Author: Derek

That $100 Smartphone Costs More than $100 to Replace

Smartphone owners, please keep in mind that while you paid $100 for that smartphone, that’s not the true cost of the phone. Many smartphones are “subsidized”, which hides the true cost of the phone in the 2 year contract fees. Carriers have started rolling out un-subsidized plans, like AT&T’s Next, that ask you to pay for the true cost of the phone in monthly installments.

In many cases, that “$100” phone costs $300 to $500. “$200” phones are often between $500 and $1000. This is important to understand should that phone need to be replaced due to damage. It’s why many phone protection plans from various carriers and retailers ask you to pay anywhere from $99 to $199 to replace your damaged “$100” phone. It’s more than you initially paid for the phone, yes. But you’re still ahead, because you’re not paying the full replacement cost of the phone.

You have many options for coverage these days, from the retailer, the carrier, and in some cases, even the phone manufacturer. Consider what coverage is important to you. For example, manufacturer coverage is often cheaper, but doesn’t cover theft or loss.

Take the time to read through the plan details, not just the quick overview provided to you at the retail or phone store location. Smartphones have truly become an important tool in our lives, so make sure you’re considering your options … all of your options … should it suddenly be dropped, lost or stolen.

WTAM 1100 – AT&T and Verizon Looking at Data Plan Changes

Play Audio – WTAM 1100 Newsradio – Tech Tuesday – Novemner 11th, 2014

WTAM 1100 Newsradio Cleveland OhioIt’s no secret that most of us are spending more of our “online time” on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This is only going to increase over time, and ?one study suggests mobile data use will grow 325% by 2018. The carriers seem to be responding to this by focusing on their data plans more as smartphones become more common than regular phones.

Sprint and T-Mobile have had some success in drawing new customers with their broad data plans, and now AT&T and Verizon are in a new battle over increasing the data on some plans or offering the same data at a cheaper rate.

Another driver of data versus voice plans is a feature called “Voice over LTE” (VoLTE) which allows voice calls to be placed across the much faster LTE data networks if the hardware (and carrier) supports it. This use of mobile Internet access promises higher quality audio on voice calls, and the potential future integration of video and other voice services.

Verizon and AT&T have announced they will look at allowing interoperability of this feature on each other’s networks in 2015, increasing the availability (and adoption) for customers of both carriers.

It continues to be a highly mobile, always connected world!

WTAM 1100 – Protect Windows XP, Look Forward to 10

Play Audio – WTAM 1100 Newsradio – Tech Tuesday – November 4th, 2014

WTAM 1100 Newsradio Cleveland OhioWhile Microsoft support for Windows XP ended on April 8th, there are still some owners who are holding onto their Windows XP systems for a while longer. Either they have a proprietary business app that’s only designed for the older operating system, or they simply don’t want to move onto Windows 8 quite yet, those systems still need protecting in an online world full of malicious software.

For tips on helping keep Windows XP, here’s the Geek Squad guide on what to do if you want to keep Windows XP after support ends.

Eventually, even the most stalwart Windows XP users will need to upgrade as 3rd-party software support wanes and old hardware begins to fail. Fortunately, Microsoft is be making their next operating system more inviting to those users.

Find our more in Meet Windows 10, a Geek Squad UK guide to the features Windows users will most be interested in when it arrives in the latter half of 2015.