How much of what we purchase is based upon our experience? I have been asking myself (and others) this question quite a bit lately. It all stems from my recent car dealership experience.
I had narrowed down the dealerships at which I was going to look to two. One dealership has been around forever and I have done business there before – we’ll call this dealership #1. The other dealership is at a new location and I felt comfortable doing business there as I have built a relationship with the General Manager through a networking group – we’ll call this dealership #2.
I walked in dealership #1 and stood there for about 5 minutes before I was helped. I was directed to the representative that I have been working with for years. He was moderately helpful and said he would look for some cars then get back with me the next day. Days went by and still no call with updates. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the follow-up.
Dealership #2 was totally different from the beginning. When I arrived to dealership #2, I was promptly greeted at the door and the employee even held the door open for me to enter – talk about a first impression! Come to think of it, I have NEVER had to open a door at this dealership myself. The representative was very attentive to my needs . He asked what type of car I was interested in purchasing and key features I was seeking. He called me back that same day to follow-up.
Throughout the sales process I never heard back from dealership #1 and dealership #2 continued to go above and beyond. While I am sure they both have very equal products, my purchasing decision came down to the experience created by each dealership. Needless to say, dealership #2 won my business.
Now, let’s stop and think about the new iPad released by Apple last Saturday. This is a great product, but how much of the frenzy it has created is based upon the Apple Experience? The ads, the new product announcement, the countdown to release, waiting in line at the Apple store to pick up your iPad, the “coolness” factor of being able to say you were one of the first to get your iPad. It’s all of these things that really take sales to the next level. And it is because of the experience that iPad sales are now over 500,000 in less than a week.
The buying experience is not just a factor for cars and Apple iPads, it is a HUGE factor in nearly every purchasing decision we make. Just think about it…. When will those “other” companies finally get it?
Hundreds of applications are currently listed in the following 13 categories: Entertainment, Games, Maps & Navigation, Music & Video, News & Weather, Personal Finance & Banking, Personal Health & Wellness, Productivity & Utilities, Professional & Business, Reference & eBooks, Social Networking & Sharing, Sports & Recreation, Travel
You may also search and sort by the top downloads. I am still searching for the Pandora app which was on all of the ads for the Blackberry App World, but is no where to be found. Or at least I have not found it within the Blackberry App World yet.
Having only had a limited amount of time to begin exploring the Blackberry App World, I have been impressed by the experience thus far. Everything appears to load and function smoothly with a wide variety of applications available for testing. I will keep you updated in future posts on my findings as I continue to learn more about which applications are most functional. Future posts will also include video for a more hands on experience.
If you have any links, recommendations, or thoughts on this please share with me.
Below are a few articles that I felt were worth sharing this week. Just click on a headline for the full article. Enjoy!
Steve Jobs Steps Down on Medical Leave- What Will Happen to Apple?
I had to start with this article. Nothing was bigger last week in the technology industry than the news of Steve Jobs stepping down until the end of June for health reasons. Twitter was absolutely insane with people posting links to different articles about Steve Jobs and how this change would impact Apple. Instantly people began to question Apple and if the brand would continue to live on. While the answers are yet to be determined, I am hopeful that the Apple brand is stronger than one person.
Tips for Building Your Social Media Resume
Following up with my reading suggestions from last week, this post provides some quality insight into creating an effective social media profile. My personal favorite is the concept of setting up a video resume with answers to FAQs. It is definitely interesting to see how social media is changing the interviewing process.
I have been using my Blackberry Storm daily for over a month now and have been meaning to do this review. Thank you to Dustin McClure for posting this comment on my blog and prompting me to finally get around to it. Check out his comment and my response below. Watch the video too, of course!
As much as I want to love the Blackberry Storm and as much as I do love it on some days…my opinion changes daily. Some days the phone is great. Everything runs perfectly the accelerometer functions exactly as it should. All applications and phone calls are flawless. On these days it is right up there with the iPhone- better for business use than the iPhone I think.
Then there are the days when nothing works right. This could be due to the fact that I have installed a leaked update- OS 4.7.0.83 and the latest version that has been released “officially” is 4.7.0.75. I just had to do it though to see if the phone would perform any better. And it does…on certain days. Other times it will lock up at least 2-3 times a day and take FOREVER to adjust orientation through the accelerometer.
The thing I try to keep in mind is that it is a NEW phone and there are going to be some issues. Everyone compares it to the iPhone and the iPhone had several issues in their first generation release as well. I am hopeful that things will get better through time as more updates are released and am excited about the new Blackberry Application Store which is coming in March of this year.
I am going to be patient and stick with it in hopes of it living up to the expectations that were set by Verizon. At times the iPhone can be very tempting, but I think I will be able to manage.
I am sure this is a far longer response than you anticipated, but hopefully it is helpful . If you have any more questions about the Blackberry Storm, you know where to find me.
There are a variety of different applications out there to use with Twitter. You have: TwitterBerry (Twitter for the Blackberry), Twitterific (Twitter for the iPhone), TwitterFox (Twitter for Firefox). Each of these can be very beneficial depending on what your specific needs might be with the phone or browser you are using. One thing we all have in common, however, is the fact that we are using a computer. So how do you better manage your tweets when you are using Twitter on your desktop or notebook PC? The answer is TweetDeck.
TweetDeck is the most efficient way that I have found to utilize Twitter. Simply put, it breaks all tweets down into managable pieces. It’s column view and sorting functionality make it much easier to know who is following you, replying to your tweets, or sending you a direct message. TweetDeck does require Adobe Air to run, but once this is installed your Twittering experience will be a breeze. TweetDeck will ensure that you stay up to date with the people you want to follow, while making it easy to see who is following/replying to your tweets. With TweetDeck you are sure to increase your Twitter Grader score in no time!
The Blackberry Storm finally arrived today via FedEx priority delivery. While I was unable to pick one up the day it was released, I am not going to complain as Verizon offered an instant $50 rebate instead of having to go through the whole mail-in process. I was able to get the phone, a silicone case, a screen protector and car charger all for $202 with a new 2 year contract. This makes the Blackberry Storm a very cost effective purchase.
Having spent some time with the Blackberry Storm today, I can say that so far I am very pleased with the purchase. The functionality of the phone definitely takes some time for adjustment, but I love the clickable screen. It is so nice to hover over something, see what you are going to click before it is registered, then be able to make your selection. The setup was pretty easy as I was able to move all contacts, personal email accounts and media over in under an hour. If you are planning to get this phone, you will want to make sure to install the Blackberry Desktop Manager as there are several device updates already available.
I will admit there are a few areas where the iPhone is much better. The text messaging on the Blackberry Storm, while easier than most phones to manage is not as aesthetically pleasing as the iPhones layout. Then of course there are the applications. The Blackberry Storm does come with a few applications available, including a Facebook app. I really like the Facebook app, but other applications such as Google Maps and Twitterberry are not optimal for frequent users. I imagine Blackberry will roll out some updates for these in the near future. I was able to find a cool site with high-quality home screen images for the Blackberry Storm.
Overall, the Blackberry Storm is a high-quality Smartphone. While it may not be as fashionable as the iPhone and does lack some of the nice features that will come with time…all of the basic functionality that has made Blackberry so successful in the past is there. I am unsure at this point how it is going to compete with the iPhone, but do know that I can’t wait to see what applications Blackberry is going to release in March of 09.
Well good news for us Verizon customers, the Blackberry Storm comes out tomorrow- Friday, November 21st, 2008. While this phone is not getting near the media coverage the iPhone got, it is still making a buzz in the technology community. There are tons of head to head comparisons between the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone. People that like the new touch screen technology and people that hate it, people that swear Apple’s app store will ensure its continued dominance and people that can’t wait for Blackberry to open their app store in 2009. It’s hard to tell what to think at this point until the phone is actually released, but an iPhone tempted Verizon customer that has waited this long can only hope it was worth the wait. Tomorrow we will see…
In this video, I mention a phone call with Apple’s tech support. I knew that the issue I was having was a result of an earlier version of Mac OS X, but still wanted to give them a call to test the customer service side of things. I was very impressed. I was able to talk to a HUMAN within 1 minute of calling and got the genius help I needed. The representative, or “Apple Genius” on the other end did a great job of reminding me how “beautiful my new purple iPod nano” was by stating this several times before assisting me. Another great extension of Apple’s marketing at every touchpoint possible.
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January 3, 2009 at 3:08 PM How is your Blackberry Storm working out for you now that you’ve had it for a while?Thanks for your review