13 things I've learned

In this course I have learned...

How to build a website from scratch
How to create a blogger
How to post to a blogger
How to create different types of blog posts
How to create CafePress products
How to create a Privacy Policy page on my web site
How to submit URLs to a search engine
How to create an eBook
How to setup a PayPal account (sadly I've never had one before)
How to create a PayPal donate button
How to find and promote ClickBank products
How to advertise on my website
How to add a counter to my web pages on my website

13 things I've learned

In this course I have learned...

How to build a website from scratch
How to create a blogger
How to post to a blogger
How to create different types of blog posts
How to create CafePress products
How to create a Privacy Policy page on my web site
How to submit URLs to a search engine
How to create an eBook
How to setup a PayPal account (sadly I've never had one before)
How to create a PayPal donate button
How to find and promote ClickBank products
How to advertise on my website
How to add a counter to my web pages on my website

iPhone 4

Apple’s most recent invention has wowed nearly every iPhone user. People thought the 3GS was the next best thing and then Apple trumped itself again as it always has with the iPhone 4. Recently Apple announced that the new iOS 5 operating system will be released to iPhone 4 users for free making this product even more popular. Most iPhone 3GS users that didn’t have the luxury of picking up the iPhone 4 and planned on waiting until the 5 came out until Apple’s announcement of this new operating system now every iPhone user is rushing out to get their new iPhone 4. Here is a quick rundown on one of the most popular phones on the market…
When creating iPhone 4, Apple designers and engineers didn’t start with a clean sheet of paper. They started with three years of experience designing and building the phones that redefined what a phone can do. iPhone 4 is the result of everything they’ve learned so far. And it’s all contained in a beautiful enclosure a mere 9.3 millimeters thin, making iPhone 4 the world’s thinnest smartphone. All the breakthrough technology in iPhone 4 is situated between two glossy panels of aluminosilicate glass — the same type of glass used in the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains. Chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, the glass is ultradurable and more scratch resistant than ever. It’s also recyclable. The 960-by-640 backlit LCD display boasts a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, making it the highest-resolution phone screen ever. To achieve this, Apple engineers developed pixels so small — a mere 78 micrometers across — that the human eye can’t distinguish individual pixels. That makes text remarkably sharp and graphics incredibly vivid. IPS technology also provides excellent color and contrast from almost any viewing angle. iPhone 4 includes a built-in three-axis gyroscope. When paired with the accelerometer, it makes iPhone 4 capable of advanced motion sensing such as user acceleration, full 3D attitude, and rotation rate. Translation: More motion gestures and greater precision for an even better gaming experience. The iPhone 4 camera shoots gorgeous 5-megapixel photos and stunning HD video. And with its advanced backside illumination sensor, it captures beautiful images even in low-light settings. The built-in LED flash does double duty. When you’re taking pictures, it works as a flash. When you’re shooting video it can stay on to light up the scene. And on the front of iPhone 4, the built-in camera is perfect for making FaceTime calls and shooting self-portraits.

For a list of the top 25 Smartphone apps go to...
http://101smartphones101.blogspot.com/2011/06/top-25-smartphone-apps.html
http://101smartphones101.blogspot.com/2011/06/top-10-smartphone-apps.html
http://101smartphones101.blogspot.com/2011/06/rooting-and-jailbreaking.html
http://101smartphones101.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-personal-recommendation.html

iPhone 3GS

Apple has trump itself time and time again with better and stronger iPhone devices one after another. The iPhone 3GS was one of the most durable and most sought out iPhones before the iPhone 4 came out. It has been so popular that Apple has elected to continue to sell the iPhone 3GS three years after its original release (very unusual for Apple). The 3GS packed a powerful punch and here is a quick rundown of Apple’s most popular product for nearly five years now. Keep applications open in the background. Organize your apps with folders. Shop for books in the iBookstore. The 8GB iPhone 3GS takes advantage of all the great features of iOS 4. And it starts at an amazing new price — just $49. Now you can run your favorite third-party apps — and switch between them instantly — without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily. So you can listen to a ball game while emailing. Or receive a VoIP call while playing a game. Drag and drop to organize apps into folders on your Home screens and get fast access to your favorites. More than a full-color ebook reader, iBooks is also an amazing place to browse and shop for books anytime you feel like it.2 It works with PDFs that you can sync using iTunes on your Mac or PC. And you can customize iBooks to suit the way you read — adjust the brightness, change the text size, and more. On iPhone, making a call is as simple as tapping a name or number. And Visual Voicemail lets you play messages in any order — just like email.

Blackberry Torch

Blackberries have fallen off the face of the earth since Androids, iPhones and Windows 7 phones have hit the market. Blackberry’s used to own nearly 40% of the market share and now they have dwindled down to a measly 12%. Blackberry combated this recent decrease in market share with the release of their first ever touchscreen device which also couples with a full QWERTY slideout keyboard. Here is a quick rundown of Blackberry’s Torch…
With 8 GB of memory, expandable up to 32 GB with a microSD card, feel free to immerse yourself in all that inspires you. Use your fingers to pinch a screen for a zoomed out effect and expand two fingers to zoom in. Thanks to BlackBerry 6 and a large screen, you can experience a full-featured music player that allows you to see full album art and track listings in portrait or landscape. With a 5 MP camera with flash, continuous auto-focus and image stabilization, plus 11 photo modes and video recording, it's easy to capture those spontaneous moments. Bring your sources of inspiration together. Gather and filter all your social network and RSS feeds in one view. Or spread your own inspiration - update multiple social networks with a single post. Manage multiple open websites with tabbed browsing. Bookmark your favorite sites with branded icons and customizable names, and access them right from the home screen. Just a few of the great features from BlackBerry 6.2. For all it can do, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone is remarkably easy to use when you've got the right tools to help with setup and using all the new features.

LG Quantum

The past few posts have been quick rundowns but here is more of a review on a solid Windows 7 device that comes fully loaded with a full QWERTY slide out keyboard…
LG's first Windows Phone 7 device is the Quantum, which comes out swinging with a QWERTY keyboard and solid build quality. Is there enough to set it apart from the other WP7 devices? The LG Quantum is one of the few Windows Phone 7 devices to have a physical keyboard. As with its other smartphones, however, LG takes a decidedly feature phone approach to the Quantum. Did LG go far enough in shedding its feature phone funk to attract the more sophisticated smartphone crowd? The LG Quantum combines mostly good hardware with a solid smartphone operating system. Though it still looks a bit too much like a feature phone for my tastes, I am sure many people won't look at it that way. The Quantum is heavy and dense, but offers a roomy QWERTY keyboard for messaging and a fantastic display. The Quantum performed well at the basics (signal strength, call quality and battery life), and was fast and responsive throughout the user interface. Even the camera and video player stepped up to the plate and delivered a solid base hit. Microsoft's fledgling smartphone platform still has weaknesses, such as limited landscape support, and lack of cut-and-paste, but those are mostly forgivable for now. WP7's messaging toolset is excellent and there are already plenty of third-party apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace to get you started with social networking, as well as fill in other gaps within WP7.
Would I recommend the LG Quantum? Yes, yes I would. It's as solid a smartphone as any on the market, though it's not a quantum leap forward.

HTC HD7S

Windows 7 phones are fairly new but are truly starting to make a statement in smartphone industry. With plenty of phones arriving in the next six months, the Windows 7 phones will start to take a decent part of the market share away from the rest of the operating systems available on the market. The newest Windows 7 phone available today is HTC’s HD7S. It packs a powerful punch and is very similar to HTC’s Inspire 4G Android-based phone except it’s a Windows 7 phone. Here is a quick rundown of this brand new phone…
Windows® Phone, designed for life in motion.A glance and go experience delivers crucial info right on the Lock and Start screens, while integrated Hubs help you find what you love faster— like Facebook® updates integrated with your contacts in the People Hub.
Get into the groove with superior sound.A gigantic 4.3-inch screen puts you right in the action. Flip out the kickstand and rock to Dolby Mobile or SRS WOW HD™ surround sound stereo speakers and truly enjoy media on the go.
More movies, more music, more games. Unlimited music with Zune® Pass. Games from casual to extreme with Xbox LIVE.® Streaming movies with Netflix.® Whatever kind of entertainment you love, the HTC HD7S has it all.
The magic of HTC SenseTM on your Windows Phone. The HTC Hub brings you beautiful weather animations and handy tools to check stocks, take notes, enhance your photos, and more.
This phone is just a week or so old and still needs to make it’s name in the smartphone industry but I feel that it will be a very viable option for non-Android users and superior to most other Windows 7 devices.

Samsung Focus

Samsung has made hundreds of phones over the last few years, much of which have been very high quality and very well-done. Samsung dipped into a whole new world earlier this year when they released their first ever Windows 7 based phone, the Samsung Focus. Here is a quick rundown on this excellent phone and a small personal review of the device…
The Super AMOLED screen gives you a razor sharp, cinema quality image. It makes surfing the web and reading texts much easier in bright sunlight. The brilliant display allows you to quickly access the information most important to you with Live Tiles on your start screen. Now your calendar, contacts, and social networking sites are fully integrated through Windows Phone People Hub. It makes staying in touch with friends and business contacts much more efficient and streamlined. In an effort to provide our customers with the latest in technology and the best user-experience, we've provided an new environmental-friendly alternative to a printed paper guide. Virtual Guides provide a "one-stop" support experience with everything from User Guides, Support Videos, Commercials, and Simulations. FOCUS REVIEW…
The Focus is kind of the everyman of the Windows Phone 7 line. It doesn't really have any fancy features and isn't especially stylish... but it gets the job done. If you're in the market for a WP7 handset, here in America you don't have a huge amount of options. I prefer the Focus over the Surround (for you AT&T buyers), but there isn't such a wide amount of differences between the two that either one would be a bad choice. The Focus is thinner and sleeker to some extent, though its plasticky build leaves a lot to be desired. Still, it's a solid, comfortable phone that works exactly as you'd expect, and if you're the photo snapping type, you'll be pleasantly surprised by its prowess in that area. At the end of the day, a lot of people will find that the Focus hits the sweet spot.

Samsung Captivate

Feel free to stop over at my website http://101smartphones101.webs.com/ for some insightful information on AT&T’s smartphones and how to use them. The information is clearly organized and easily understandable even for the most novice user. For a quick rundown on AT&T’s Samsung Captivate read the following…
Do you want the whole world in your hands? How about the whole universe? Tens of thousands of apps populate Android Market -- everything from popular games to productivity tools to constellation maps. Powered by the latest Android platform this phone fully integrates with Google Mobile Services. You're now at one with your Gmail account, Google Maps, YouTube videos and more. Your world just got brighter and you don't even need shades. Experience HD-quality video recording that's clearly detailed, extraordinarily vivid and astonishingly colorful on the brilliant 4-inch Super AMOLED screen. Movies, games and websites all come to life even in broad daylight thanks to an anti-reflective screen. One of the thinnest, most responsive smartphones in the world, it also uses less power and has a longer battery life. In an effort to provide our customers with the latest in technology and the best user-experience, we've provided an new environmental-friendly alternative to a printed paper guide. Virtual Guides provide a "one-stop" support experience with everything from User Guides, Support Videos, Commercials, and Simulations. Take the next step in going green. In my opinion the Samsung Captivate is one of Samsung’s finer creations. The Infuse is to new to dub it the best but the Captivate certainly has lived up to its hype.

HTC Inspire 4G

Today I stopped over at http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phones which is another great blogspot for smartphones and smartphone news. I found the site very useful and the user interface very easy to use and the site very clear and concise. I enjoyed reading the articles and the posts put on this site. Someday I’d like my blogger to look something like that but for now I’ll stick to the basics as I am still a beginner. Now for a quick rundown on HTC’s Inspire 4G…
Social Intelligence. With HTC Sense, every email, status update, tweet, text message and phone call is grouped by person for easy viewing and follow-up. And with HTC's Friend Stream app, you can see what's happening on your social networks, all in one easy place.
Entertainment HQ. With a mind-blowing 4.3" WVGA screen, Dolby + SRS Surround with noise cancellation and all your favorite movies, live sports and primetime shows streaming at 4G speed, you don't waste any time when there's time to kill.
Digital sharpshooter. It's got an 8MP camera with LED flash, in-camera editing, live picture effects, an 720p camcorder for shooting HD video and instantaneous uploads, should you decide to share.
Phone screen meets flatscreen. With built-in DLNA connectivity, you can stream videos, photos, and music wirelessly, from your phone to your flatscreen. So instead of huddling around a phone screen, everyone can kick back on the couch and watch the show.
A form that fits. It's got a sleek, uni-body metal alloy design for a sophisticated look and a substantial feel. After all, any phone capable of doing so much deserves to look good doing it.

Samsung Infuse 4G

First off for great and solid information on the smartphone world go to http://smartphonenation.com/. This site is a great blogspot on smartphones and news on smartphones. Now for a quick rundown on the new Samsung Infuse 4G read the follow…
The Infuse 4G is Samsung's thinnest smartphone at just 8.99 mm at its thinnest, so it's easy to slip into a purse or pocket. You'll have access to over 150,000 Android apps, allowing you total freedom to create your own customized collection of apps to fit your individual lifestyle. To a smartphone, the screen is critical. The Infuse 4G gives you the largest touch screen on any Samsung phone. Samsung screens have a reputation for brilliant color, and the Infuse 4G’s 4.5" Super AMOLED Plus screen exhibits our latest innovations. The screen gives you a full spectrum of rich, vivid color with high color contrast, for an incredible cinematic experience. The screen’s amazing luminance allows you to easily read the display even in daylight. With its brilliant color and thin design, the Infuse 4G is fantastic for social messaging, outstanding browsing and entertainment on-the-go. With the Infuse 4G, you're only seconds away from being able to watch hit movies and TV shows from Samsung Media Hub. It's your best entertainment experience on-the-go in a handheld device. And there is a 2GB microSD card that comes pre-loaded with this summer’s hottest movie trailers. With the brilliant color and sound, videos and TV shows come to life. Once you choose a movie or show to watch, the content can be shared with up to four other devices. Visit back for blogs on more AT&T smartphones…

New twist.

I realized I have been trailing away from my niche area in my last few posts as pointed out by my professor for this course. I’ve decided that the next 7-9 posts will be geared towards particular smartphones available at AT&T since those are the ones I am most familiar with. I will cover each operating system and a few phones from each of those operating systems. I already have blogged about my phone, the Motorola Atrix, so that phone will not be included in these posts. I will cover the Samsung Infuse, HTC Inspire, Samsung Captivate, Samsung Focus, HTC HD7S, LG Quantum, Blackberry Torch, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. I feel that blogging about these particular devices will help new and current customers make a better decision on purchasing their new AT&T smartphone. As far as the other smartphones on other carriers go I will blog and add them to my website in the near future. For the sake of this project I have decided to just stick with AT&T smartphones for two reasons: one because I am most familiar with these and two because there are just way too many smartphones available on the market today it would take more than a four week project to talk about all of them. I do plan on extending the smartphone information beyond AT&T at some point but as mentioned above for the sake of this course I will stick with just AT&T smartphones. Check back daily to see new blogs about the devices listed above…

Here goes nothing...

I need a sufficient amount of time to complete my final “personal” tasks which is making the site feel smooth and look clear. As mentioned in an earlier post I need to brainstorm on my final three Pillar article topics. I’m thinking one needs to be on smartphone applications and how they can benefit you day and day out but how in depth should I make this article and too what extent? The final two Pillar articles are still up in the air and I have not one idea on how to start them or what to write them about, luckily they aren’t due until next Friday. I also still need six more “types” of blog posts that will need to be completed obviously next week as this is my 10th post of the week. I have an idea on how to accomplish a few of the different types of blog posts but not all yet. I’ll mention it again as I have mentioned it a number of times before I have my work cut out for me but feel confident that I can get the job done, it just may be a bit more stressful than I had planned. Come on who doesn’t need more stress in their life, HAHAHA. Today and parts of tomorrow will be dedicated to completing every task and pillar article that is required for the completion of this project. If I have five or six days to design and “finalize” my website I will be comfortable with my progress and where I am at in this course.

Last five pillar articles...

Pillar articles #4 and #5 will be about how to use your Windows 7 phone and Blackberry phone respectively. I have not came up with any other ideas for Pillar articles #6, #7 and #8 but hopefully after I finish #4 and #5 I will come up with a few more solid ideas for these articles. #6’s topic is the most important right now as that is due in just a few days. I need to brainstorm before I can come up with any ideas on where to start the final three Pillar articles. Tasks 21, 17 and 10 were very easy and are already complete. It’s pretty easy when all you have to do is setup an account on a website. Task 26 and 11 are the more hands on tasks where it’ll take more time to complete. I am going to begin working on those two right after this post. I also need to review the Ezine articles PPT and get started on submitting my three articles to a Ezine articles database which shouldn’t take long but again is another task that requires sometime. I feel like I should just complete every task required for this project in the next few days so next week I can focus on the design and presentation of my website to round up the project. I did say I want to do that last and it will be hard to do if I am trying to blog about it, actually do it and complete the required tasks all at the same time. Continue on to next post for more.......

Grindstone time.

Today I will be working on completing most of the tasks for milestone #3 and reading the chapters that are required for the quizzes that I need to take. With it being a holiday weekend I want to get everything done by Thursday at the latest so I can enjoy the weekend with my family which is who I should be with at this time. The tasks don’t seem too daunting but are time consuming and require work nonetheless. This project has really helped me learn how to manage my time better and has really helped me set my priorities when it comes to work and schoolwork before anything else. Working 40 hours a week and working on such a time demanding project like this one will only better me in the future. Meeting these deadlines with the right requirements is a pretty difficult tasks especially working 40 hours a week on top of it but I am confident that I can continue to meet these goals set each week like I have done so in the past weeks. It is time that I start to bang out these tasks and get ahead of the game in respects to the quizzes and even my blog posts as much as possible. I have a lot of work cut out for me in the next 48 hours but I feel that I can work hard and get all of the requirements for milestone #3 done as well as most of the requirements for milestone #4 especially with the day off tomorrow.

Focus, focus, focus

I have been playing around with my products and how I want them to look a little too much it seems. I want my sight to be extremely helpful and thorough with the information I provide. I am not trying to clutter up the site with products that may distract users from what they are really visiting the site for. I know the products, the promotion and management of these products is a huge part of this project I feel that I’d like to the bare minimum in this area in an effort to keep my site clear cut and simple. I felt myself being dragged in by the products and I need to be focusing more on the structure of the site and information that I provide on the site. It seems like I have a mountain to climb after taking just a two day break from my work. Although I felt very organized and ready to go last week, I now am having trouble clearing my head and remaining organized just a few days later. I need to again focus my attention to the details and requirements of this project and make sure I take care of those before any of my more complex ideas are implemented. The sooner I get the requirements taken care of the more I can concentrate on making the site work the way I want it to. From here on out I need to focus only on completing the tasks required for this project and nothing more until they are complete. With five more pillar articles to write and seven more quizzes take a have A TON of work ahead of me so all the wonderful and insightful ideas I had in week one and two need to take the back seat for now.

My personal recommendation and it's features...

720p HD video capture, 5-megapixel camera and VGA front facing camera allow for high quality video capturing, high resolution photo capturing and face chat and video conferencing. The phone supports a first ever HDMI output port which allows the phone to be plugged into an HDMI port on your TV and the display to be transport from the device to the TV almost seamlessly. The phone also sports a fingerprint scanner, another first of its kind feature, which allows for the utmost security and privacy in any situations. The phone comes running on Android 2.2 which will be upgraded to Android 2.3 in the near future through Motorola and AT&T. The phone has not even shown it’s true colors as the second core rarely kicks in but as 2.3 comes out and is implemented on the phone the dual-core processing chip will come to life and really bring the phone to its full potential. The 4G speeds on the phone are incredible. In Chicago, an area that already has 4G, my downloads were at 18.4 MBps and my uploads were at 8.4 MBps which is highly impressive for a phone let alone a computer. As 4G gets implemented across the nation more and more the phone’s speeds should increase and remain at a stable level allowing for quick streaming and instant web access if it’s not like that already. Beyond these excellent features the phone is still in its growing stage of smartphone and will soon pack an even more powerful punch when newer Android operating systems come out. I would recommend this phone to everyone especially those deciding between Anroid and iPhone as I believe this phone is heads and shoulders above that.

My phone, Atrix, specs!!!

Tonight I’d like to talk about my particular phone, it’s features, my experiences with it and what makes it so amazing. In a sense I’d like to promote my product to my readers so that they will be intrigued enough to maybe go check it out at their local cell phone store or online. I currently own AT&T’s 4G Motorola Atrix. The state-of-the-art phone that packs a ton of very powerful features and many “first-ever” features for a smartphone. The phone packs a powerful 1 GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processing chip which was the first dual-core chip for any phone. This processor allows for seamless transitioning between multiple applications and endless multi-tasking. The 1 GB of RAM is another first for any phone which allows for countless apps to be open at once without bogging down the speed of the phone. The qHD display coupled with the gorilla glass front is another powerful and first of its kind feature that really sets this phone apart from the rest. Gorilla glass is the same glass that is used for backboards in the NBA, not much is breaking this phones screen. The qHD display has an astounding 540 X 960 resolution and covers 4” diagonally with 16.7 million (24-bit) in colors. The phone comes stock with 16GB of internal memory which is expandable up to 48GBs and soon to be 78GBs in the near future allows for endless amounts of data storage. These are the basic specifications of the phone in the next post I will talk about the features and the phones potential.

5 BEST APPS!!!

The following list contains the top 5 single best smartphone apps on the market today…Of course this is an opinionated list so some apps maybe higher or lower on other users list but this list is compiled from many different lists found on the web to give the best idea of the top 10 apps today…

#5 DroidAnalytics – Same as Google Analytics but in mobile version. Found on only iPhone and Android.

#4 Evernote – One of the best note-taking apps. Of course you have to get used to typing on a virtual keyboard but after that this app is by far the best app there is for taking notes. Saves data locally but syncs it across all your machines and devices, i.e. computers, tablets, phones, etc.

#3 Dropbox – Cloud-based computing services that automatically syncs a folder of files between multiple computers. The mobile version now allows you to sync between multiple computers AND devices getting all of your information and data into one place has never been easier.

#2 Advance Task Killer - One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS in Android is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt performance or battery life. Advanced Task Killer (or ATK) is my favorite. It even comes with a widget that you can tap once to kill all open apps.

#1 Google Voice – Gives you a phone number that can ring to multiple places or devices and it allows you to access all of your voicemail and text messages via Web. It makes outgoing calls and text messages look like they’re coming from your Google Voice number so that you can keep your real number as private and hidden as you want.

The next 5...

#10 GasBuddy – A simple and easy to use app that allows for users to update gas prices at different gas locations. When you log on and search your area for gas stations it gives you a list of the nearest gas station to you, its price, its address and the last time the price was updated. Search by location, price and update time.

#9 Tripit – Best app for keeping track of all your travel itineraries. Forward confirmation emails for flights, hotels, rental cars and more to Tripit and it automatically organizes them into trips with all your details and confirmation numbers.

#8 Places Directory – Awesome app for finding shops and services near your current location. Takes advantage of the business information available on Google Local and allows you to search in your area for restaurants, movie theaters, medical facilities, taxis, hotels and more. Much better information than a GPS unit.

#7 Amazon Kindle –Best e-reader app available on the market. Quickly purchase books and start reading them within seconds. Anytime you have a few free minutes pick up the phone, pull up the book and read a few pages. It’s as easy as that.

#6 Documents To Go – Free version offers a reader of Word and Excel files. However, the upgraded version allows you to edit those files and also adds PowerPoint files to the application. Print, save and edit right from your phone and sync it wirelessly to your PC for instant transfer.

The next 10...

The following list contains the next 15 apps on my top 25 list

#20 Google Sky Map – Google Sky Map turns your phone into a pair of space binoculars. The app layers digital information on top of real world experiences and allows you to see different stars, planets and constellations in the sky from anywhere in the world.


#19 Google Goggles – Point and shoot at objects and even text of foreign languages and let the app go to work for you. The app will do it’s best to translate or tell you what the object is.

#18 Dial Zero – Provides a directory of a ton of US businesses and gives you numbers to help you get closer to a real person instead of listening to 20 minutes of automated crap.

#17 Shazam – Shazam is a song reader, tap the button on the app and let it listen for 15 seconds of a song and it will pull up the name and the artist of the song within seconds.

#16 Pandora – Streaming radio station that allows you to pick a song or artist and then builds a playlist based around that song or artist.

#15 Gist – Brings all your contacts list that you may have spread across various computers, devices and online services to one place.

#14 Got To Do – The best to-do app on the smartphone market. Simple but solid user interface and completely syncable to the online service Toodledo.

#13 Astro File Manager – An app that allows you to navigate your phones file system which is something that is usually hard to do.
#12 FCC Speedtest – Speedtest app that tests 3G, 4G and WiFi speeds. Great for finding places to stream movies or music or download games and applications.

#11 Seesmic – The best Android Twitter client on the market. Twitter is officially and app for Android but this client blows it out of the water.

Top 25 Smartphone Apps...the first 5

Today’s post contains a list of 5 of the top 25 smartphone apps available in the smartphone world, most of which are extremely helpful in everyday activities….The following post will contain the next 10 apps…

Applications are programs that do millions of things on smartphone devices. Many come with widgets which are mini versions of the application that can be accessed through a homepage without actually opening the application. Widgets come in handy with weather apps, calendar apps, to-do list apps, etc.

#25 Barcode Scanner – This nifty app turns your phones camera into a barcode scanner allowing you to scan any product’s UPC code and find price comparison at nearby stores or online.

#24 Bump – Allows instant sharing of information between two phones using the accelerometer inside the phone. You turn the app on, select the info you want to share and then simply bump the two devices together and poof, the info is there.

#23 Photoshop Mobile – The best known photo editor, Photoshop, brought to your phone. While the desktop version has millions of features this version is all about simplicity and ease of use. Very ease to crop, adjust brightness, sharpness, etc.

#22 FxCamera – A better camera than most stock smartphone cameras. It comes fully loaded with hundreds of customizable options and features that offer some great effects for your photos.

#21 Tricorder – Much like the Tricorders on Star Trek this app is more of a “fun” app than anything. Gives useful environmental information, including GPS data, wireless data and ambient sound measurements.

From paintbrush to canvass

With the day off I plan to get a lot done!!! Today is going to be dedicated to completing my rough drafts, fine tuning my pillar articles, adding my articles to my webpage and setting a solid goal for the myself for the remaining two weeks of the course. Although I feel like I jamming to get the project requirements done each week I still feel that my information and work is very thorough and well-constructed. I have Sunday off again this week which I hope to be the day where I really start to bring my site to life. Clearly presenting the information is my biggest issue. I have so much information I almost feel overwhelmed with it all and if I am overwhelmed my visitors will be as well. I am going to spend a lot of time today condensing and abbreviating the information still in an easy to understand format while still giving solid information that is needed in making this decision of buying a smartphone. My mental picture looks great, just how a baseball team is said to look “good on paper.” Now I need to follow through with my solid mental picture and start the actual painting, just a team needs to perform to their full potential. The site and my ideas have great potential and now is the time where I need to perform appropriately to fulfill this potential. I could have the best information available online and still have very little visitors if my information is not presented simply or in the correct format. This is where the real work begins; even though I feel like I have been working my behind off on this project I still have a long road ahead of me. Check back Sunday for my progress and updates.

Bad day at work=productive day in office...new idea!!

Bad day at work today; too many customer service issues and “my phones broke” bingos. However, this bad day at work had me brainstorming another solid idea for my website. A widespread FAQ and troubleshooting section that consumers can navigate to AFTER they have purchased their new device. A basic troubleshooting page for each operating system would be extremely helpful to consumers. Rather than spend 20-30 minutes on the phone with a troubleshooting technician or waste gas driving to the store the consumer can just get on the web and find the appropriate answer or troubleshooting guide. Many times a week I have customers coming into the store complaining about their phone only to find out that it was a simple fix or trick that helped it operate the way it should. There are many quick fixes out there, now granted every phone is different as well as every issue this hopefully help filter out customers that need just a “quick fix” and save the in-store troubleshooting for the more in need customer. My site is all about simplicity and quality of information. I want the site to be a one-stop-shop for all the customer’s needs and more. The more features and sections I add to the site the better the site becomes which directly correlates to traffic and even profitability. I have a TON of work to do tonight before the deadline tomorrow at midnight. I usually hate working deadline to deadline like this but with my demand at work it is hard to get ahead and remain ahead. Eight to nine hour days become very exhausting especially when you’re dealing with angry customers which sometimes is unavoidable. Check back in tomorrow for my final post of the week which will include my goals for the second half of the course.

Pillar articles

Pillar articles #1 and #2 are finished. Pillar article #2 took me no time as I am an expert in the Android world and have so much to say about these types of phones as I have owned one since the first Android operating system ever hit the market. These are by far my favorite types of phones and in turn will probably be my most in-depth and useful information on my site. I am trying very hard to be unbiased while talking about other operating systems but it is very difficult, I am learning though. I intend this site to be totally unbiased (which it has to be to succeed) so I need to work on my love for Android and kind of let it take the back seat. Pillars #3, iPhones, will be another easy one to write up because I know a great deal about them and they are an easy device to use. I compare Android and iPhone the most because they are the easiest to compare and the operating system that are competing at the highest level. Each operating system has its downfalls as well as its upsides and that is the main idea to these first five Pillar articles, comparison. I’m hoping that visitors of my site can quickly navigate to the appropriate Pillar article and quickly make their way to their carriers section of my website and help narrow the decision down to a specific operating system quicker than normal. The worst customer to have in the store is the one that says “So tell me about Blackberry, Windows 7, Android and iPhone…” I hope this website will help minimize the amount of times that that statement is made by thousands of consumers across the nation. That’s all for now.

My goal for Friday and more Pillar articles...

By the end of this week I hope to have a fully functioning website that might not LOOK great but can still operate. As I have stated before I am saving the final editing and customizing of the website until the end of the project. Today I am going to focus on a rough draft of each page that will be on my website after these drafts are completed (hopefully by tomorrow) I will begin to add pages as I feel. Every carrier and every operating system may not be completely finished by the end of the week but I’d like to have a good solid structure designed by Friday morning. I feel this project becoming easier and easier as I grow more interested every day. I have a lot going on outside of this project so I am working rather slowly but am confident that the finished product will look great and be up to par for this course. I’d like to take a quick minute and talk about the next four Pillar articles even though I know only two more are due by the end of this week. My first Pillar article obviously is how to on choosing your new phone. I figured this would be the introductory article and the four following ones would go into great depth on each operating system. Pillar article #2 will be Android, #3 will be iPhone and so and so forth. With two more articles to go and not a lot of time I need to get cracking. Check back soon…

Consumer representative relationship

I cannot tell you how many times an indecisive customer comes into my store wanting a new phone but having no idea what they want. Sometimes two or three hours are spent with a customer trying to help them find the right decision. I always find myself thinking “If you would have done some research you could have made this visit easier for yourself and me…” A little research goes a long way especially when it is all in one place and easy to read. I mean everyone once a while you get the phone nerd who knows everything about everything and the process is rather quick but that is few and FAR between. Less timely transactions and sit downs between consumers and representatives will benefit both consumer and the store itself. Cutting down the time inside of a phone store benefits the consumer so they can spend more time doing more important things in their daily lives than deciding on a new phone. It benefits the store and representative by allowing the representatives to tend to more customers per hour thus making the store more productive and more efficient. It is impossible to make it so that every customer that walks through your door is well-informed and knowing what they want but increasing the amount of these types of customers will help increase productivity and customer service capabilities. People are constantly complaining about customer service representatives and the like but a lot if the times the reason people complain is because they are misinformed or just don’t know the details about everything. A little research can go a long way; many of the questions customers ask me can be found within minutes on Google. Enough rambling, more work.

Paint the mental picture

I am really starting to picture the design and look of my website. The horizontal view of smartphones on separate pages will really help the simplicity of this website. I’d like to later add an option to highlight or make up to five columns glow so it is easy to compare different products. Each page will be organized by carrier: Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and US Cellular. It will also be able to be narrowed down to each specific operating system to make it even easier to view and see what is available at each carrier for each operating system. Painting a mental picture before actually creating my website is really starting to help me relax about all the work I have. My boss at work says it helps tremendously when you paint people mental pictures of them using their new devices and the accessories that come with it. I can understand why he says that now because painting the mental picture of what my site will look like it is really helping me out with this project. I want the same reaction out of my visitors: I want them to come to my site and be able to paint a picture of themselves using their new devices with specific features, applications and accessories so that when they going into their respective carrier store to pick out their device it minimizes the time in the store greatly which makes EVERYONE happy including the sales reps, TRUST ME. Learn more about this and hear what I have to say about this in the following posts time to get onto Pillar article #2.

Links, products and more

Pillar article #1 is underway but before I get any further into it I just want to blog about my thoughts on the links on my website and my products. I continue to go back to cafepress.com to play around with it more and more and feel like I am learning a lot and can see myself going above and beyond the requirements of this course in the future. Working at AT&T has helped me find solid websites for finding all sorts of information on cell phones and the such so I already have plenty of websites I can link to my website to start generating traffic. The websites I know and continually use are all high traffic sites so I think generating traffic on my site should be fairly easy especially if the information is presented clearly and straight to the point. Many sites cloud their information with unnecessary specs that the common consumer doesn’t even look into by removing this information or making it hidden as kind of an advanced option will help make the site look less crowded and much more presentable. Most sites present this information in a vertical fashion which requires long scrolling through rows and rows information. I feel that a horizontal approach will allow for a much easier viewing with the products along the left side with columns of helpful but simple information along the top. I have a lot of work ahead of me time to get back at it; going to be a long night tonight luckily I don’t work until 12:30 pm tomorrow!!!!

Pillar article #1

Okay so I took a little bit of break from all the information processing and went onto the first Pillar article. I reviewed the power point slides and already have six or seven solid ideas on Pillar articles. My first Pillar article is going to be a “How to pick the right smartphone” simply because there are four extremely different types of smartphones: Windows 7, iPhone, Blackberry and of course Android (my personal favorite). In the article I am going to go into depth on each operating system, the applications that are involved with each operating system, the pros and cons of each operating system and which ones suit certain consumers. This article will also serve as a good introduction page on my website to introduce smartphones and their capabilities. I am going to really enjoy writing these Pillar articles as I absolutely love cellphones and talking cellphones. I feel this Pillar article alone will be an AWESOME tool for both consumers who know nothing about smartphones and for ones who know about them and just need a little refresh. Everyone could always use more information about their products especially if it’s something you are going to be stuck with for two plus years. Today after work I am going to write up my first Pillar article and probably turn that into an introduction page on my website as well. This intro page will be the first page I actually processing into my website and then the highly informative pages of smartphones will follow that. Time to get to work but tonight will be interested and actually fun for me so I’m kind of excited.

Good productive day

Task 7 was put on hold as I am going to begin publishing later tonight/tomorrow after work. I did find tasks 22 and 23 very interested and fun to work with. I actually spent a lot of time on cafepress.com, probably much more time than I needed to but I was very interested. I really starting to see the profitability in a successful website like this, especially one on smartphones as it is a rapidly growing industry. People of all ages can use smartphones for hundreds of thousands of things. My target audience can touch all people of all ages. Smartphones do SOO much and will only continue to increase in capabilities. Today’s iPhone or Android has more capabilities than the first ship that went to the moon. Now that is an impressive stat. Having a site like this where all that information and more is kept is helpful to almost every consumer. I am big on organization and I am still trying to organize my information into a much more suitable format that will make it easy for me to transfer it over to my website. I have decided to use Microsoft Excel instead of word processing the information because the columns and rows help manage the information and make it easier to view and upload to a website. When I get the final product onto the pages I will edit it even further to make it look smooth and clear on the website but as for now back to processing the information. I know I am a bit behind my schedule from my last few posts as I stated I wanted to spend to today designing my website but I felt the way I had my information organized from Friday evening didn’t fit my needs.

The real work begins...

Today is Sunday, which means work day. After collaborating all of my information this morning I am ready to present that information on my website. I have decided to do the customization and personalization of the website closer towards the end of this course so I can really focus on the structure and quality of the information presented. I am going to begin to word process my information into a more organized fashion today and then begin to copy and paste to the pages on my website. Later today I plan on working on Task 7, 22 and 23. I hope today is extremely productive and I can get ahead of the game as I took a break for a day or so to kind of relax. I know I have a mountain to climb with this project but feel confident in my interest in the subject and quality and quantity of my information. I have a strong grasp on where I want the website to head and feel confident that I can create a very informative and highly visited website. After I complete the above tasks I will review the Pillar articles power point slides and begin to brainstorm on ideas for the Pillar articles. I have a busy work schedule this week so managing my time effectively is extremely important this week. Nose to the grindstone from here on out and hopefully I can get somewhat ahead of the pack and begin to relax in the second half of this course. That’s all for now, lots of work ahead of me. Check back soon.

Break for now

Got a TON done today while taking a few breaks here and there. Finally all my information is together and organized, there are still a few missing pieces but enough is there to get this ball rolling. I am still trying to keep it simple with the website for now and not do too much editing to the look of it so I am not going to do much tonight on the site; especially when I have my weekly company meeting tomorrow at 7 am and a long nine hour day behind that. Another day of helping customers make the perfect decision on their new phone or helping angry ones fix their broken ones, whatever works. I still haven’t thought of the theme of my website, the font, coloration, etc. and it is starting to bother me but maybe after I have everything in place I can begin to give it some makeup, which is what I prefer anyway so I do not know why I am bothered by this. This week has been a long work week, both in the store and in my “office.” I plan to dedicate Sunday to an entire day of designing and redesigning my website to fit my needs. Later that evening I plan on digging deep into monetization, traffic and the likes of this project so I can get ahead of the game somewhat as I plan on making a few bucks off of this in all sincerity. Starting next week my posts will become more in-depth on my progress and my thoughts, I saw the first week of blogging as the preliminary week to gather information and brainstorm ideas.

Long day's work

This morning/afternoon will be spent gathering up ALL the information I need to start to construct this website. I feel that I may be a bit behind but my interest in the topic and excitement to get this ball rolling will encourage me to work at remarkable speeds. I have my information logged and saved into multiple excel and word documents and have made great progress thus far. I have even included a section for each device with my personal experience with a phone, through myself, a friend or a customer, whichever it may be. If I have had no interaction with the device, that will be stated in this section. I am really enjoyed the information gathering but am eager to begin my journey and plan to continue it for long, long time (if successful of course). The money part of this project has really got me excited. I can truly seeing myself making a decent penny off the information and services I provide for my visitors just like my customers in the store. Although I work on commission, I work to satisfy, help and educate my customer to the best of my ability. I do not like to be looked at as a salesman or called one, even though I am one. This website will help people see that the “pushy phone guys” at AT&T or wherever may not be so bad after all. I make more friends than enemies at that job and plan to make many friends and no enemies with this website, whether I know these people or not it still makes me happy to satisfy consumers.

Rusty but ready

Okay so I took a little break and then came back to design my website and BOY am I rusty. I didn’t forget how to build a website I just had a hard time getting back into the groove of things. I haven’t gotten very far, added a few links here and there. Completed tasks 12, 13 and 14 and added a few extra things is about all I did. I am extremely tired so I think I am going to stop there as I have the day off tomorrow and can really crank out some solid work when I am well rested. I still have a lot of collaboration to do with all the information and still haven’t retrieved information for ALL smartphones which is what I intend to do. For now I may just do the more popular phones on the market for each carrier and then move onto to covering ALL smartphones in the near future. Collecting reviews, specifications and accessory information for each device is a grueling process but I enjoy it as it really helps my understand the competition my smartphones have at AT&T. Most manufacturers design a phone and tweak it for each carrier which makes it easier to gather information for those devices but there are always a few different features or nooks and crannies on each carrier’s device. As soon as I have all the information gathered and organized I will begin to crank it into the web site and really start making things look sharp and clear cut. As for now more information gathering and organizing, I can’t wait for this step to be over with so I can get to the on-hands stuff regardless of how much I love reading about phones.

Drawing board...

EVERY day at work when things are slow I brainstorm ideas for my website and as every day passes I come home with more and more ideas that could help tremendously in the success of my website. Designing a whole section for applications, widgets and themes for each operating system is another key building block of my website. When people decide to purchase a smartphone over a basic phone they base the decision on a numerous amount of things. One of the more common factors people use to decide on a new device is the user interface of the operating system but an even more common factor is the quantity, quality and price each operating system has to offer. A page designed specifically for that where consumers can navigate to will only help solidify a user’s decision on selecting a smartphone. This is another thing that could possibly be added to the Forum section of my website but again needs to take the back seat until I get my hands on a solid design and structure of this website. I need to stop coming up with all these ideas no matter how good they are and start focusing on the physical structure of the eBusiness. Tonight I am going to begin to work on the basics of my website without any tweaks to fonts, size, color, spacing, etc. and start from there as I can better edit once I see what the finished product will feel like. To the drawing board…

FORUM?

I am beginning to realize the amount of work that needs to be put into this project. Actually I no longer see it as a project I see it as a hobby. I am extremely intrigued by my topic, love the whole helping people out concept and really see the money I can make designing this eBusiness, if done correctly of course. Today while at work I activated a set of three lines and another pair of two lines from Sprint and thought to myself man I have to have a place where people can complain or praise their respective carrier. I am now planning out and beginning to design a page where consumers can go to see other people’s views on their carriers or other carriers. I don’t intend to cause argument or disrespect but only a place where EVERY cell phone user can go to see other people’s experience with different carriers. Not really a place to talk smack or argue but a place where one can express their likes or dislikes of their cell phone carrier and not be attacked or insulted for it. Of course I will have a similar page for the actual devices themselves but I figured start out broad and narrow it down as the websites evolves. FORUM MAYBE!!?!?!? Possible! I would love nothing more than to add a fully functionable and frequently used forum about smartphones, their accessories and their carriers. A forum is a lot of work on top of designing and successfully running an eBusiness so that will have to take the backseat for now for the sake of this project.

Digging deep!

Today I am focusing on the collaboration of information and organizing in a manner that is user friendly and easy to understand. I want a page that includes every smartphone on the market (for major carriers) that includes 2-3 photos of the device, the carrier, retail price, contract price, release date and a link to a page designed specifically for that phone as well as another link for accessories for that phone. A clear-cut and easy to read is essential to the success of this site. Many sites are cluttered with information and use terminology that may be hard to understand for the common consumer. YES, you can open a new tab in your browser, Google the word and know the meaning in under a minute, but again EASE and CONVEINENCE are keys to the success of this website. Two clicks is all it should take to navigate to your specific device’s page and all the information you will ever need. I want to design a page where you can search by provider, manufacturer and operating system so you can quickly get to where you need to be. A search bar is essential for finding the right device, accessories or rate plan/feature (something I just thought of right now that may be a nice addition to this site). Being able to educate yourself on different data plans that are associated with smartphones, rate plans for your family or features that you may need is extremely helpful in saving money and cutting down time in your local carrier store.

The competition and the information...

After reviewing my decision and analyzing the competition I know I have my work cut out for me. There is information ALL over the internet available to consumers about smartphones, some solid, some extremely weak. My biggest pet peeve is when people (CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS IN PARTICULAR), organizations, web sites, etc. give false information to consumers about particular products. I cannot stand when people come into my store and are heavily miss informed. My goal is to provide reliable and solid information that people can take to their respective phone carriers BEFORE they enter the store. I know the industry and I know the business. The competition is high and is ALWAYS changing. I need to compile loads upon loads information on this site to be able to compete with the rest of the market. If I can provide reviews from both users as well as critics and place them into one dedicated sections it will greatly help users make sound decisions on their phones. I also need to provide plenty of specification information for each and every phone as well as sufficient accessory information for these phones. I want this site to be a one-stop-shop where people can come, gather information and leave knowing that they can make a solid decision without any concerns or worries. I pride myself in my work and the way I handle my customers. I have built personal trade with hundreds of people in my community just by making sure they have the right phone for their needs. I constantly have people coming into my store asking specifically for me because of the service and information that I provide. I want this website to have the same effect on people that visit here; leave satisfied and not come back for questions, concerns or worries. Time to get cracking.

NEW DECISION!!!

OKAY. So scratch the last post and that idea. After a few hours of pondering on my idea I have decided to totally switch directions. Working for AT&T has allowed me to learn immense amounts of information about cell phones and the way they work on how cell phone carriers operate. Smartphones is my thing as I own one myself and have for quite some time now. I currently own the Motorola Atrix, one of the hottest and most powerful phones on the market today. I know everything there is to know about the Android OS and how to function through it entirely. I’ve mastered nearly every aspect of these phones as well as Windows 7 Phones, Blackberries and iPhones. Working my industry has me handling phones 25-7, yes I said 25-7 because that is literally all I do. When I’m at work I’m playing with phones, whether it be store demos, my own or a customer’s phone, that is what I do. When I’m not at work, I’m on my phone whether it be in class, at home, in the car, lounging around, whatever. I feel that my expertise in this field can really help people make sound decisions on selecting a new smartphone device for themselves. I love to help people and want them to be completely satisfied, that is the goal of my job as well as the goal of my website. I want to point people in the right direction and steer them away from the “sketchy” phones that are available on the market today. I will begin my website tonight and keep it very basic and simple to start. As time goes on I plan to really implement boat loads of information into the website to help people make the right decision. Here goes nothing….. Check back soon!!!

My decision...

Today I began to brainstorm on what I would build my eBusiness around. I have decided on the Chicago Blackhawks as hockey is my favorite sport and the Blackhawks are my favorite team. I have been a fan as long as I can remember. My father and grandfather used to take me to games when I was just four years old. I became a die-hard fan by age eight or nine and it didn’t stop there. I attended as many games as I could for the longest time and if I wasn’t at the game I was watching it on TV. However, Mr. Wirtz, the past owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, decided to no longer air the Chicago Blackhawks on TV to encourage fans to attend the games. Well that was a huge flop and then the lockout came. After the removal of the Blackhawks from TV and the lockout I had had enough of the NHL as well as the Blackhawks and fell off for a few years. Just two years before the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup I began to have faith again. Sadly the death of Mr. Wirtz brought life back to the organization. Mr. Wirtz’s son was the successor of his father and quickly turned things around. The Blackhawks were back on TV and making BIG moves to improve their squad, which they indeed did. In 2010 the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time in nearly 40 years. I am still a die-hard fan and will be until the day I die and that is why I have decided to build my eBusiness around this organization.

Day One

Hello my name is Chris Burns and I am currently attending Illinois State University studying Accounting and Business Information Systems. I live in a house in downtown Bloomington with four roommates who happen to be my four best friends. I am the oldest of six kids so I carry a lot on my shoulders and have a lot of responsibility. I’d like to set an example for my younger siblings with my dedicated, hard work and extremely helpful character. I absolutely love sports, playing or watching, both work for me. I have a thing for computers and cell phones. I can basically dissect a computer and put it back together. I’ve built three computers for myself and my family as well as ten others for many of my friends; if you have a problem with your computer get at me and I’d be glad to sit down with you and work my magic. Cell phones have become a new thing for me. Ever since Android came out I’ve always owned one but never brought it to its full potential nor did I ever use it like it was supposed to be used. I later learned that cell phones and these Android phones in particular are extremely helpful in doing everyday tasks or just passing time, outside of being a regular old phone. I have worked for AT&T for nearly a year now and know all there is to know about cell phones, smartphones in particular. I love my job mainly because I enjoy helping people with their problems or helping people make decisions on cell phones. I work hard, 40 plus hours a week while maintaining a social life with my friends and girlfriend and still find time to go to school and get my work done. That’s all for today, take care all and please check back soon!!!!