December 24, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

Chicago Cell Phone Repair Offers Advice on How to Protect Wireless Devices from Spyware and Viruses

Cell phones are subjected to the same awful tragedies as home computers – contracting viruses, spyware or malware. Because users can also access the Internet with cell phones, and because cell phones are great at keeping track of ultra-intensive data such as call logs, e-mails and text messages, some malicious forces are beginning to target them.

In the ever-evolving wireless industry, cell phones are becoming more and more intelligent and jam-packed with cool features. There are more and more apps that hold sensitive information – such as online banking account numbers – and hackers are lurking in the wireless world’s water, seeking their prey.

What is more disconcerting is the fact that the wireless industry is currently faced with even more security challenges, especially now that organizations are demanding more open networks on their devices, applications and content. With that in mind, wireless network carriers are still working hard to protect their consumers. When and if wireless security breaks wide open, it will be totally up to the consumer to protect his/her own data from spam, viruses and other threats.

What spyware does is what the name says; it “spies”. Data can be collected and extracted from text or instant messages, e-mails or contact lists. Software physically embedded on cell phones can be used to eavesdrop and can even be utilized as a GPS tracking tool that can remotely monitor the cell phone owner’s location.

“Although the wireless industry does try hard to protect consumer’s confidential information, it can only go so far,” said Jeff Gasner, owner of CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair. “To protect your phone from spyware, make sure you know where your phone is at all times, meaning don’t lend your phone to anyone or leave it unmonitored. This gives someone a chance to tamper with it. Also think about password protecting your phone.”

Other types of malware, on the other hand, are data extraction tools that collect data for unscrupulous companies or persons that use it for identity theft purposes. Viruses can be also be distributed through websites and e-mail attachments.

“If you think your cell phone has a virus, take it to your wireless network service provider or to an independent cell phone repair shop like CPR,” Gasner said.

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com

December 20, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

Chicago Cell Phone Repair Can Help with Blackberry Woes

Cell phones are great, Fantastic tools to get around and keep connected to the virtual world. On the other hand, cell phones can be very tetchy apparatuses.

Smart phones are noted more for their sleek design than their durability. That’s why, as most s smart phone users can attest, all it takes is one drop and the thing goes kaput. One way to keep from damaging the smart phone’s sensitive body is instead opt in on purchasing one of those military-certified handset phones that are practically water proof, shock proof, and bypass all the cool apps and features of smart phones.

The BlackBerry smart phones, for instance, have had been noted for trackball issues. The newer BlackBerry models boast new track pads to answer the old trackball malfunctions. However, there have been reports that some of the newer BlackBerry track pad models seem to be very sketchy and flighty. Some users find their own way of dealing with the issues, such as balancing on one foot and applying the right kind of pressure with one finger in order for it work just so.

So, what is a wireless consumer to do when his or her high-tech smart phone decides to go south just when it is needed most? For one, the consumer can take it to the wireless service provider, hope that it came with a good replacement insurance plan, or shell out more money for another phone. There is, however, another option.

“You can simply bring it to us!” said Jeff Gasner, owner of CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair. “We are an independent cell phone repair store that can help you with most of your cell phone woes, we can also in most cases, retrieve your lost data for you, even when your phone is non-responsive.”

Chicago Cell Phone Repair can also help with broken BlackBerry trackballs or track pads, broken BlackBerry camera lenses, broken Blackberry screens or keyboards and damaged housing, to name a few.

So before any poor owner of a broken BlackBerry phone chucks it or digs deeper in his or her pocket for a new phone, perform CPR on it – bring it to a qualified CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair Specialist, that is—and let them fix it.

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com

December 18, 2010 in Business Articles, Technology by jferris

The Future Prospects of Cell Phones

Do you know how much your cell phone is making an impact on our society today? Imagine back to just a few years ago when we didn’t have them. Think also about how, even in the not-so-distant past, the home computer was first making its mark in practically every home in America.

Morgan Stanley Research estimates that in five years there will be more cell phone web users than desktop web users. Cell phones enable people to take pictures, watch movies, check the news and weather and play games, among many other things. It can be a tool for the masses to get involved in social movements and causes. The American Red Cross used the simple form of texting to help raise money. Donors from all over the country contributed $10 by simply texting the American Red Cross, raising $30 million dollars for the Haiti earthquake victims relief fund.

New cell technology is not only for social causes. With talks of implementing the smart grid technology by 2030, which will upgrade our current existing electric power distribution network, the commercial wireless network will innovate and also support it. This will bring more reliability, new capabilities and extra security for wireless consumers. It is also a chance to take part in the modernized, more effective electricity distribution networks, allowing consumers to save on their electric bills and use 20 percent or more of renewable energy resources.

As for commercial viability, cell phone consumers will be at the pulse of that change, also. It is not surprising to see businesses, even small businesses, coming up with mobile versions of their websites.

You can now download coupons to your cell phone and show the coupon on your cell phone screen to the cashier to get an instant discount. There is no need to clip coupons in certain cases. Mobile devices and web applications are changing customer interaction immensely and boosting businesses’ web traffic simply through their own mobile channel. There is now an estimate of 53 million (and climbing) smart phone users. Just think what mobile coupons could do for the upcoming Christmas season if all the chains and stores participate in this growing market.

Technological ingenuity keeps evolving and grass roots and social movements, renewable energy advocates, businesses and major corporations will find ways to utilize the cell phone to reach their consumers and supporters.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod Repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. Visit http://www.chicagocellrepair.com.

December 17, 2010 in Business Articles, Technology by jferris

Welcome to the Wonderful World of the Wireless Marketplace

American consumers are driving the wireless networking competition. The technological revolution is driving the industry to come up with new and exciting concepts and roll fascinating products out to the American consumers.

The wireless bionetwork’s ecosphere has grown exponentially, and at a faster rate than any other part of the world. For example, Americans are consuming wireless products and services, utilizing approximately 824 minutes a month, compared to 160 minutes a month in Europe. What accounts for such a vast difference? Basically, Americans are getting more for their money because the revenue per minute in the U.S. is so much cheaper.

The American wireless industry is now a model for the rest of the wireless world to follow. Other countries are now expanding their calling plans and are trying to revamp their policies on technology requirements to make them more flexible. Since 2008 – two short years since the induction of “apps” – there are now thousands of them available on many different platforms for wireless customers nationwide.

The wireless industry wants to concentrate more on wireless broadband and is lobbying policymakers to help make it affordable and accessible to everyone; therefore making the industry’s race for quality and capability the forerunner for dynamic competition.

What it boils down to is that American consumers can choose from a variety of network providers: national and regional carriers as well as resellers. To add to the list, consumers can also choose a contract or the pay-as-you-go or prepaid option for their network services. Therefore, the wireless consumer has many choices. If consumers don’t like a plan or service, they can opt to go take their money elsewhere.

Wireless technology is providing us with the hottest new products that are selling like crazy. Now, 4G services are expanding nationwide and 3G has practically gone through every nook and cranny. At least 92 percent of American wireless consumers have access to 3G coverage.

Great value, great technologies, and an array of products and services to choose from help the U.S. wireless ecosystem propel its own evolution into the next generation, one wireless customer at a time.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod Repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. Visit http://www.chicagocellrepair.com.

November 30, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

Tips to Save Cell Phones from Water Damage from CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair

Cell phones can be brought back from the brink of destruction after they have suffered water damage. But when all else fails when trying to revive a cell phone, seek the expertise of a professional independent cell phone repair shop like CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair.

One of the most common and costly incidents that cell phone owners suffer is water damage. The experience of dropping a phone in water – whether it’s the toilet or pool or some other bizarre location – can break even the most indestructible of phones. Water damage more often than not deems a cell phone inoperable.

There are some things people can do to help revive their cell phones from water damage, but they must be done fast. It helps to immediately turn off the cell phone and remove the battery and SIM card before removing excess water with a towel. Using a hair dryer or any heating element on the cell phone or its battery is a bad idea as it can damage the internal elements. After drying the cell phone off, the cell phone should be set out to dry. This process can take up to three days.

People can save themselves some time by going straight to an independent cell phone repair shop like CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair instead of doing it themselves and waiting three long days and praying that it will come back to life. Cell phone repair technicians might have to actually repair the exposed parts, which would be near impossible for consumers to do on their own.

“There are a lot of cell phone repair tips out there to save your cell phone from water damage,” said Jeffrey H. Gassner of CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair. “One thing that you have to remember is that they don’t always work. When your cell phone doesn’t respond, you should bring it to us and let our qualified technicians fix it for you and save you the headache.”

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com

November 25, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

Chicago Cell Phone Repair Encourages Customers to Recycle Older Devices

Companies are participating in a program that makes cell phones and cell phone accessories recyclable and put into good use.

Consumers are constantly going out with the old and getting on with the new with their cell phones. Many don’t know that they have the option of recycling it.

A new program called “Wireless…The New Recyclable” hopes to change this. It is a voluntary recycling program that the wireless industry established to help assist environmentally sound practices among carriers and manufacturers. The program helps encourage consumers to recycle their wireless devices. Participating members include ALLTEL Wireless, Nokia, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. A much more comprehensive list is available at http://www.recyclewirelessphones.com/. Consumers can recycle old wireless devices and accessories to any of the participating companies to take a proactive stance toward helping the environment.

“Although we are recycling site also, some of these recycling programs help provide recycled phones to domestic violence victims with matching airtime. Not only will you recycle your old phone but you will be helping out a good cause.” Said CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair owner Jeffrey H. Gassner.

Gassner from CPR – Chicago Cell Phone Repair is referring to programs such as “Call to Protect” and Verizon Wireless’s “Call2Recycle”. T-Mobile’s program helps children with single parents in need and Motorola has a “Race to Recycle Program” where the proceeds go to raise funds for K-12 schools. Proceeds from the Sprint Project Connect go to “4NetSafety” program, which helps kids be safer on the Internet. Many other programs such as Nokia, BlueGrass Cellular and Kyocera are helping to reduce waste and support global environmental sustainability.

Before people turn in phones to any of these companies, there are three things to remember to do. The person must first terminate service. Second, he or she should clear the phone’s memory of all the information such as contacts, pictures, phone numbers, etc. The next step is to remove the SIM card.

People can recycle the phone battery with the phone. They can also recycle accessories including cables, headsets, earpieces, cases, clips and cradles, as well as wireless devices like PDAs.

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com

November 20, 2010 in Business Articles, Technology by jferris

What If We Won’t Need a Hot Spot?

A new Wi-Fi technology known as “Wi-Fi Direct” is gearing up for the holiday season.

The Wi-Fi consortium has brought its members heads together and is coming up with a new standard – and that standard is called “Wi-Fi Direct”. They say it will allow wireless devices to connect and work together without an access point or Internet connection.

This Wi-Fi Direct standard will allow users to print, synchronize files and share data all on the fly. Compatible wireless devices will include notebooks, netbooks, smart phones and tablets. The new certified products will still be able to connect to a non-Wi-Fi Direct product. What that means is that Wi-Fi Direct certified devices can connect one-to-one or to many, and not all connected products need to be Wi-Fi Direct certified. Therefore, one Wi-Fi Direct enabled device can connect to legacy Wi-Fi certified devices.

“Connecting Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices are easy and simple, in many cases only requiring the push of a button. Moreover, all Wi-Fi Direct connections are protected by WPA2TM, the latest Wi-Fi security technology,” the Wi-Fi Alliance said on its website.

How does this all come together? Like when most technologies get rolled out, other technology industries that collaborate and support each other jump on the bandwagon. Cisco and Netgear will be rolling out new Wi-Fi direct networking devices, and chip and technology companies such as Broadcom, Intel, Ralink, Realtek and Atheros are also supporting Wi-Fi Direct.

Wi-Fi Direct’s embedded “Soft AP” will direct and route network traffic over Bluetooth for a more simplified and seamless connection when necessary. The difference between the old technology and the new is it will have broader range and better connection, just like access points and routers. Due to the widespread adoption of Wi-Fi in smaller devices, the need for working spur-of-the-moment networking has grown. Wi-Fi Direct will enable wireless devices to share resources, and it is now possible to find printers, cameras, scanners and many other common devices with Wi-Fi, like USB.

The Wi-Fi consortium came together because the process of adding Wi-Fi to smaller devices has accelerated and they wanted a universal capability to address the increasing need.

Even more exciting news is that this new technology may be available by this holiday season.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod Repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. Visit http://www.chicagocellrepair.com.

November 15, 2010 in Business Articles, Technology by jferris

Cell Phone Apps and the New Workforce

When more businesses make room for telecommuters, computer networks and cell phone apps become more secure and savvy.

Cisco, the networking conglomerate, conducted a global study called the Cisco Connected World Report which found that 66 percent of the world’s population is prepared to work for less if given the time and flexibility of working at home, as opposed to the stringent grid of having to report and spend working hours in an office building.

There is now evidence that businesses can benefit from letting employees work from home. For one, their employees’ productivity will increase because workers tend to put in a few more hours than people who commute. But the biggest payoff is that computer networks are gaining more strength and speed to help support telecommuters, and are increasingly more secure.

There are also many apps on a variety of cell phones that increase productivity. There are iPhone applications called “Apps for Work”, which is a series of apps to suit a person’s business needs. The Bento app is a personal and business tool to help keep a person’s life in order with to-do lists, logs, event planning and business contacts. There is also FedEx Mobile, which helps keep track of your shipments. The app iTimesheet creates invoices and activity reports that can be exported into an Excel spreadsheet.

Then there’s Motorola’s Droid smart phone, geared up with the most insane applications a person could ever think of. The Work Clock is a handy tool for telecommuters and freelancers. It tells you how much longer you plan on working and it does the math for you. Another cool Droid app is Note Everything. It lets you create text and voice notes that you can share with others and you can import into MS Outlook, Droid Calendar and Google Calendar.

In the long run, workers can stay connected virtually anywhere – keeping abreast on various things and staying organized with work and data – with the help of the new cell-phone and Smartphone apps and the four major platforms such as Microsoft Windows 7. Overall, it is not only the employees who desire to work from home, but also the changing economics, which is solidifying the possibility of more and more workers transitioning to a telecommuting, work-from-home position.

Jeff Gasner is with CPR-Cell Phone repair. The leader in Cell Phone Repair and iPod Repair offering cell phone repair services nationwide. Visit http://www.chicagocellrepair.com.

October 14, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

CPR Launches Online Stores

With personal computers now ubiquitous in our society, the CPR online store was just a good idea waiting to happen.

Our online stores are here. CPR Cell Phone Repair is proud to announce the most ambitiously omnipresent aspect of its sales and marketing persona. Now you can switch on your personal computer and do more than Google the local zoo, no matter how much you enjoy giraffes, pink flamingos and the occasional odd roaming wildebeest. The day has arrived where CPR Cell Phone Repair is able to offer you the same excellent service found in our retail outlets, but online.

“We knew it would happen someday,” said Ralph, a certified technical support employee in one of CPR’s busy retail shops. “We just knew.”

Ralph grew up as a geek in a remote part of Chicagoland, tinkering to his heart’s content. He’s still tinkering, but now his expertise is available in the ether of cyberspace.

Ralph finds himself almost giddy with the possibilities. “Our online store stocks hundreds of cell phone parts from the most popular manufacturers,” he said. “We also carry name brand covers, chargers, batteries and even the occasional wildebeest-themed cellphone. If it’s cell phone-related, you will find it here.”

Ralph rattled off a few of the menagerie of items available online. “We have in stock, right at this moment, don’t know about a moment from now as they’re going fast – the LG VU CU920 Digitizer touchscreen, a whole bin full of battery covers for the very popular iPhone 3G, a pride of iPhone 4GB & 8GB LCD screens with touchscreen digitizers, a flock of Naztech edge Blackberry bold (9000) rubberized gel skin, and a herd of Blackberry 8300 Series silicone covers and that’s not all,” he said.

Ralph was no doubt referring to a family of smartphones, including cell phones (all phones and PDAs blessed with 6-month extended manufacturer’s warranties), a nifty selection of refurbished and used game systems and games for less, and last but not least, accessories. “Why not accessorize your electronics at CPR, receive our lifetime warranty, and do it with the convenience of being online?” asked Ralph.

Agreed, why not?

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com

October 14, 2010 in Business News, Technology by jferris

CPR franchises still a great opportunity

According to CPR’s Jeff Gasner, the CPR franchise boom hasn’t peaked yet.

CPR franchises have been selling like cell phones, with more than 10 dozen already sold. “CPR has reached over 120 stores sold as a franchise, and we’re just getting started,” said Jeff Gasner, entrepreneur and CPR co-owner.

Why would someone want to invest in a franchise opportunity? The answers may surprise you, especially while other economic sectors continue to struggle.

“To begin with, CPR has name recognition,” Gasner said. “Our name, which is a registered trademark, is the oldest, most firmly established, widely-known and respected brand name in the cell phone repair industry.”

Nearly everyone owns a cell phone in today’s society, and nearly everyone breaks one at one time or another. The cell phone repair industry is here to stay and there is no better way to tap into this highly lucrative market than with a CPR franchise.

Just as the auto repair industry grew rapidly in proportion to the number of cars being manufactured, the growth rate of cell phones and the cellular repair industry is following the same pattern. The market for cell phone repairs is still in the early growth stages, and it will take many years for the expansion of this market to approach saturation. Owning a CPR franchise is still a ground-floor business opportunity in terms of startup cost and earnings potential.

As a franchisee, according to Gasner, investors can become a member of a real helping profession. “You’ll be able to offer a full range of cellular repair services to your customers with a brand name they’ve come to trust and respect,” Gasner said. “If that’s not helping, I don’t know what is.”

But there’s more. Potential investors won’t have to go it alone. “Best of all, you’ll get the full support of the CPR team – a group that is committed to providing you with the training, equipment and resources you need to make your CPR store a successful, well-established business.

“Recession? What recession? Is there a recession?” asked Gasner, only partly in jest. “When you own a CPR franchise, current economic conditions might even improve your business.”

In addition to “old-fashioned” cell phones, CPR stores specialize in repairing smartphones, iPods, gaming systems, computers, GPS units and a lot more.

To learn more visit:  http://www.chicagocellrepair.com