ATT, BestBuy, NYTimes and Facebook

ATT
My wife and i have together two iPhones with ATT. We chose the lowest minutes (750) and for each phone 200 text messages. We have this contract since 2 years and paid around $140 a month (we get a 18% discount). Last week we decided to take my mother in law cell phone on our contract. ATT is offering additional line for only $9.95 which is much less than she is paying now. My wife went to the ATT store explained them that she wants a simple phone with big buttons and of course no texting and no data plan for the new phone because her mother is over 70 and does only use the phone for calls. She told me that the sales guy at ATT was very nice. She told him as well that she would like to change our texting because the last few months we have been over and paid for each extra text message 10 cents. Which did total to $20 a month in average. Btw can anybody explain me why we need to pay twice when I send a message to my wife? Why does it count as sent and received?
He told her to pay $30 more to get unlimited family texting, she asked what it means and he said that for this extra everybody can send unlimited text.
This week I got the bill and almost a heart attack. The bill was almost $300. I looked through and figured out that a)they sold my mother in law a data plan which is $30 a month, b)we pay for her 200 text messages and c) The family texting is only for sending text message to family member on same contract. But my wife thought it is unlimited anywhere and started (like me) to text much more to friends. As a result, we were 1,000 text messages over, which is $100 extra. We felt screwed from the ATT guy, I am pretty sure he knew what he did. We are going to try to get our money back but I have not much hope.

BestBuy
This week was my birthday and I got a nice email from BestBuy. 10% off my next purchase.



I printed the coupon and went to the store. It was a perfect timing I just got for birthday the xbox 360 kinect and needed a second controller and some games.
The coupon is not really clear with what is included or not. But for sure not computers (like iPads) but it says game controllers and DVDs are included.
First thing, I asked a rep in the game department if the coupon is valid for games and controllers. He said yes as long it is not the xbox itself or reduced priced games. Great. He even mentioned if the cashier makes problems I should let him come to the cash register. I took 3 games and controller and went to the register. They guy scanned everything (I gave him as well my coupon) and I paid. When I looked at the receipt I saw that nothing got discounted. He apologized and said that games and controllers are not included. And that he can't do anything. So I asked that the other guy comes. He came and apologized as well and said that they can't do anything the register will not take any discounts with this coupon for the chosen items. I asked for the manager but same answer. I cancelled my transaction and guess what, the money was instantly out of my account but it takes up to two weeks till the money is back in my account. Is this the new trick from BestBuy to make money? Working two weeks with your customer money can give a lot of interests.

The NY Times
Last week was the latest NY Times update on the iPad and I am a little bit irritated. I had no crash since then. Are they finally able to build a stable app? it is loading much faster, updating much faster the articles and it does not crash at all. Now they only need to get the problems with the webcasts working and then it is finally a good app.

Facebook
I have for my blog now a Facebook fan page. But I need to get at least 25 likes to get a real URL. Please like my fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Kid-on-the-Blog/124605060959606.
I hope to get feedback an discussions going on the page. Things I should write or should not write and so on.

- Posted using BlogPress, please follow me on twitter @schlotz69

Location:Spinning Wheel Ln,Brooksville,United States

2001-2011, 10 years Apple Stores

When Steve Jobs announced to open Apple Stores the critics were big. Analyst did not see that the stores idea will work out.
Critics were that Apple will have big store filled with products which fit on one big table. 10 years later, Apple has over 300 stores and is still growing.
And within the 10 years the look and feel of the stores did not change. Even the amount of displayed products is not much more. The biggest difference is that there is no red phone behind the genius bar and no cam corders or handhelds because they are replaced with Apple products like iPad and iPhone.

What made the Apple stores so successful?
First of all the design. Going to an Apple store is like going to a Ralph Lauren store. All is very exclusive. White walls open space and each product looks like a painting in a museum. Then there is the genius bar, which got copied by stores like Best Buy etc. However the people behind the genius bar are very knowledgable. And not only them. Every employee in the store knows enough about the products that the customer feels comfortable. Never is anybody left alone.
Another big difference to all other computer stores is, that the consumer can touch and play with the products, they are always on and working. If you go to BestBuy, and you want to test a computer, then either they are password locked because some kid thought it is funny or the computers have no real software on it and if they, the Internet connection is not available, that surfing the internet does not work.

I admit, I seldom buy anything at the Apple store, I usually buy online, but still I go once a month to the store just to see the products and dream about all these new 27inch displays and MacBook Airs I want to have.

And then I look around. Mostly everybody is just browsing through the store and playing or enjoying the Apple products. A few kids are playing games at kids table (which is still there after 10 years). Another handful people are waiting for their call to get their genius bar appointment and then maybe a few at the checkout.

Going to the Apple Store is like making (in the mall) a stop at Starbucks just without the coffee. If you are in the mall, you have to go to the Apple store. Period.

I guess the main reason of the success is, that Apple saw the store concept different than all others before (I think Sony was actually first to do their cool stores). Apple did it like with the computers. Take the dark looking room with some boring background music and one product after the other, and paint it white to get more open space. Throw half of the products out and display only a few, but ensure they work fully. And then replace the boring music with good songs through iTunes. Voila, here is your success.

The Apple employees seem all the ways nice, but returning a product is not as easy as at BestBuy. You have to pay a 10% stocking fee when returning, but mostly they won't replace your broken item, they first try to fix it. If it is not possible, then they replaced it with same model. If you have in times of the iPhone 4 a broken iPhone 3GS and Apple might need to replace, they will do it with a 3GS. This unfortunate but fair.

Apple is changing sometimes something over night in the store. If it is not a new product launch, then for sure they might change the look and feel of the stores.

- Posted using BlogPress, please follow me on twitter @schlotz69

Location:Spinning Wheel Ln,Brooksville,United States

Original iPad prices are falling

Apple reduced the price of the original iPad by $100, as soon the iPad 2 came out.

Resellers like ATT and BestBuy are now reducing the prices of original iPads even more to get them out of their inventory.

ATT is offering the 64GB 3G now for only $529 instead of $829.



However this deal at ATT comes with a side effect. ATT is only selling the 3G versions and consumers are required to sign a two year contract with a minimum of $14.99 a month for data plan. This makes the 3G iPad $360 more expensive. When you buy it Apple you don't need to sign a contract and you can use the 3G as you go, paying month by month.

Bestbuy gives $100 off the iPad in addition to Apple discount but only as voucher, that you have to spend the money at BestBuy.

I have been yesterday at BestBuy and saw a lot of people buying the 16GB version of iPad 1. We are now able to get the smallest iPad under $300 which is in the same price range like netbooks. The people who bought the iPad yesterday at BestBuy have been lower income people who were not able before to get the iPad. When I asked them why they bought the iPad, I got two standard answers.
1. They always want to have one because they did hear a lot of it but it was too expensive.
2. My children have have friends with iPads and want to have one too, but we could not afford it.

Usually when consumers are buying new devices like phones or computers, they retire their older device. Some sell them or give them to friends but most just throw them away or don't use it anymore. They replace a phone when the two years contract is going to be renewed or after 3 years when the computer is now too old.

Different with iPads and iPhones. A lot of people buying after a year the newer version and are selling their old device or giving them to friends. Almost no iPad or iPhone does get retired.
This means basically all iPhone 3GS and iPads 1 are still in use, which gives Apple such a big advantage. Somehow they are able to convince users to get a new device every year and to keep the old devices so attractive that they are still in use till 3 years are reached.

If Apple is able to sell this year 20 million iPads, which they should be easily, then they are no doubt 35 million iPads in use end of the year.

Even if the competition can bring their tablets faster and cheaper out, I doubt that all of them combined will come close to 35 million.

The way Apple does product marketing and that their products are 3 years good, helps Apple to have at least a two year advantage to the competition.

We saw it with Smart Phones, it took two years till Android took over the market, but when we look how many people are using the Internet through smart phones then Apple is still leading. They did not sell as much iPhones as Android phone got sold last year, but as well here the old iPhones are mostly still in use and therefore we need to count them as well.

I am pretty sure shortly before we come into the third year of the iPad, Apple will invent a new category of products we don't think about yet or even think we need it, just to keep the momentum running. If not, then Apple might get in trouble to stay the biggest electronic company.

- Posted using BlogPress, please follow me on twitter @schlotz69