Saving Companies Thousands. Be One!

I get asked a question that seems simple enough quite often, “Why can’t I use my (current carrier’s cell phone) with my new (cell phone carrier’s) account?” The answer is fairly simple; cell phone manufacturers make certain phones for certain carriers. Now that may sound strange, but most carriers use a different signal which means they need a different internal radio to pick up that signal.

There are a few other things some carriers do to prevent this from happening. One thins some carriers do is pay manufacturers a certain amount to money to have a specific phone exclusively. There are some phones that most carriers have like the Blackberry Pearl which not only have different radios, but have different software to create different user interfaces.

There is something you can do called unlocking a phone, which basically is when you a get a Verizon phone for example and reprogam it to work with Sprint. This in theory is a good idea and works really well for some, although there are a few issues with this method. The main issue may be losing the functionality of services the phone offers like GPS, Music Store, TV, and games. The reason you may not use them is because the Verizon software is designed to work with their applications and when you start using it on a different carrier you lose compatibility. So if you are in the market for a new phone, do your research and really find what you are looking for, or you could contact us and we will make a recommendation based on your needs.

If you all have not heard the news yet Virgin Mobile is buying Helio. Many people have not heard about Helio, maybe this will sound familiar, “Don’t call it a phone.” Helio is actually a really great product with many innovative features they give to their customers.They have a really great Myspace and Youtube application built into their Helio Oceans.

The purchase is really not going to change what most Helions are accustomed to. I actually think the purchase is a really good thing and it will combine the older teen/young adult demographic. Virgin Mobile is a great pre-paid service and Helio is a great contract service. From what I have read Helio will be kept as Virgin’s “Top Tier” product.

So keep an eye open. If you want a Helio phone do not be afraid to still buy one. I really think this will help make both companies stronger and since they both run off Sprint towers there will not be much of a change in their infrastructure. Remember Sprint has the largest mobile broadband network in the United States. So buy a Sprint Blackberry for yourself and get your kids set up on Helio!

While I have had the sheer joy of moving this past weekend (do you taste a hint of sarcasm in my tone?), I also enjoyed giving out directions to my new home.  You know what I’m talking about…take the second left, go through the stop sign, no, no…the second left, etc.  Well, that is where I have a leg up on my non- BlackBerry neighbors.  As my brother was coming back from a week long vacation, he promptly asked me for directions to my new house.  He’s a great guy, but he couldn’t find his way across the street, so his Sprint Telenav is a godsend.  But this was not the program of choice today; it was his good old fashion BlackBerry Maps.  I simply found the address and with one click of my menu button, I was able to send my brother the exact location.  Upon receiving it on his BlackBerry, he clicked on the link and started using his BlackBerry Maps GPS navigation.  Within 15 minutes, and not a single wrong turn, he and his family showed up at our front door.  As the weekend passed I used this method at least a half dozen times, all with the same outcome…smiling faces at my new front door!    In this case, the simplicity of using BlackBerry Maps made me take a second look at the application as a whole.  While it is not as robust as Telenav, it certainly will remain on my BlackBerry.