Everyone's Talking About Phones!

The Apple Pie Phone 6
(now with real fruit filling)

I don't have any strong feelings towards a particular brand or model of smartphone.  As a gadget enthusiast, I like them all!  If my wallet could support it, I'd buy one of each.  But alas, my fate is such that I can choose only/barely one.

Recently, for some reason, a lot of my friends and acquaintances on social networking sites have been asking for advice or complaining about new smartphones.  They're eligible for an upgrade and want advice about switching from an iPhone to an Android, or they just switched over and now they're not getting text messages anymore.  They just can't figure it out! 

I'm going to sound like an asshole for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway: technology is only as advanced as the people using it.  I'm not saying that to make fun of anyone or to be cruel.  I'm saying it because, whether you're going from iOS to Android or vice versa, you need to take the time to learn the new system before you can get used it.  A smartphone is only a tool, and it can only do as much as you know what to do with it.  Unless your new phone's giving you real problems, don't give up so quickly.

That said, here are a few tips for those of you who are getting rid of your old iPhones (even if you're upgrading to another iPhone).  Many of these tips also apply to non-iPhone users.

1.  First and foremost, back up your data!
Your contacts, your photos, whatever.  Plug your iPhone into your computer, open up iTunes, and "Back Up Now."  Alternatively, you can use iCloud by going to Settings (on your iPhone) > iCloud > Backup > Back Up Now.

If you're upgrading to a newer iPhone, then this step will be instrumental in seamlessly resetting all of your old contacts, settings and apps on your new phone.  Just plug in your new iPhone and hit "Restore Backup..." (you'll most likely have to choose which backup you want to restore from - they're all designated by the date and time of the backup).  If you're switching over to an Android phone, then you will have to transfer your old contacts to a Google/Gmail account (Android is developed by Google and, therefore, makes use of a Google/Gmail account).

If you're switching from an Android to an iPhone, then follow the steps outlined in this article to transfer all of your contacts, photos, and other media.

2.  Make sure you turn off iMessage on your old iPhone before activating your new smartphone.
Why?  Because of this.  Many former iPhone users have run into a problem where they no longer receive text messages because their iMessage is still active on their old phone.  Remedying the issue can be easy if you have your old iPhone still on you.  If you don't, you'll have to deal with Apple Customer Support, which can be not as easy.  Go to Settings > Messages to access this option.

3.  While you're at it, delete your iCloud account and restore your phone to factory settings.
Go to Settings > iCloud, and scroll to the bottom to sign out.  Why are we doing this?  To make sure the next person who uses your old phone won't have access to your info and files.  This is also so you don't get random pictures in your iCloud Photo stream.  And just to double make sure, go ahead and wipe the memory clean.  You can restore your phone through iTunes or by going to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.

4.  Get your old smartphone unlocked.
Unlocking your old phone will give you more options when trying to sell it because it opens it up for use on different wireless networks and in different countries.  If you've fulfilled your 2-year contract with your carrier, your old phone should be eligible to be unlocked.  Here are links to instructions on how to unlock your smartphone on the 3 major wireless providers (U.S.):

• AT&T
• Verizon
• Sprint

5.  Don't forget to remove your old sim card and/or get your phone deactivated by your wireless provider!
Since you'll need your sim card for your new phone to work, make sure you take it out of your old phone before you give it away.


Now that you've prepped your old phone for a proper send off, it's time to sell it.  Most smartphones (iPhones in particular) have pretty decent resale values.  Assuming you haven't already promised your old phone to a friend or family member, you could stand to make at least $100 (depending on the model and the phone's condition), enough to cover some of the costs of your new phone.

Amazon: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For

I posted this to my Tumblr page several months ago, but wanted to share it again here.

Amazon is an amazing online retailer!  You can find pretty much anything you're looking for, and you can get it at a fairly decent price.  When I first started shopping there years ago, I had no intention of ever looking elsewhere for anything ever again.  These days, unfortunately, I find myself shopping on Amazon less and less.

For Mother's Day earlier this year, I decided to introduce my mom to the world of smartphones by getting her a Samsung Galaxy SIII.  I needed to purchase accessories for her new phone, so where else would I look?

I knew from reading other blogs and the customer reviews on Amazon that some of their sellers were not being very honest and were selling counterfeit items.  One important piece of advice that pretty much everyone had was, if you're buying from a third-party seller, make sure that it says the order is being "fulfilled by Amazon."  That way, the item that you're purchasing is going through an additional check point (the seller's items are actually being sent from the Amazon warehouses) before it gets to you.

I went one step further - I chose to buy directly from Amazon.  It didn't work.

Authentic Samsung products have a holographic "Samsung Original" sticker.

You can tell the cardboard packaging was cut by hand - the edges are off.

They totally sent me a knock-off.

To be honest, for what I paid (a mere fraction of the MSRP), I would've been happy if the stupid case had just fit on the phone, but it didn't even do that.  I basically paid for trash.

I filed a complaint, returned the case, and got my money back.  It seemed like Amazon was having one of its third-party sellers fulfill their orders; the original link I had for the item now directs to a different seller.  From what I understand, though, that wasn't the first nor will it be the last seller to completely dupe customers on the site.  Instead of trying my luck again with Amazon, I decided to head to my local Best Buy, where I could actually see that I was buying the real thing.

My friends, this problem doesn't end with smartphone accessories, unfortunately.  I would be very, very careful when purchasing anything from third-party sellers online.

This is also true with imported cosmetics, especially BB creams from Asia.  Many of the bigger companies (Missha, Skin79, Skinfood, etc.) have websites/online shops operating in the U.S., as well as operating actual brick and mortar stores.  Even though the prices there can be a bit higher than what you can find on Amazon or Ebay, I would really recommend purchasing from legit places.  You really don't know what you're getting from these third-party sellers.  It could be completely fine, or it could just be older or stolen merchandise, but it could also be lower grade, possibly harmful cosmetics disguised in brand name packaging.

In any case, when making purchases online, make sure you do your research so that any decisions you make are well-informed ones.  Caveat emptor!

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UPDATE (May 26, 2014):  I was recently looking up YouTube videos on Clarisonic facial cleansing systems, and I came across a video illustrating the differences between real and knock-off Clarisonics.  The woman in the video was gifted a Clarisonic Mia2 that was purchased on Amazon, which isn't an authorized dealer of Clarisonic products.  I just wanted to add this as more reason to be careful of what you buy through third-party sellers.
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