cover on the back side of the iPhone at the bottom… It squeaks. When I hold my phone it squeaks, when I let go it squeaks. Thats all I have to say about that, LOL. 

 Aside from the three issues I wrote about above I totally love this phone and within the last two weeks I downloaded and ran Jailbreak. Now I have tons of applications and games and everything works great!

I would love to see what you guys think about Apple’s new iPhone and if you have run jailbreak yet.

Have you ever wondered how cellphone stores make their money? Well here is a quick look at how much money you shouldn’t spend at an indirect wireless store. Cell phone dealers make the majority of their money off of activation commissions and performance commissions from wireless carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. So how much do they make? Well that depends on a couple different factors; the plan, the phone, the additional services (txt messaging, data), and accessories (car charger, bluetooth headset).

Now these values vary depending on the market, carrier, and performance and contract between the dealer and the carrier but on average you can expect the dealer to make around $220 on a $59+ a month plan. In addition they make $$ on data plans, usually $20-$35 per activation, and a ton on accessories. The average aftermarket car charger costs the dealer $1.00 but you’ll pay $20 and the average bluetooth headset costs $30-$50 but you’ll pay at least $70.

Of coarse your thinking “they have to make a profit right?” and your right, then need to but as a prior wireless store manager and district manager for a major wireless carrier you need to understand that the real deals take place at direct carrier stores and carrier owned retail stores (Verizon owned store, not authorized dealer for Verizon - BIG DIFFERENCE).

When it comes to accessories your always going to get ripped off unless you go direct to a distributor. Obviously for convenience that may be an issue but next time you need a car charger, leather case, or bluetooth headset check out QDI Wireless located in Phoenix, Arizona. This is one of the largest cellular and accessory distributors in the USA and they allow customer public walk-ins and online orders.

Now one thing I did not mention is indirect wireless dealers (who are private owners authorized to sell for the carriers) is that they make can make deals based on how much you buy and how high of a rate plan you sign up with. The best way to get the most out of your cellphone and accessory purchase is to sign up with a plan over $75 per month (they get more commission and are able to discount the phone more) and add data, insurance, and whatever else you don’t need. Doing something like this will can get the phone for cheaper and/or get free accessories.

Just ask for the deal, let them know you’ll sign up for the high plan, the data, and the insurance if you can get some free accessories for it, they’ll go for it most of the time. Once you leave the store just call your new service provider and let them know you want to lower you plan and don’t need the data or insurance, don’t worry because all carriers allow at least 30 days for you to do that. Now you got the best possible deal without paying for it monthly, morally wrong maybe but they still make money.