Considering it?s a device that contains a huge chunk of our lives, it?s surprising that many of us
give no more thought to how we take care of our mobile phones than we do to tossing away a
paper coffee cup. Yet when you think of it, these devices are incredibly fragile, made up of
dozens of miniscule components, some of them no thicker than a hair.

The truth is, we can make our mobiles last a lot longer by following just a few basic easy-care
tips.

* Protect your mobile against dampness
* Safe storage, away from dust and dirt
* Buy a properly fitted cover for your mobile – and use it
* Keep your mobile away from children and pets
* Keep your mobile battery properly charged, and get into the habit of doing it on a
regular basis
* Treat your phone as if it was made of thin glass. It?s fragile.
* Never, ever clean it with cleaning solvents or wet cloths. Use a soft, dry, dust-free
cloth instead.

Safe Practices Around Water, Children And Pets

Client Care Representative Rosemary of Telus Mobility (“We?re not allowed to give out our
surnames…”) passionately offered a fascinating insight into some of the most common
mishaps that befall mobile devices. She admitted some of the causes of breakage are “a sore
point” with her.

“The most common call I get related to broken cell phones has to be water damage. Number
one would be spilling coffee on it. Number two, dropping it in the toilet. But I get a
surprisingly high number of calls from people who have given it to their toddlers to play with,
or rescued it from the dog. Saliva – and that goes for baby-drool like you wouldn?t believe –
does more damage than you could ever think possible.

“Besides which – cell phones are not good for babies to play with. Even an old, dead one. If
you?re going to give it to your kid to play with, at least take the battery right out and make sure
there are no bits that can come off.”

Heat Can Do More Mobile Damage Than You May Think

Another source of damage that surprises people, says Rosemary, is heat damage. And that
includes:

* Leaving your mobile in a hot car on a summer?s day
* Talking for too long (causes overheating)
* Listening to music for extended periods of time
* Charging your phone in an enclosed space, without proper ventilation around it
* Setting your phone down on a heat source such as a radiator, or on a counter next to a
hot stove

“They?re pretty delicate. You can?t treat them like a book,” she cautions.

“And buy a cell phone that locks – one that won?t turn on automatically if it gets pressed
against something in your purse.”

What was Rosemary?s strangest mobile damage query?

“We had a guy who phoned us to see how to get potato salad out of his brand new Nokia N82.
He said that after a week, it was still working, but he was bothered because it was starting to
smell like egg.”

So what did Rosemary recommend?

“I told him to take it to his nearest Nokia dealer!”

This information was provided by the Folks at http://2gsm.mobi Where you can find tools, tips,
videos and MobiBooks formatted for your Mobile Phones and Kindle.

You?ve been dreaming of that Blackberry? Storm? 9530 for ages. But when you get to the
mobile phone store, the salesman talks you into a Blackberry? Tour? 9630 instead (at almost
one hundred bucks more!)

Are you happy about it?

That depends. Did the salesman upsell you because he realized from proper questioning there
were features you wanted that the Tour had but the Storm didn?t – or did he just upsell you to
make you spend more money?

The fact is, it pays to do your homework on many, many levels, before you buy your next
mobile phone.

The other fact is… the majority of people I surveyed admitted they bought their mobile phones
based on fashion and prestige, rather than functionality.

The other major trend I noticed: most cited camera function as a vital feature. Most admitted
they did not buy the original phone they?d had in mind. All were upsold to a more expensive
handset.

And 60% of them were already regretting their purchase for a variety of reasons. (That?s an
awful lot of unhappy mobile users!)

Rosemary of Telus Mobility says that people “tend to lose or break phones more” when they?re
unhappy with their purchase. (A subconscious wish to be rid of them?)

And sometimes, there?s no option for replacement, if they?re on a tight budget, with a high-end
Smartphone – and they?ve just renewed their mobile plan, which means they don?t qualify for
another hardware discount till the end of the next plan renewal period.

So how do you prevent:

1. Being upsold purely for the salesman?s gain
2. Buying a phone that doesn?t have the features you really wanted
3. Paying far more than you budgeted – or seeing the same phone seriously discounted
somewhere else?

Tips To Help You Stay Happy With Your Mobile Purchase

The first place you might wish to start? Sit down and decide:

* Why you are buying a mobile?
* What you are going to use it for the most?
* What features are absolute essentials?
* What is your budget?

Once you?ve answered these questions – and only then – get online and start researching phone
models.

TIP: Start with your mobile plan company website first. If you purchase a mobile through
their stores, you may be eligible for a discount – besides which, phones purchased at another
company?s stores may not be compatible with your cell phone plan provider?s programming.

Once you?ve narrowed your phone list down to 6 or less phones, it?s time to phone your cell
phone company.

Ask how close you are to your plan renewal date. Tell the Client Care representative that you
are going to seek a new mobile, and ask if there are any offers provisioned for your account.
After all, why pay $149.99 for a Blackberry? at another dealer?s if you can get the exact same
phone through your cell phone plan provider for $0 – merely by renewing your contract for 3
years instead of one?

Here are some more tips to help you narrow your search further:

* Do you like clamshell (hinged flip phone) or sliders? (Smartphones usually come in
slider form.)
* If you want a Smartphone, are you more comfortable with keyboards or touch screens?
* What color do you want – and how important is color and style to you, at the end of the
day?
* What phone plan will you have to take, if you upgrade to a high-end Smartphone? (You
should probably consider an unlimited data plan – at least $40 more per month than
you?re used to paying, but well worth it in functionality, ease of use and savings.)

If your main use is staying in contact by voice, with the occasional text message, and you?re on
a tight budget, consider a lower-end mobile flip phone. Explore other features these don?t have
by all means, just to see what you?re missing. This exercise may make you drool – but it will
also help you fend off those upselling salesmen at the mobile store!

If you seriously want to use your mobile more for computing purposes and as an organizer,
consider a Smartphone or high-end PDA. You?ll thank yourself every time you use it.

TIP: If you?re absolutely sure of the model you want, you can order online or by phone from
your mobile phone plan provider.

Finally, if you really haven?t a clue about the mobile of your dreams or about the features you
want, start out at About.com?s 20 Questions: Reveal Your New Cell Phone page. Clicking on a
multiple choice answer will take you to the next question, narrowing your search down further
and further – and you?ll learn all about those confusing features and factors in a painless and
lightning fast way.

This information was provided by the Folks at http://2gsm.mobi Where you can find tools, tips,
videos and MobiBooks formatted for your Mobile Phones and Kindle.

Here?s a novel concept: Use your mobile phone to pay for itself – by making money directly
from its use. mGinger promises to allow its country?s mobile phone population to do just that.

The premise is simple: Allow this Indian company to send through a maximum of 10
permission-based SMS ads per day, targeted for your particular interests, and receive a small
payment. In addition, each ad you share or refer will add to your earnings.

Although legitimate and backed by $200 million in funding from investors, the company only
started in 2007, and initially seemed to be having problems getting ad sponsors. Several people
complained in blogs or forums about only getting one or two SMS ads, total, after being signed
up for at least a month. But when you consider it takes the average offline business a good two
years to make any impact at all towards functionality, their concern was perhaps premature.

If you visit mGinger?s site today, however, you?ll see a professional, well-designed portal with
links and stats supporting their stated potential and goals. You can read their ongoing press and
media coverage, as well as press releases.

A scrolling list of “top earners” shows the maximum payout (as of this date of writing) at 7,404
Indian Rupees. (That works out to $155.494 US Dollars.) It?s a far cry from “real internet
wealth”, but hey – it just might pay your mobile phone bill and data plan. And you get free
games and coupons too. (You receive your first payout check when your account has
accumulated 300 rupees.)

mGinger lists itself as an “opt in permission based marketing portal”, and has proactively
added incentives like “mCoupons”, showing that the company is innovative and marketing-
oriented. Their staff is openly listed, and in February 2009, mGinger won a Global Youth
Forum?s Star Youth Achiever Award (ages in the company range from 25 to 36 years old).
Appearing in Indian media often, including newspapers and television, mGinger practices
better transparency than many companies, with founders Veerendra Shivhare, Chaitanya Nallan
and Anil Sharma highly visible in all news coverage.

mGinger was actually started when its founder hit upon a brilliant way to combat the sea of
spam flooding Indian mobiles. By accepting only ads targeted to your own interest, you
actually receive information which is relevant to you, good coupon offers and discounts and “a
bit of pocket money.”

mGinger fights spam in a more direct way too, encouraging its blog readers to call the
National-Do-Not-Call list every time they receive a true spam SMS (the 500 rupee “reward” is
an incentive too.) The benefits of this policy for mGinger is twofold:

* Put real spammers out of business
* Get everyone in India signed up for mGinger, to receive targeted advertising and offers
they actually want to read about

mGinger openly admits there is a direct relation to how many people you know and send
messages to, and how much you earn. In other words, if you?re a recluse who only phones your
mother once a year, you?re not going to earn anything. But if you?re like the average Indian
teenager or twenty-something, and spend several hours a day texting and chatting on your
mobile to a flood of acquaintances, the chances are that it?s worth your while to join.

And why should North Americans care about mGinger?

Well, if nothing else, this company provides a wonderful model of successful marketing, in the
way they work the media, practice transparency and social problem solving, get funding and
turn a mobile phone problem into a money-making solution for all and sundry.

Anyone feel like starting something similar over here?

This information was provided by the Folks at http://2gsm.mobi Where you can find tools, tips,
videos and MobiBooks formatted for your Mobile Phones and Kindle.