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T-Mobile Holiday Shopping Event in SLC

December 5, 2011 By 5 Comments

Last week I was lucky enough, honored, excited beyond words to host a T-Mobile Holiday Shopping Event in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Living in Utah I am very aware of the amazing social media community that surrounds me.  When I put the invite out to all the social media ROCKSTARS in my area… they didn’t disappoint.  The event drew in about 30 men and women that were ready to have fun… Play with amazing Android powered phones and tablets… Tweet to their hearts content… Get tips and tricks for their holiday shopping.  And play games with some of my favorite new T-Mobile elves (aka employees at the store).  Plus see Brandie again… Who really should just move back to Utah.

There are so many pictures of the event I am having a hard time picking a few.  So instead I will bombard the post with delightful collages of all my social media BFFs enjoying the evening.

 As you can see from just a few of the photos the event was a BLAST. All that fun made us work up an appetite.  Thankfully I brought enough food to feed a small army… Including custom T-Mobile cupcakes! (Thanks Brian for hauling it all in for me.)

 

Some of the favorite moments at the event were playing games.  I really have to give a HUGE shout out to the employees at the South Towne Center T-Mobile store.  Who would have thought learning and playing games about holiday shopping tips could be fun?  But honestly, it was really enjoyable and I learned a thing or two.  Which is surprising since I thought I knew EVERYTHING.

Don’t worry!  I will share some of the T-Mobile holiday shopping tips and tricks with you.  I am nice like that.  Plus, I want to be an elf when I grow up.  Sharing puts me right on the path to chief elfdom.  But before that I have to give a huge congrats to the winners of the 5 Android phones that were prizes at the event… I felt pretty elfy drawing those names.

Tips for buying and giving a mobile device

A smartphone or tablet is a gift with a personal touch that can help people stay connected long after the holiday season. Shopping for one doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated.  Selecting the right device is simply a matter of knowing how to decipher the person’s mobile style, asking the right questions and talking to the experts.  T-Mobile has a variety of devices this holiday season.  There is really something for everyone!  Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks from the experts at T-Mobile:

Key questions to review with your sales associate:

  • What does my rate plan cover?
  • What kind of speeds/data am I getting?
  • What is the exchange/return policy?
  • How much will my monthly payments/charges be?
  • What are roaming charges?
  • What are your warranty/insurance policies?

Tips to keep in mind when buying a device for yourself or as a gift:

  • Switching to a new phone doesn’t mean you will lose all the information on your old phone.  T-Mobile retail associates can use a device to seamlessly move your information from one phone to another.
  • If you make calls to people outside of the country consider a pre-paid plan to control your costs.  T-Mobile offers a variety of pre-paid international plans.
  • Do you need to figure out what data plan is best for you?  T-Mobile offers a data calculator so you can figure out the best plan for you.  http://www.t-mobile.com/Tools/MBCalculator.aspx
  • Smartphones have come far in the last few years.  They have so many advanced features and often serve multiple purposes.  T-Mobile has smartphones with advanced cameras that can be an alternative to standard point and shoot cameras.  They also work as mobile hotspots (my personal fave), music players, and GPS navigators.  Consider what features you would use the most when making your decision.

Probably my favorite part about T-Mobile is all of the great family options.  Being a parent to teenagers can be stressful.  Picking out a phone for my kids can be even MORE stressful.  Thankfully T-Mobile has tips and tricks for that too:

Giving a child their first cell phone, especially a smartphone, can be a big decision as a parent.  T-Mobile offers safety and control applications that empowers families to keep each other safe and responsible by encouraging behaviors that benefit the whole family.  Plus, allows parents the flexibility to maintain control on their own terms.

  • DriveSmart Plus-Distracted driving is dangerous, especially with new drivers.  DriveSmart manages distractions by silencing incoming notifications, sending callers to voicemail and auto responding to text messages.  There is automatic driving detection and parents parental control options.  (including notification of cell phone use while driving)
  • FamilyWhere-Perfect if you have ever wondered where your kids are.  It allows parents to track the location of any phone on their plan.  You can set reminders to check where your kids are and see activity up to 7 days back.

I could just go on and on and on about what I learned.  But instead I want to know what are some of your favorite tips or advice you like to give when buying tech gadgets?

***I was compensated by T-Mobile for participation in this campaign.

 

Filed Under: About Me, blarg, blogging friends, christmas, holidays, I Love Technology, just for fun, stephanie hansen, Utah Tagged With: , , , ,

T-Mobile myTouch Q and myTouch Giveaway

November 28, 2011 By 157 Comments

Winners announced chosen via random.org.  Congrats to Emily and Tammy!

T-Mobile myTouch Q and myTouch giveaway near bottom of post…

I have been a T-Mobile subscriber for over 3 years now.  You already know I love to take pictures with my T-Mobile phone and I adore the parental control options… But did you know that in my time with T-Mobile I have had a Sidekick, jailbroken iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and now the T-Mobile myTouch Slide 4g?  Of all those phones… The myTouch is easily my favorite.  The camera is amazing.  It is reliable.  The 4g speeds are amazing.  And the Android interface is extremely easy to use.  I will likely never change… I am loyal like that.  It is easy to be loyal to a company when you spend hours researching plans and phones to discover what is just right for you.  For me, T-Mobile, and now the myTouch is just that.

Now I have a chance to gush about my favorite T-Mobile phones and features at a fab event I am throwing this week.  And just in time for the holidays I also have the opportunity to share the T-Mobile myTouch love with 2 of my readers with a truly awesome giveaway.  You have the chance to win a myTouch Q:

A few of the features that stand out for me on the myTouch Q are:

  • Set-up wizard for email and social networks with have you tweeting and Facebooking your hearts out in a matter of minutes.
  • 3.5 inch touch screen
  • Qwerty keyboard that slides out for those who prefer the feel of real buttons. (I personally never slide out my keyboard)
  • 5-megapixel camera that also shoots 720p HD videos.  With built the built in YouTube app and 4g speeds you can share that special video in no time flat.

You also have a chance to win the T-Mobile myTouch: (you aren’t seeing things… I am giving away 2 amazing Android powered phones)

Just a few of the features to love on the myTouch:

  • Large 3.8 inch touch screen.
  • Swype for easy text input (probably one of my favorite Android features… and makes for some AWESOME auto-corrects)
  • Full HTML Web browser
  • TeleNav GPS Navigator (for times when your car GPS fails you and you find yourself in New Mexico)

GIVEAWAY Time:

2 lucky people are going to win an Android powered phone from T-Mobile.  You are entering to win either an myTouch or myTouch Q from T-Mobile.  I will be choosing 2 winners that meet the following entry requirements (and leave a comment they did so):

  • Follow @TMobile on Twitter
  • Like the T-Mobile Facebook page. http://facebook.com/TMobile
  • Answer the following question in the comment section: What is the biggest question you have when it comes to buying a wireless product as a gift?

Easy huh?  You can also earn extra entries by doing the following (and leave a separate comment for each entry):

  • Tweet about the giveaway and provide a link to your tweet.
  • Subscribe to my blog (or be a current subscriber)

Plus… If you like my kind of neglected fan page on Facebook I will pretty much love you forever:  http://www.facebook.com/thedailyblarg

Giveaway will end on Monday, December 5th at Midnight MST.  Winners will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond.  If no response is recorded than another winner will be chosen. Available for US readers only.

***I am being compensated by T-Mobile for participation in this promotion.

Filed Under: blarg, Giveaways, holidays, I Love Technology, stephanie hansen Tagged With: , , , ,

Random Picture In Bed

November 9, 2011 By 11 Comments

What?  It’s not what you think.  I mean we were in bed.  And I WAS taking a picture… but only because I could see the pictures Brian was looking at in the reflection of his glasses.  They were from this day… And I wanted to capture the memory of the memory.  Thank goodness for cell phones eh?

Shot with no flash… just the glow from Brian’s iPhone.  Another reason I love my T-Mobile myTouch 4g Slide… Holy awesome nighttime… or in this case BEDTIME photography.

***I was provided a myTouch Slide by T-Mobile I decided to post about it because HELLO… look at the picture!!!

Filed Under: blarg, family, I Love Technology, just for fun, Photography, reviews, stephanie hansen Tagged With: , , , , ,

What The Klout???

October 28, 2011 By 6 Comments

Unless you have been offline, or under a rock, or in a medically induced coma you have probably heard about the Klout uproar.  Klout changed their algorithim to determine how “influential” people are.  Some scores went up… a lot went down… way way down.

Did you care?  Do you care?  Does it change the way you are going to interact on social media?  Does it matter?

I admit… I cared for a second (okay like 2 hours).  I like those 3 points I lost.  I named them Fred, Sally, and Enrique… It’s like they were my children.  I do call my actual kids Number 1 and Number 2… so obviously I am attached to numbers.  And everyone know that your self-worth is determined my a randomly computed number.  (I am only mocking myself… I understand that people are upset.)

Honestly… other than for the 10 minutes it is taking me to write this post… I really don’t care anymore.  Because just like any other number or algorithim or score someone is going to figure out a way to hack it.   They will only tweet “influential” celebrities.  The will only interact with other people deemed “worthy” by their Klout score.  They will remove networks like Facebook and Foursquare that may be dragging them down.

So… has it changed how you will get your social on?  I can honestly say for me it won’t.  Because “influencers” influencing “influencers” seems like a huge waste of time to me.  What about the other 99% (I feel soooooooo occupy Wall Street right now) that want to know what you think?  That like to talk to you regardless of your Klout score?  That like pictures of your food from Asian Month?  The people that have become your friends, that trust what you have to say?  You know… the people you care about caring?  Isn’t that who you really want in your circle of “influence”?  And isn’t that who you want to be influenced by?

Does your Klout score really matter?  I guess that is up for debate.  Yes, if you want some of those illusive Klout perks.  But, being influential in Unicorns doesn’t get you a free Windows phone apparently.  If Windows only knew that cell phone towers are actually powered by unicorn magic…  And if a company or brand really wants to know your “clout”… then tell them.  Show them comments and tweets and brand testimonials about you and what you stand for.  You are so much better than a number.

In the end… If Klout (or anyone for that matter) doesn’t realize the magical power of unicorns pooping glitter… It’s their loss.

Filed Under: About Me, I Love Technology, just for fun, stephanie hansen, unicorns Tagged With: , ,

We Be Bugging… #HEXBUGHalloween

October 17, 2011 By 4 Comments

We love Halloween around these parts.  I wouldn’t say we go crazy or overboard… In fact we aren’t huge on decor.  I think it is just the whole season in general.  Heading to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, and going trick or treating… We LOVE it all.  That is why when I was selected to host a HEXBUG Halloween party I couldn’t resist.

I was already planning on having our annual “Pumpkin Day” this last Saturday and figured tacking on a fun little Halloween party wouldn’t be a problem at all.  Especially since all the fun was provided by HEXBUG.  And thankfully kids don’t care about all the little details that normally go into party planning because I threw this baby together in 2.5 days.  It was like a shotgun wedding… only the wedding was a Halloween party… and the future baby were robotic bugs.

And really there isn’t much entertainment planning necessary when you are supplied with all sorts of creepy crawly creatures to keep everyone entertained for hours.

But that didn’t stop us from using some of our HEXBUG Nano’s and having a “Mummy Wrap Race”.  Nothing is more adorable than a couple toilet paper wrapped kids running across the lawn to capture their HEXBUG for the race.  And for some, the excitement and wonder came from watching their bug try to race across the “mummy wrap” (aka toilet paper).

 You would think those ghoulish creatures (oh and the HEXBUGS) would be tired out after mummying around.  But fun knows no bounds or energy crisis.  So it was time to head inside and build our habitats for a little more racing fun.

Of course we captured all of the HEXBUGtivities on bugavision to share with you

All that racing around did result in a major FUEL deficiency… Thankfully I had plenty of spooktacular food on hand for the creeps and ghouls.

Just of few of our ghoulalicous faves… (check back tomorrow and I will be sharing a few recipes)

 No worries… I didn’t send all of our ghost and goblin friends home empty handed.  We stuffed treat bags full of goodies and of course HEXBUGS!

The party didn’t end when the lights went out… The HEXBUGS and habitat glow in the dark.  It was like having a bug nightclub on my table… Well without the loud music and “bug juice”.

Thanks to MomSelect, MommyParties, and HEXBUG for supplying the HEXBUG supplies for our #HEXBUGHalloween party.  As usual… all thoughts, opinions, photos, and stuffs are my own.

Filed Under: blarg, family, I Love Technology, just for fun, reviews, stephanie hansen Tagged With: , , , ,

Let’s Talk About Text

September 1, 2011 By 7 Comments

Nope… not just a funny play on words.  I actually want to have a discussion about text messaging… More importantly kids/teens and text messaging.  There is nothing more fun on a Thursday morning than a little “safe text”… right?

Do your kids have cell phones or have you been thinking about getting them one?  If you have turned on Dateline or any “news” show you have probably seen horror stories on kids and sexting or texting while driving or sending naked photos while underwater basket weaving.  (sorry… making fun of the “news” shows… not the subject) Thankfully my kids hate baskets so I have never had to worry about that last part.  Because I would hate for them to get basket burn.

So up until recently my kids had access to text message the Pope if they wanted to.  With rules… lots and lots of rules… of course (like no phones at the table… It’s one of those do I say not do as I do rules).  But we all know that once kids hit teenagerdom that their brains turn to some sort of alien goo… or strained peas… or something.  So I worried.  And I don’t do well with worry.  It makes my brain turn to alien goo.

But my worry was always put aside because of convenience.  I like to text message my kids to confirm they are where they say they are.  Dinner time… Or most importantly to bring me a cold Diet Coke.  So I kept the text messaging on their phones.  (Yes I am that lazy… And almost proud of it.)

Thankfully I had a moment of brief clarity and remembered the special “family allowances” feature my cell phone carrier has (who is TMobile by the way… and they rock for family plans and parental control features.) I logged into my account on their site.  And 5 minutes later I had restricted text messaging on my children’s lines… except to select phone numbers.

GENIUS I tell you… genius.  Now I get ice cold Diet Coke with one quick text and peace of mind.

So what are your thoughts on text messaging?  Are you the “trusting” kind?  The “stop it before it starts” kind?  Or the ‘eh, kids will be kids” kind?

Not sponsored…

Filed Under: blarg, family, I Love Technology, stephanie hansen Tagged With: , , , , ,

Got Skin?

March 14, 2011 By 7 Comments

Confession time.  I have never had a protective barrier applied to any of my touch screen devices.  Okay, now that you have all gasped, mocked, and possibly thrown darts at pictures of my face… let me explain why. 

I HATE, LOATHE, pretty much want to THROATPUNCH the way they feel.  Touchscreen devices should be smooth and your fingers should easily glide over the service.  Unfortunately so many of the protective screens have that “orange peel” bumpy, lumpy, no good very bad feeling.  And I am not sure about you… but I am not a big fan of rubbing oranges. 

That could explain why when I got the XO Skins for myiPad and Samsung Galazy over a month ago I was afraid to apply them.  No, I wasn’t afraid I would apply it incorrectly, that process is really simple.  But I really didn’t want it to ruin the touch and feel of my devices.  But, I can say that my fears were not warranted… I officially took the plunge into the screen protector pool.  And I LOVE IT.  I can barely tell there is a protecto on there.  It looks and feels so similar to the original screen.  There are tons of technical details of why the screens look and feel and protect the way they do.  But we all know it has to do with the dash of unicorn glitter added at the end. (side note-I probably made up that last part)

 Did I mention how EASY it was to apply the skins to my devices?  The enclosed instructions are so clear it only took minutes.  Well my iPad did take a little longer just due to the sheer size.  But if you don’t like to live on the edge… XO Skins has a retail location in University Mall in Orem, Utah (right next to Game Stop).  Not to mention one opening (on April 1st) in Sandy, Utah on the lower level of South Town Mall. 

So I covered the look, the feel, the installation… now what about prices?  UMMM… AMAZING!  Be prepared to be amazed.   Now I have to get one for my DSLR screen… and my kids’ iPod touches… and the list goes on and on and on.

Now my only real problem… whether or not it is offensive to ask random strangers to touch my electronic devices? 

Check out XO Skins on Twitter, Facebook, and of course on their website.

XO Skins provided me with a skin for my phone and iPad.  All crazy fears of lumpy screens are my own.  And my declaration of love… that’s all me too. 

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Filed Under: I Love Technology, reviews, stephanie hansen, Utah Tagged With: , , , ,
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