FitzCell Info

Electronics Trade-in and Recycling Program

2014-02-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

Here at Fitz Cell we want to introduce our new Electronics Trade-in and Recycling Program.

I'm going to make you a bet. I bet you have at least one of the electronic devices listed below that is unused and is tucked away in a drawer just collecting dust.

You can send us your old cellphones, batteries and other accessories and we will give you a trade-in value (if there is one). We use online sales sites to calculate the fair market value of your device and subtract our processing charges and give you credit that you can use towards the purchase of a new device.

We accept the following devices;

Laptops
Cameras
Digital Book Readers
Blue-ray Disc Players
Game Systems
MP3 Players
Mobile Phones
Camcorders
Tablets

And for those cases where you only need to use our environmentally friendly methods of recycling you can send us your electronic device and we will make sure that it gets recycled properly.

While this blog is devoted to the use of cell-phones and reviews of mobile related accessories, we also will accept tablets, laptops, and video game playing systems (see list above).

So don't let that electronic device just sit there with the batteries rotting. Send us an email, if you want to know the trade in value of your device. Email us at Kelvin@SanDiegoOnlineSalesGroup.com . I know that is a long email address, but it's worth it to get that device to us.

If you would like for us to recycle the device for you for free please mail it to us at;

San Diego Online Sales Group
6920 Miramar Roade, Suite 313
San Diego, CA 92121

One Way to Handle A Stolen Phone

2013-12-31T11:10:00.002-08:00

This blog, of pictures left on a stolen phone, is very funny

http://lifeofastrangerwhostolemyphone.tumblr.com/

And then there is the tumbler of recreated selfies

http://mycloudpal.tumblr.com/

So if your mobile device gets stolen, and the thief takes photos one way to get some revenge is to post their pics to the web. It at least makes me laugh.

Powerocks Magicstick Portable Charger

2013-11-20T14:10:00.002-08:00

I'm very excited because the good people from Powerocks recently sent me a Powerocks Magicstick.

I am very impressed with the device and want to recommend it as a possible gift for Christmas or just as a device that you can definitely use to charge your portable electronic devices. Please check out the videos below (for specs).

And you can buy one here >>> Powerocks Magicstick 2600mAh Black Universal Extended Battery .

Google Phone by T-Mobile

2008-09-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

In an article titled Report: T-Mobile to Announce Google Phone Sept. 23 PCWorld.com is reporting that the NEW Google phone will soon be on the market.

T-Mobile USA will become the first company in the world to announce a mobile phone based on Google's Android OS at a New York press conference Sept. 23, the New York Times reports, citing T-Mobile.

Troubleshooting the Apple iPhone resources.

2008-08-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've been searching for the best ways to troubleshoot problems with the new iPhone.

Here is what I have come up with so far;

A good place to start is Apple.com support.

MacWorld.com also has a good troubleshooting article, titled Troubleshooting iPhone and iPod touch issues. From the article;

In increasing order of difficulty, here are the things I do to try to recover from the various iPhone 2.0.x maladies I’ve experienced:

Restart the iPhone. Press and hold the power button until you see the “slide to power off” display, then do just that. Let the phone site for a couple seconds, then power it back on. I’ve found this is generally effective at solving excess battery consumption, as well as the slow iPhone problem. It only takes about a minute, at most, to reboot your iPhone, so it’s by far the easiest thing to try.

Reinstall a third-party application. If one particular third-party program is giving you troubles, you can try reinstalling it. First delete it from the iPhone by tapping and holding on the program’s icon, then clicking the “x” button to delete it. In iTunes, re-download the program (if you’ve bought it once, you can do so for free), then sync your iPhone and install the new copy of the program. Warning: You will lose all data you saved with the program—text you added, high scores you set, progress through the game that was saved, etc.

Restore the iPhone, including its backup. Unfortunately, this painful solution may wind up being your most-used troubleshooting technique. If you’re experiencing issues with multiple applications, or with Apple’s applications, or if neither of the above steps solve your problem, then a restore may be in your future. Before you restore (as explained above), however, sync your iPhone one more time and let it run a full backup (assuming your iPhone is in a usable state). This way, at least, you’ll be able to save any of the data you’ve stored with your third party programs. After the iPhone’s software is restored, iTunes will then offer you the chance to restore from the new backup.

Restore the iPhone, start from scratch. If you try the restore method above and find you still have the same issues as before, then you’ll have to use this most painful troubleshooting method. Restore the phone as above, but do not restore your backup. It’s possible that one of the files in the backup is corrupted, and that’s what’s causing your issues. Instead of restoring the backup, tell iTunes to treat your iPhone as new. Give it a name, reinstall all of your programs from scratch, and then sync your music, videos, and other content. This is as close as you can come to starting with a factory-fresh iPhone, and represents your best chance at stability—at least for a little while.

TUAW.com calls their troubleshooting guide iPhone Troubleshooting: How to Restart, quit frozen apps and Reset iPhone.

MobileMe users can find troubleshooting guide lines in an article titled MobileMe: Troubleshooting iPhone or iPod touch sync issues at Apple.com.

To get some of the most up to date info Apple.com's iPhone discussions board is invaluable.

In closing I was not really trying to be comperhensive here, I just wanted to provide a few good places online to go if you are having problems with your iPhone.

Can You Make Money off iPhone Games?

2008-08-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, according to an article in BusinessWeek.com titled How to Make Money off Free iPhone Games a company called Illusion Labs is doing just that.

Illusion Labs was started a year ago by Carl Loodberg and Andreas Alptun, who had worked together at another Swedish company called TAT, designing software for companies including Samsung and Nvidia (NVDA). They set up their own company so they could concentrate on developing applications specifically for Apple's iPhone. "When the iPhone came out, we were excited about the big screen, the graphics chip, and the good components," says Loodberg. "We thought it was an opportunity too big to pass up."

The companies first game is one of the more popular pieces of software for the iPhone. Called Labyrinth, it is a digital version of the old wooden box on which you maneuver a small silver ball through a maze while avoiding cut-out holes and other obsticals that the ball could fall in. The game is available for free from Apple's iTunes, and is estimated as being downloaded 80,000 times a day.

Top Books on SmartPhones

2008-08-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

I am dismayed by the fact that some of my friends and family do not know how to get the best out of their smartphones. I guess it is the geek in me.

I think that best thing to do when faced with a new and complicated piece of high tech electronics, like a smartphone, is to study the litrature that comes with your phone and also read books devoted to your phone.

Here are some books that I think will help smartphone owners get more out of their phones.
Taking Your Iphone to the Max

The Rough Guide to the iPhone

Now You Know Treo 700w Smartphone

BlackBerry Hacks

101 Cool Smartphone Techniques

Smartphone & Pocket PC

Nokia Smartphone Hacks

Official Google Reader Blog: Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

2008-08-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Official Google Reader Blog: Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

How to protect yourself when buying Cell phones online.

2008-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

With the economy being down right now and gas prices being so high, I have been writing in some of my other blogs advocating that shopping online, is a good way to buy and save money. You can save on gas and other cost of shopping by doing it online. This is also true for your cell phone needs.

This includes the phones themselves as well as accessories that you may need. Batteries, chargers, cases, head phones, earbuds and other items that let you get the most out of your phone.

And while you can get great deals, and save money you want to protect yourself while shopping online. Please consider the following

1. Always, always follow the adage, buyer beware, when shopping online for anything. If it were not important, they would not have a cool Latin phrase for it, "Caveat emptor."

2. Understand what can go wrong;

- fakes
- refurbished sold as new
- water damaged
- item does not work properly
- what happens of something goes wrong

3. How to limit problems

- Shop
- compare
- know what you should be getting
- read the ad
- contact buyer
- ask questions

4. What to do if there are problems

- contact buyer
- request replacement or refund
- Use site resolution systems

The best protection for you when shopping online is knowledge. Know what you are getting into before you buy. Beware and communicate with the seller first, shop at merchants who have a history of good sales. This will help to make your online purchases good ones and allow you to be protected.

Cnet reviews Smartphones

2008-08-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Cnet reviews.com has a very interesting article for anyone shopping for a new iPhone titled Down the line: Smartphones, by Senior Associate Editor Bonnie Cha.

Ms. Cha does a go job of giving a run down on the latest and greatest offerings from the various players. Phones covered in this article include the RIM BlackBerry Bold, Nokia N96, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 among others.

The chart that accompanies the article give a good side by side comparison of the phones. The only criticism that I have is that a lot of the info has not be released yet, but that is up to the manufacturers.

Amazon.com Widgets

Sharp T-Mobile Sidekick Cell Phone Video

2008-08-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

PhoneScoop's T-Mobile Sidekick Video

Amazon.com Widgets

Mobile Phone: A Definition

2008-07-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia;

The mobile phone (also called a wireless phone or cellular phone) is a short-range, portable electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones).

File This Under: Why Didn't Someone Think of This Sooner - SlyDial

2008-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Want to leave someone a message, but you don't want to talk to them? I know I have been in this situation so many times. With family members, business acquaintances, or just people I need to leave a quick message but don't want to have a conversation with. Kind of a one way conversation.

Well if you find yourself in that situation needing to have a one way conversation, than you need a new service called SlyDial. How's that for a catchy name. The service does exactly what it's name says, it allows you to dial a mobile phone number and go directly to voice mail. The phone being called may ring (depending on their cell phone provider), but you will not connect with them, they will just think they missed a call.

According to the LA Times;

Slydial is one of the many services supported by in-call commercials, a growing medium ...

... in which captive callers have to listen to an ad before they get something for free. Jingle Networks, which offers free 411 information for callers who listen to an ad first, has soared in popularity, and said last month that it had become profitable. Google offers a service called GOOG-411. The spate of ad-sponsored phone services has even angered consumer watchdogs.

The Slydial ads are about 30 seconds, but that's nothing compared with the long phone conversation you would have to have if great-aunt Millie actually picked up the phone and started asking what you think about that Obama guy. She hopefully won't pick up -- when I tried out the service earlier today, the recipient's phone rang a few times before it went straight to voicemail. Macomber said that some carriers, such as AT&T, show a missed call, and the phone might ring once or twice -- although he said even if the phone rings, the caller wouldn't be connected. Others, such as Verizon, won't ever ring.

You can read the full article here.

TracFone is Offering Great new deals on Motorola reconditioned phones!

2008-07-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

With the purchase of a Double Minutes For Life card for $49.99, which doubles the amount of minutes a customer buys, they will also receive a Motorola W175 refurbished flip phone for FREE (a $14.99 value). The W175 features text messaging, voice mail, Crystal Talk Voice Enhancement, and comes with 35 pre-loaded ringtones.

Buy a Double Minutes for Life Card and receive a Motorola W175 for FREE!

Additionally, for just $79.99 customers can receive a Motorola W370 refurbished phone, Double Minutes For Life (a $49.99 value), and a 450 minute card. That’s a total of 900 minutes included in the purchase! This lightweight flip phone also features text messaging and voice mail and comes equipped with games, screensavers, and wallpapers.

Get a Motorola W370, Double Minutes for Life, and 900 Minutes to start for only $79.99!

A Few Books on Bluetooth Headsets

2008-07-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Sense the recent changes in the law regarding bluetooth headsets in some states, I thought I would list a couple of references that might help readers decide which headset or hands free device they may want to buy.

Funny Cell Phone Poster

2008-06-27T15:01:00.001-07:00

Your Cell Phone

Magnet

Buy at AllPosters.com

New Cellular Phone Laws that Go Into Effect July 1, 2008

2008-06-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

According to CA DMV the new cellphone laws go into effect on July 1, 2008.

New Cellular Phone Laws that Go Into Effect July 1, 2008.

I for one am so happy because I almost get ran off the road daily by people talking on their phones while trying to turn corners are park their cars.

Wow, we are back up and running.

2008-05-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I can not tell you how happy I am that this blog has been reopened. I don't know what happened but this blog has been locked for the last couple of years. Can you believe that.

So now that it is back up, I plan to continue where I left off.

Verizon and YouTube Join Forces

2006-11-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

Verizon and YouTube are joining forces to offer videos on cellphones. YouTube will provide video clips to cellphone users of Verizon Wireless this December according to an article in the Washingtonpost.com titled Verizon Wireless to Offer YouTube on Cell Phones.

YouTube which was recently bought by Google wants to move from computers to cellphones. This is seen as a move in that direction.

... so far only a small minority of U.S. consumers use features like video on their cell phones. Verizon Wireless hopes the huge popularity of many home videos shown on YouTube could help boost use of its Vcast wireless media service.

file under;
cellphones, Verizon, YouTube

The Cell Phone Christmas Gift List

2006-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

1. Motorola H500 Bluetooth Headset
2. Sony Ericsson W810i Phone
3. Motorola BLT-04 Bluetooth Headset Carrying Case
4. Samsung t629 Phone (T-Mobile)
5. Motorola SLVR L7 Black Phone (Cingular)
6. Samsung WEP200 Bluetooth Headset Kit
7. Slim Li Ion Battery for the Motorola RAZR V3
8. Motorola RAZR V3 Black Phone (Unlocked)
9. Palm Treo 650 PDA Phone (Cingular)
10. BlackBerry 8700c Phone (Cingular)

file under;
cellphones, Cingular, BlackBerry, Palm Treo, Motorola RAZR, Battery, Samsung, Bluetooth, T-Mobile, Sony Ericsson,

Compare Cell Phones

2006-11-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to compare the various cell phone service providers? Or how about phones, do you want to know which cell phones can play mp3s or has a built in am/fm radio.

Or have you ever wanted to see which family plan was the best. Well LetsTalk.Com is a site that you may want to check out.

"Best Cell-Plan Site" “LetsTalk.com can tell you in minutes the best cell-phone plan in your area. Simply enter your zip code, the minutes you'll need and your primary calling area, and it filters plans for you. Narrow your choices further by selecting plans with mobile -to-mobile minutes, free nights and weekends, or free incoming calls. It also allows you to compare as many as eight plans side by side.” — from Kiplinger.Com November, 2006

file under;
cellphones, security, data retrieval

Music Phones In The News

2006-10-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Samsung, Cingular roll out HSDPA Music Phone A707 @telecomskorea.com

Verizon Wireless Customers with V CAST-Enabled Phones Can Now Access V CAST with a Daily Subscription according to vzw.com

Info On Prepaid Phone Cards

2006-10-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

• Why prepaid phone cards online; its benefits & How do these phone cards work?

Prepaid phone cards sales experience strong growth all over the world. Phone cards online enjoy great popularity among prepaid phone cards. Phone cards online numerous benefits are the basis for such a success.

>> Here are several major advantages buying prepaid phone cards online and using them:

• Savings

- Prepaid phone cards online domestic and international rates are usually much lower than rates offered by major residential phone service providers and prepaid phone cards local stores.

- Phone cards online are cheaper than collect calls and operator assisted calls.

- Phone cards online can help You to bring your phone expenses within budget; there is no better way to budget your long distance.

- Phone cards online Holidays sales make additional savings for your budget.

• Convenience

- Wide choice of phone cards online is offered in one place.

- Easy to compare the rates and find the best deal for yourself.

- You receive PIN number and access number instantly at any time and any place where You have an access to the Internet (go though verification to eliminate any delays).

- If You share a phone with your roommates, phone cards online can help You to avoid the question of figuring out who-called-what-number each month.

- There is no any phone bills associated with using prepaid phone cards.

• Mobility and versatility

- Phone cards online provide solutions to different groups of people, such as travelers, students, truck drivers, international visitors and other.

- You can enjoy low long distance rates no matter where You are and what kind of phone You are using; You can call from home, office, foreign country, cell phone, pay phone and enjoy the same low rate.

- You receive independence from local and long distance career, and anonymity.

>> How do these cards work?

- You simply pay for calling time in advance and reduce the prepaid balance as You make phone calls. For the same phone card calling time available depends on the destination You are calling to.

To make a phone call You dial Toll Free Access Number or Local Access Number, after a voice prompt enter card’s PIN number, and then dial the destination number.

Note: for refillable phone cards, calling from registered phone, You don’t have to dial PIN number!

We invite You to enjoy our Prepaid phone cards numerous benefits!

• PIN Free/Permanent PIN refillable phone cards and non-refillable phone cards.

>> What is the difference between Refillable and non-refillable phone cards?

- There are two main types of phone cards online; each of them can be found on our website:

• Non-refillable phone cards

• Refillable phone cards with PIN Free/Permanent PIN option.

Non-refillable phone cards

The vast majority of phone cards online offered for sale are non-refillable phone cards.

- After the balance on this type of phone card becomes equal to zero, the phone card can not be used anymore, and if a customer is interested to use the same parameters phone card again, he should buy a new phone card with new PIN number and balance.

- These phone cards have expiration period, which is 3 or 4 months for most of the cards.

Click Here To Purchase a Prepaid Phone Card

This is a new generation of phone cards online.

Refillable (rechargeable) phone cards offer additional opportunities to their users:

• Refill opportunity. You can refill this kind of phone cards anytime when You want, the only thing that You need is an access to the internet, or during our business hours an access to the phone;

• PIN-Free access. When You sign up, you register your phone number with us. Your phone number becomes your permanent Personal Identification. When You dial from registered phone, after entering Access number the telecom switches automatically, recognizing your number, and You don't have to enter a hard-to-remember PIN!

• Permanent PIN. Buying refillable phone card for the first time, You receive a PIN number, which becomes your card’s permanent number. Each time when You refill the balance you refill the same PIN number.

• No expiration period!

• Balance transfer opportunity! If You have more than one refillable phone card, You can always transfer the balance from one phone card to another one, from Your card to your Savings Account or back.

>>Most frequently asked questions and important notes regarding refillable phone cards.

• What refillable phone cards are offered on this blog?

- "USAOneRate".

• What if I need to get more than one refillable PIN for the same phone card (for the same email address)?

- You have to register a new email address in our system (creating one more account); after finishing the registration process You will be able to buy one more set of refillable phone cards. The system will consider You as a new member, and You will receive new PIN(s) to your new email address.

• Is it possible to register the same phone number for more that one refillable phone card (with the same name)?

- If more than one person wants to use the same phone number as registered phone number, they should get different refillable phone cards- never with the same name.

But if You and your family, or friends still want to use more than one refillable phone card (with the same name and different PINs) calling from the same phone, this phone number shouldn’t be registered with any of these cards.

• How do I refill my Permanent PIN?

- To refill your Permanent PIN find a proper refillable phone card, select amount You wish to add and press the button "Buy or Refill"; or alternatively: login into "My Account" -> "My Permanent PIN(s)" -> select phone card and amount You wish to add and press the button "Refill".

- Call us during our business hours and we will refill your card’s balance for You.

• Note: Each time You refill a phone card with Permanent PIN you add funds to your previously received PIN.

• Charges and Minutes on phone card.

- Choosing a phone card it is very important to pay attention to card’s details, that have full information regarding charges applied for a particular phone card.

>> Here are the main charges that may be applied for prepaid phone cards:

• Connection Fee.

It applies each time when a phone call is connected. The charge varies depending on destination number You are calling.

Duration of call	Number of minutes to be charged:
Duration of call	30 sec	1 min	2 min	3 min
48 seconds 1 min 32 sec 4 min 28 sec 19 min 2 sec	1 min 2 min 4 min 30 sec 19 min 30 sec	1 min 2 min 5 min 20 min	2 min 2 min 6 min 20 min	3 min 3 min 6 min 21 min

• Pay-Phone Surcharge.

Prepaid phone cards provide the most convenience when you want to make cheap phone calls anywhere, but there is usually a surcharge between $0.30 up to $0.69 per call associated when You use a public pay-phone.

>> How many minutes are on my card, and how can I check the balance on my card?

- Our phone cards are dollars/cents based. The number of minutes depends on rate applied for the destination You call. You'll be informed how many minutes You have on your card, after a destination number is entered; with some cards You'll be notified about your balance after the PIN is entered.

• Finding the best calling rate.

First of all, select what countries You want to call FROM and TO. If You are calling to cellular phone, choose the country with word "CELL" next to it (for example: Russia-CELL); then push "Search" button.

Upon pushing "Search" button, you will see the search results for those particular countries. The lowest rates are shown on the top of page. Each card displays the amount of minutes available for different card’s nominations.

Note: Cell phone rates are usually much higher than landline phone rates for the same country.

Cell phone rates may be not listed for some destinations. If You still would like to know the rate that is not listed, please contact us and we will provide the rate information or the number where You can find out this information.

• Finding the right phone card.

To find the best phone card for You we recommend you to undertake the following steps:

• Find the best rates for the country You want to call TO, taking into consideration whether You are calling landline phone or cellular phone (see "Finding the best rate").

• Considering Your most frequently used calling pattern, choose a card with the most appropriate features – card with the lowest rate is not always the best for You!

* If You mostly have short conversation phone calls, or you are not sure the person you are calling is there, and the phone call may trigger an answer machine:

- Make sure the card You are buying doesn’t have connection fee. The best way to evaluate whether a cheaper phone card with connection fee is worthwhile or not is to estimate the average time for your phone calls. If you make 15 minutes calls, a card for 3 cents/min with $1.00 connection fee is actually more expensive than a card for 7 cents/min with no connection fee. A phone card with high connection fee is good for the case when you know your party is there and you intend to talk for a long time.

- Choose phone card with rounding not more than 1 minute.

* If You are planning to use your card not very often, and would like to keep it for 2-4 months:

- Make sure the card You are buying has low maintenance fee or doesn’t have it at all.

- Pay attention to card's validity period.

* If You are calling using payphone:

- Choose the phone card with low payphone surcharge.

• To find the most appropriate phone card for calling different destinations:

- Considering your calling pattern, find the most appropriate phone cards for each destination.

- Use "Compare Cards" option to compare the cards according to their features and rates offered for different destinations, and choose the best for yourself.

- Sometimes, it’s cheaper to buy two different phone cards, for calling two different destinations, rather than buying one phone card that has low rate for one destination, but comparatively high rate for another destination.

Note: Before You buy a phone card, make sure You read card’s details, especially purchasing a card with an extremely low rate!

file under;
cellphones, security, data retrieval

It Is Difficult To Erase Old Data From Cellphones

2006-10-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who are thinking of selling your old cell phone, you might want to think about this.

In a very interesting and informative article by Ellen Nakashima, staff writer for the Washington Post, titled Used Cellphones Hold Trove of Secrets That Can Be Hard to Erase some surprising examples of how hard it can be to remove old data from cellphones is given.

Data that can be retrieved from old cellphones include

- address books
- calendar info
- contacts
- old photos
- videos
- text messages
- and e-mails

file under;
cellphones, security, data retrieval

Verizon Pre-paid Wireless Phone For Sale

2006-10-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Verizon Pre-paid Wireless Phone For Sale

Verizon Phone.
Phone is pre-activated for any area code.
100 Minutes free air time.

Contact Info: 619-501-8638
email: davlongodfrey@1d.net