Another issue of the EarthVision Cellular Consumer Newsletter. This newsletter
is for the soon to be educated cellular phone user community. If you know of
anyone else that may have an interest in our newsletter, make sure to forward
them a copy. Now we move forward at Mach II speed!
[Note: This newsletter is delivered Bi Weekly on Wednesday.]
"NAME OUR NEWSLETTER" CONTEST. WIN A FREE PREPAID PHONE!
We decided to change the name of our newsletter to give it a little more power. The original title to our newsletter is a bit too long. Made it a hassle to keep writing it over and over again.
So we are going to run a contest to end on June 16th, 2000. So you will see this in each issue until we pick a winner. The winner is going to be sent a free prepaid trial package for coming up with
a unique yet appropriate title for our newsletter.
If we have some trouble deciding, we are going to give our readers the final pick on which name we choose for the newsletter.
Let us begin by saying that we didn't come up with this stuff. We read about it in a magazine about Wireless Commerce. They did some interviews with various experts so we are putting out the
abbreviated highlights in our own words here.
You can access the web on your phone or PDA. Truth: You can only access a small percentage of the web specifically designed for WAP and only if the carrier has it in their offerings.
Our wireless portal will give you everything you need. Truth: You are a prisoner to the portal.
Personalization will bring you exactly the info you want when you need it.
Truth: Everybody is different and we all change. So they can't offer you exactly what you want when you need it.
Mobile Wallets will allow you to toss your credit card. Truth: Absolute BS.
More mobile customers can access the wireless web so they demand interaction with businesses.
Truth: Businesses want to believe that but in truth WAP users
very rarely if ever use a phone to access data from the web.
We can automatically transform you website into a WAP compatible screen.
Truth: A lie that is so blatant that anyone who makes such a statement should be shot. Wireless devices differ way too much in technological function to make such a blanket statement.
Location based advertising will pull people into your store like a magnet.
Truth: Not happening. Spam is a major concern to customers and they are not willing to risk this type of advertisement. Neither does an ad offer much incentive to consumers to visit. Discount coupons aren't going to cut it.
The wireless web really exists. Truth: It isn't really a wireless web. Then it went on to say that marketers of wireless services needed to take a reality check. It goes on to say that marketers hyping it up are going to stall this part of the industry by turning off consumers when their expectations are not realized.
This article was included for those of you who own businesses who have been thinking about jumping your business onto the "wireless web". Our advice is to stand back and take a wait and see approach. You aren't missing out on anything.
A CELL PHONE CAN BECOME WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. LITERALLY
Remember the days when you saw somebody with a cell phone, you just knew they had to be wealthy. Never mind that it was a lead pipe, it still cost $4,000 to buy one not to mention the cost of the service. Now everyone has one. The days of a cell phone as a status symbol were over until now.
A jeweler in London decided to change all that. You can now get your phone covered in gold and gems. Even have your name spelled out in gems if you want it. Just about anything you want done with your phone can be done with exception of the functionality of the phone.
The prices range from $20,000 up to $100,000 per phone to be customized by the owner. Even at that price there is still a 3 month waiting list. If you check around you will also find that there are accessories available that have been sprayed with 24K gold. Although the selection is limited to specific models of phones.
Don't know if any of this is being done here in the US but if you have heard about it or know of a jeweler or company who is doing it, we would be interested in knowing who they are. If you are a jeweler who is currently doing this then we would like to talk with you too.
I should probably mention that we are open to gifts and donations of 24K gold ingots from our readers too. If you don't have any handy, we wouldn't complain about getting a couple of
Rolex watches. It is never too early to get into the Christmas spirit.
WIRELESS TRASH CANS - ANYWAY WE HAD TO WRITE ABOUT IT
Trash must be a real problem in Spain for them to wirelessly connect to their trash cans. That and they have to keep us tourists from looking at the unseemly sights like overflowing garbage bins. This is where it gets real interesting on how they are going to use the wireless service.
Not for transmitting phone calls either. Barcelona is looking to spend close to $100,000 dollars to install these wireless devices on the cans so they can tell which bins need to be emptied, if the bin needs to have maintenance done, or just to be painted. Not sure how they are going to do that but it will be interesting to find out.
The data pulled from the devices will also allow the city administrators to optimize the garbage collection. It will tell them if they need to add a new garbage bin to a specific location or if they need to reposition another bin. If in fact it works, it should allow the city to keep a nice clean image while becoming much more efficient.
It isn't something you hear about all the time with wireless applications. So does it do you any good to know about
it? No. But it does show you that wireless will become a much more valuable resource for communication in more ways than we have ever
dreamed of. This is just a snapshot into the future.
This little known fact actually pertains to the Bluetooth Consortium and how it got
its name. We hear the name Bluetooth all the time but did you think it really meant blue teeth? Here is where our readers become sharper than the general public. Yes, this will eventually go into our IQ test too.
The Bluetooth Consortium is actually named after a Danish King named Harald Blatand who lived during the years of 911 - 985 AD. Blatand was a
Viking word meaning Bluetooth. The king was said to have united Denmark and Norway and to have
christianized the Danes. Almost all that is known of the King comes from two runic stones erected in his memory in Denmark.
Ericsson then erected a modern runic stone in honor of the King at
its R&D facility in Lund. Nor did the king's last name actually mean blue teeth either. It meant dark complexion. The king had dark hair and a dark complexion which was unusual among the Vikings. The king was killed in a battle against his son, Svend Forkbeard, who then succeeded him as king.
ILLINOIS CELL PHONE TAX IS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL. HA!
Looks like that good ol' law passed in Utah charging a land line fee to wireless subscribers (see Jan issue) may run into some legal challenges after this verdict was handed down in Chicago from the Illinois Supreme Court. It will be fun to see how all of this unfolds. Here is the full story.
Chicago and other cities in Illinois were charging a tax to cellular phone subscribers for displacing a landline service. Chicago alone was getting nearly $12 million dollars a year in revenue off of this tax.
A 1998 Illinois law allowed municipalities to expand their collection of tax, which was originally being charged to landline phone companies for using rights-of-way for installing and maintaining lines. In this case the law allowed for them to expand this tax to cellular phone companies.
PrimeCo decided to file a suit to fight against the tax. Turns out that they have won since the state supreme court must have thought the same thing we did and ruled unanimously that the law was unconstitutional. You know the money grubbing
bureaucrats are weeping at the loss of revenue for their pet projects.
The funny thing was that the Chicago Law Department spokesperson said the tax was reasonable since the wireless phone user used part of the land lines to transmit a call made from a cell phone. The problem we see with that statement is that most cell phone users already use a land line too. So that fee should be covered in the taxes there. Our interpretation. Pure greed on behalf of the government sticking people with double jeopardy taxes.
There are many areas out there who are being hit with this kind of "pure profit" tax by their local and state governments. We should see plenty of court battles begin to come up now that this one has turned out a victory on behalf of wireless carriers and their customers.
These are my favorite articles to write about. I am thinking that we are being taxed for more now than we ever did in the colonial days. It is scary when you think that there was actually a saying created that goes "I only have to do two things. Die and pay taxes."
Our April Beauty Queen has now been posted and will be featured for the month of April. We would like to take a moment to congratulate Ms. April as our featured Beauty Queen for this month. More beauty queens to come.
We have reached another milestone in our company's history. As it stands, we have now been published in every major telecom magazine for one reason or another. Then we were published in some others that we hadn't expected. Such as a courier & messenger trade magazine, a commercial
cleaning industry magazine, and plenty of others. However, we are not complaining in the least. At this point, we don't even bother tracking where we have been getting press coverage anymore.
More stuff will be added to our novelty products and
kids' corner in the near future. It is a lot of work to put up so many products but we will get them in piece by piece as they become available. We have to get the graphics ready before we can offer the new additions we plan on putting on the site.
One more thing. Don't forget to vote for me when I run for President in the next election race. I need to build up my war chest though. Right now I have a whole total of $7 so I am not sure if I qualify for matching federal funds yet.
MEDITATION TECHNIQUES FOR THE MASSES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
When I am ready to do my Buddhist chant, I just go at it. Seems some folks are really into meditation and yoga. I can understand being connected with self for spiritual balance but, eh, this may go to the extreme.
Me, I prefer my required dose of high cholesterol and sodium blast any day. Nothing beats a big greasy cheese burger to connect me with my belly. However, I have those who would disagree with me. A WAP service being offered out of England does quite a bit for the
naturally healthy folks.
The institution is called the Kevala Center. They have a website that offers everything from holistic supplies to instruction manuals for yoga teachers. The WAP service they offer allows the user to access their database of worldwide centers for Yoga
exercises.
They are all over the world and well represented in the US. They even have two centers in Alaska. There are a few states where they are not listed. Such as Utah. (Probably because of that cell phone bill tax for displacing landline). California on the other hand has 15 centers. Nothing wrong with this type of relaxation, it just isn't my bag.
If you want to check out their site go to the following URL: www.kevala.com
The real reason I dislike Yoga classes is only because I am not limber enough to twist my legs around up behind my head while standing on my hands. The best I have ever done was putting my foot in my mouth (clean socks on of course.)
Though I would recommend to anyone to attend Yoga classes if you are suffering from stress and need to relax a bit. They really do help you with understanding how to do it.
But this one is a very bizarre service to offer. Have you ever come across any fanatics of Yoga? They are way too relaxed and dreamy like. I see people like that and I run thinking they are going to try and recruit me into some type of cult.
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boring or someone else signed you up, let us know. We will reluctantly take you
off of our newsletter list. And we still reserve the right to make faces at you
when you aren't looking. If you want your name to vanish from our list because our newsletter is just too boring or someone else signed you up, let us know. We will reluctantly take you off of our newsletter list. And we still reserve the right to make faces at you when you aren't looking.
