Are You a Gadget Waster

According to a survey, almost 50% of people said they store old phones in a box or drawer at home. The trade-in value of all those old gadgets is $47 billion, according to the annual Mobile Mountain Study conducted by research study group OnePoll. Consumers still do not see the value and profitably in trading in their old mobile phones. 

Most Americans are not interested in savings made by buying spare parts because in some instances it can be a hassle. We are a throwaway society - we want instant gratification and do not want to wait to buy anything including repairs. 

Appliances and gadgets make life easier. The technology upgrade cycle is approximately 22 months and consumers are eager to oblige. Peers make fun of friends who have older models. Tech companies are aware of this and exploit it. Pressure from companies makes it harder to resist upgrading gadgets. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile offer plans that encourage their customers to upgrade their phones every year.

Americans like to take the easy option and buy a new gadget. If their smartphone is broken, they do not want the hassle of going to a retail store or mailing the device back and waiting to get a new one when they can just go to a retail store and purchase a new one in a matter of minutes. In some instances, it is cheaper to repair a broken appliance or gadget than to buy a new one. 

However, in some instances, older model appliances can be more costly to repair than purchasing a new one. Consumers have to weigh their options in terms of cost, quality and durability. However, the high demand for appliances and gadgets has caused manufacturers to lower manufacturing costs reducing the quality of the products produced so they can maximize profits. This results in a shorter shelf life of appliances and gadgets. In the past, an appliance could last for up to 10 years if maintained properly. As a result, appliances have to be replaced every two to three years. Cell phones used to last five years, now some barely last a year. According to a Spring cleaning survey, 68 percent of Americans suffer from compulsive gadget hoarding which results in consumers buying products they do not need. 

The internet has made it easier to purchase appliances and gadgets and it is responsible for an estimated 3.4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Advertisers do a great job of luring customers to the stores. Some consumers have fought back and are making changes. Some state governments have implemented e-waste laws but we have a long way to go. 

Americans are not fully aware of the impact of throwing away gadgets or storing old ones in their home before they have reached the end of their lifespan. Electronics can contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other potentially harmful chemicals. Twenty-five states have passed e-waste-recycling laws, 15 of which include disposal bans. Seventeen states have banned electronic waste from landfills, requiring the waste to be recycled to prevent leach into groundwater. 

Electronic gadgets release heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the air and ashes. Mercury released into the atmosphere can accumulate in the food chain, particularly in fish - the major route of exposure for the public. If the products contain PVC plastic, highly toxic dioxins and furans are also released. Brominated flame-retardants generate brominated dioxins and furans when e-waste is burned.

There are also hazards with recycling e-waste. The hazardous chemicals in e-waste mean that electronics can harm workers in the recycling yards, as well as their neighboring communities and environment. If you are a gadget waster, consider doing at least one thing to save money and help the environment.

Will Blackberry Be the Next Business To Fail

The Blackberry company Research in Motion began in 1999 and earned over $15 billion in the last 8 years. Many businesses fail after great success because they forget that maintaining success requires continual creation of new products and services. Keep your existing products but frequently improve on them and provide additional products that compliment your existing products.

I have a blackberry curve 3G but hate seeing that timer stall sometimes for 30 minutes trying to display a web page. Blackberry is great for accessing email but the world is constantly changing and users require more features all the time but it seems that blackberry hasn’t been able to keep up. The iPhone has forced companies to step up their technology advances but blackberry hasn’t kept up. Many blackberry owners are switching over to the Droid or iPhone to get additional features and faster download times.

We live in a time when innovation is the key to obtaining and maintaining company success. If you have an older blackberry in some cases are unable to read common attachments such as PowerPoint, Adobe and flash files. The operating systems are not comparable to Microsoft or Unix operating systems and in some cases users get an error message stating that a feature, program or file is unsupported.

Due to the continued effects of the recession and company and government budget cuts many companies are phasing out or reducing the use of company issued smartphones. Employees that are issued phone are choosing models other than blackberry.

Users are more mobile than ever and need devices that can meet their needs anytime anywhere. Users need smartphones that can access their email quickly, download common file types quickly and allow them to view reports and presentations for meetings. Blackberry does not provide those features which makes it seem like the dinosaur of smartphones.

Blackberry needs a complete product overhaul, needs to survey existing customers about new features they would like to see, ensure fiascos like the outage incident in October 2011 doesn’t happen again, hire a new sales and marketing team and hire the brightest information technology college graduates to bring fresh new ideas and implement some of them.

I will begin my search for a new smartphone that will allow me send text messages, be able to download files in less than 60 seconds, watch videos, view common file types such as Word, Excel, .pdf and PowerPoint and view reports and that weighs a few ounces. Will you keep your blackberry or switch to another smartphone company?

Are Smart Phones As Safe as Computers

I must admit, I was not a supporter of smart phones. I was quite happy with my cell phone that I only used to make phone calls or send a few texts. Then, my cell phone died and I was forced to get a new one. I got a new one for personal use then decided to get a smart phone for business use. I went shopping and got excited at a sale that offered me a free phone with access to the internet, texting options, applications, fun games, video recording, a camera, the ability to access my email and more. I was hooked. Now I am a big fan of smart phones and because of that I never let my smart phone out of my sight.

I don’t make transactions on my smart phone, I don’t text personal information, SSN, addresses or account numbers on my smart phones and I don’t fill out application forms, i.e. contests, event registrations, etc. on my smart phone. Some smart phones owners believe they can use their smart phone just like their computer, unfortunately you can’t. Many smart phones have high security risks such as the Android and iPhone. In addition, you don’t how the company stores the data, where the data is stored, if the data is encrypted, If the data is backed up on a regular basis, how long the data is stored, etc.

According to a Trend Micro Inc. survey in 2009, only 23% of smartphone owners use the security software installed on the devices. If a smart phone is lost or stolen, sold, repaired, recycled, or has a removable SIM card data can be quickly exposed without the previous owners’ knowledge. If you store personal information on your smart phone your life could be ruined.

Smart phones are also exposed to hackers, worms, viruses, trojans and malware just like computers. Most smart phone owners don’t bother backing up their data or downloading the latest software. Here are 9 common risks with smart phones to be aware of.

1. Password. Not creating a password for your phone allows anyone to pick up your phone and access your texts, emails, calendar, and other personal information. When entering your password make sure no one is watching you. Create a password with letters and numbers with no repeat values.
2. Inactivity/Lock. Enable the auto lock feature on your phone to prevent someone from accessing information on your phone. You can also set your phone to lock after short periods of inactivity.
3. Encryption. Contact your vendor to find out if the company uses encryption to protect customer data. Most major smart phones vendors use encryption.
4. Data. Don’t store or enter personal information on your smart phone. Don’t make purchases on your smart phones. Even if the website you are using is secure, it doesn’t mean you smart phone is secure.
5. Software. Check at least once month to ensure your smart phone has the latest version of software and patches.
6. Storage. Delete old emails and text messages at least once a week from your smart phone even if you have paid for ample storage to minimize security breaches.
7. Shut down. Cut your phone off each night to reduce exposure to security risks.
8. Downloading. Downloading applications from unknown websites increases your exposure to worms, viruses and malware.
9. Texting. Texting your smart phone number to get ring tones, advertisements, alerts or notifications or to vote also increases your exposure to security risks as well as telemarketer advertisements. Your personal information is sold to telemarketers including your smart phone number.