Posts Tagged ‘products’

The ultimate guide to upgrading your iPhone

laelene Posted in how to guides,Tags: , , ,
0
white and black iphone 5 as seen on apple site

Source: Apple.com

Is it just me or is there not enough information out there about exactly everything you should prepare when you want to upgrade to the latest iPhone?  Since I’ve been stuck with a 3GS for a few months (and constantly find it way too slow for my liking), I’m extremely eager to pre-order the iPhone 5 as soon as possible.  I’ve scoured the web and found tons of sites talking about what it will be called, what hardware and software features it will include, how much it will cost, and when it will be available.  (This was in the pre-announcement days.)

That’s great and all, but what about the nitty gritty details?  When I pre-order the phone, what’s the difference between doing it online and going to a store?  Will they be available to pre-order only at Apple.com or will other vendors offer them too?  What information should I have ready to make sure my order goes smoothly?  What can I expect when I get the phone?  How do I make sure the setup process goes smoothly?

Well, in an effort to help streamline things for anyone else as eager to upgrade as I am, I’ll put together what I know and update it as we go along, until I have phone in hand, with the same phone number, same phone plan, new contract, and all my apps in place.  Hopefully this can serve useful for anyone searching in the future for the next next iPhone, the next next next iPhone, etc.

Let’s start from the beginning: Apple will always announce an event to the media and a simple search for that will clue you in as to when to expect the next iPhone.  In this recent example, the purported iPhone 5 was unveiled Sept 12th!  From there, they will officially announce when pre-orders will begin and when the first wave of devices will arrive in stores or at your doorstep.  Of course, there has been plenty of speculation about this and you can expect a certain amount of accuracy with reports leading up to the actual dates as given my Apple.  As it turns out, iPhone 5 pre-orders will go on sale online this Friday, the 14th (no time given initially, but we knew it would probably in the wee hours of the morning to help alleviate congestion on their site… by Thursday the 13th you could find information online confirming that it would be 12:01 AM PST).  Those pre-orders will ship to consumers the following Friday, the 21st.

Ok, so if you’ve decided you want to order this new phone, what’s the difference between doing it online and going to a store?  Well, actually, if you want to be one of the first to order, then you have to do it online.  Online pre-orders started Friday the 14th a bit past midnight PST while in-store orders won’t be available until Friday the 21st at 8 AM (same day that the online orders arrive at people’s doorsteps).  As for other differences, if you decide to do it online you might encounter pages not loading and might even have to restart the ordering process a few times before finally getting through.  Meanwhile, if you decide to go to a store, you’ll hit huge lines, no doubt.  And in the store, they might also have the same issues with technology keeping up with incoming orders, though so far the online experience seemed to work fine.  If you’re into the hype, going to the store might be a good option.  You can also ask questions while you’re there and get a better understanding of what exactly you’re getting into.  If you just want the new device pronto, then you probably want to stay home and battle it out online.  See here for a separate post on the online ordering process.

Now will they be available to pre-order only at Apple.com, or will other vendors offer them too?  AT&T and Verizon also started offering pre-orders through their sites at the same time as the Apple Store.  In fact, AT&T even started a little before 12:01 and the site was live as early as 11:48.  As far as I know, Sprint was lagging and didn’t seem to have the capability as of 1:00 AM PST.  Just to safe, you’ll probably want to have more than one browser open and try your carrier’s site if Apple’s store is lagging.  Also, for those who already own some sort of iDevice, don’t forget that the Apple Store app on your phone takes orders too!  In fact, it was up and ready before the Apple Store loaded this time around.

What information should I have ready to make sure my order goes smoothly?  Now this is something I actually was able to find.  A few key things to note: you have to have the device shipped to you, and Apple will only send it to the billing address on file for your credit card.  Either update the billing address for your credit card or find someone who has the appropriate address for billing already and convince them to help you order.*  😛  Also, sales tax in CA and RI is charged on the unbundled price of the phone (so they base it off of $650 vs. $200), so if you happen to be able to get your phone in any other state, you can save some money!  As for the information you’ll need: color of device, storage space, carrier (these are things I’m assuming you’ve figured out).  If you have an existing account with the carrier you want, you’ll need the wireless number, billing zip code, last 4 digits of the primary account holder’s SSN, and password for your carrier.  If you are new to the carrier, you’ll go through and pick out the details of your phone plan so it’s wise to decide on that ahead of time.  After all the phone plan stuff is settled, you’ll be asked to log in with your Apple ID.  Then of course you’ll need the credit card info, including CC number, expiration date, security code, billing address, phone number, and email.  That should cover it!

*As a friend pointed out, you can actually update the shipping address after your order goes through.  Do this as soon as possible since you can no longer make changes once your order is in the “preparing for shipment” phase, which occurred as early as the night of Saturday the 15th for iPhone 5 orders.

What can I expect when I get the phone?  I went into the AT&T store the other day and was told that when you get the phone, there will be instructions on how to activate it.  You basically turn it on and go through the on-screen directions.  Silly me, only when I was leaving the store did I realize that in the checkout process you already told Apple which carrier, what plan, and what phone number you’re going to have on the new device.  Of course they’d be prepared!  So if you like doing things over the phone, you can activate it right at home.  But if you don’t feel secure in doing that or just prefer face-to-face contact, you can always stop by the carrier’s store and they can do it there for you.

Originally I thought that you could opt to have it shipped to you or sent to an Apple Store for pickup (which you usually can do).  As it turns out, pre-orders ONLY ship to your billing address.  Figure out where you’ll be the day it arrives and make sure it ships there, since it’ll need a signature.  Shipping it to you means you can go ahead and do everything from home/work, or wherever you ship it to.  In the future, you can go pick it up in an Apple Store or one of the carriers’ stores, but be ready for long lines and low quantities of stock in any given store.  The associates there will be able to get everything set up for you and help troubleshoot any issues.

How do I make sure the setup process goes smoothly?  This should be relatively easy, assuming there are no glitches associated with your carrier getting set up.  The one thing you’ll likely want to do is backup your current phone if it is an iPhone, so you can easily load all your apps and data to the new device.  You can do this via iCloud or iTunes, whatever your preference is.

Oh, and one last thing – when you create a new account, add a new line, or upgrade your current line, you are agreeing to a new 2-year contract with your carrier.  They will also charge you a upgrade/activation fee around $35.  Just make sure you know what you’re getting into!

 

So what do you think?  Are there any other burning questions you have about the process/preparation?  I’d be happy to try to figure it out with you.

thank you message from apple store after successful iphone 5 purchase

Yay, I got one!

Ultimate Summer Day, courtesy PureWow & Pure Leaf

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , ,
2

A little while ago, PureWow held a “pin it to win it” contest on Pinterest, where a random follower who pinned his/her favorite picture of the 10 finalists in the “Ultimate Summer Day” competition would also get to win a set of tea party-ready gear!  I, being the eager gal I am, pinned one that I enjoyed, crossed my fingers, and went on my merry way.  Then one day, I got an email saying that I had won!!  How thrilling.  🙂

collage of crate and barrel products as prize sent by purewow for purewow & pure leaf tea ultimate summer day photo contest

I got a wonderful (and huge) surprise at my door! I quickly set about peeling away the layers of packaging inside…

crate and barrel products included in prize sent by purewow for purewow & pure leaf tea ultimate summer day photo contest

What a great set of items to host an iced tea party with!

Included in the set were 8 goblets (or stemless glasses to be more accurate), a pack of 25 orange striped paper straws, a jumbo ice tray (makes 2-oz cubes!), a tray with handles, two stir rods/muddlers (hehe what a funny name), and my personal favorite – a gorgeous pitcher!  I’m just waiting for the Pure Leaf tea to ship to me and then I can have the ultimate (iced) tea party!  I can hardly wait – I feel like this is straight out of a Home & Garden magazine picture or something.  😛

Hoot no evil

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
3

See no evil, hear no evil, hoot no evil. 😉

set of three white ceramic owls with see no evil hear no evil speak no evil theme

Shopkicking for the sake of free

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
0

eos lip balms in alice in wonderland theme with three flavors: blueberry potion, watermelon wonderland, and sweet vanilla nonsenseWhat would you do for free stuff? I do a whole lot of things! It ranges from driving to certain places to filling out forms to posting content on my social media accounts. One of the things I’ve really focused on lately is Shopkick, which is an app I have that allows me to earn points by going in to certain stores and/or scanning specific items they’re promoting. Through this, I earn points (which they call “kicks”) and then redeem them for stuff!

project 7 gums in fresh mint and peppermint vanillaSo far I’ve only redeemed Target gift cards and I’ve put them to good use. I just bought myself a fun set of eos lip balms – they’re the brand new Alice in Wonderland trio that’s currently only available at Targets. I then went back because I had forgotten to the get the BOGO (buy one get one) offer I’d seen for a new brand of gum: Project 7. And to think, all of that came free to me just for spending some extra time on my phone with the Shopkick app.
I still have over $10 worth of points left and I’m planning on saving up until I can redeem a $25 gift card, which I’ll use buy this awesome bungee chair at Target (when it’s on sale)!  Not a bad deal, eh?  And yes I’d totally drive out to a Target to wander around if they’re offering bonus kicks for showing up that day!

bungee chair in black and teal sold at target

Yuzen July 2012 edition

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Wow, another month is upon us and I think it’s high time I shared what exactly came in that first Yuzen box that I was so thrilled about.  I must say, it set the bar high and really got me pumped for what’s to come, month after month.  Luckily, they definitely didn’t disappoint with their second one in August and I’m confident that the upcoming September box will impress me yet again.  Not only did I get quality products that look good, smell good, and make me feel good, I can feel safe using them knowing that they’ve been vetted for environmental & health factors.

Yuzen is $26 per month and comes with around 5 or 6 eco-friendly beauty, skincare, food/snacks, and home products. Boxes are sent monthly with no option to skip. Sometimes there’s a waitlist to get the subscription. They do not offer a referral program.

Click on the pictures for the full sizes so you can enjoy all the details of each product!  You can even zoom in to read all the messaging.

collage of lotus wei energy mists included in the july 2012 yuzen box - three scents: infinite love, joy juice, and quiet mindLotus Wei Energy Mists – Joy Juice, Infinite Love & Quiet Mind:  These lovely scents were first to entice my senses.  There were three of the six variations, with each meant for encouraging a different kind of energy.  Joy Juice is tangy and bright (how do they manage to make a scent smell “bright” right? Yet somehow that’s exactly what it is).  I’m guessing that the citrus elements are what make it that way.  Infinite Love is sweet and warming with various rose elements.  Meanwhile, Quiet mind is fresh and gentle with a certain kind of herb-y fragrance.  Each is definitely fittingly named for its purpose.  Interestingly enough, I actually prefer to mix the scents rather than use them individually to enhance a certain element.

collage of kopali organics mulberries included in the july 2012 yuzen boxKopali Organics – Mulberry:  I tried these as soon as I was done taking pictures of all the products in the box (boy, it’s tiring work!).  They’re soft and chewy, with a little bit of crispness from the seeds.  They kind of reminded me of something I can’t quite place… they’re sweet and tangy with a little bit of an aftertaste/feel.  You know that slight itchiness you get in your throat sometimes?  Yeah, that’s what happened to me.  Overall I liked them, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy them.  Definitely a nice little sweet snack to pop in your mouth in lieu of something more sugary like candy.

collage of primavera revitalizing face scrub included in the july 2012 yuzen box with couponPrimaveraRevitalizing Face Scrub:  To start with, this bottle looks and feels great!  I love it when it’s pleasing just to pick up an item.  Plus, I was really drawn to the interesting cap it has – very unique design that I appreciate.  The scrub makes use of jojoba wax beads, whatever that means (they feel wonderful).  The beads are a nice tiny size and very smooth; I don’t feel like my skin is being sanded away.

collage of teatulia teas included in the july 2012 yuzen box - lemongrass and white tea flavorsTeatuliaLemongrass & White Tea:  I am a huge tea fan, so I definitely appreciated getting to try a new brand that’s so ec0-friendly to boot!  I LOVE the fact that the bag and pyramid pouch that the tea come in are compostable, which means I can bury everything the tea came in.  The lemongrass flavor was just fragrant enough without being too grassy and the white tea flavor was a nice tea that you could brew a little darker or lighter to preference.  Both went down smooth and were well-put together.  Plus, the silky pyramid bags are totally fun.  Also good that they don’t use those bleached strings, which I hear leave a LOT of waste in landfills (more than you’d ever imagine a little bit of string could cause).

collage of people towels handtowel in bee sweet design included in the july 2012 yuzen boxPeopleTowelsBee Sweet:  Ah this is SO adorable!!  I love it, and as you can see in the top right of the collage, I actually have two of these already from my days with Opportunity Green.  There are so many places you can keep a little hand/face towel handy though, so I could always use an extra.  Plus with this cute messaging, it brings a smile to my face every time.

collage of himalasalt himalayan pink salt included in the july 2012 yuzen boxHimalaSalt – Fine Grain Shaker:  I’m a sucker for things that come in mini and I this falls under that category!  I really enjoy the smaller size salt shaker and for the longest time I didn’t want to open it and ruin it.  When it came time, I used a chopstick to poke it in and tasted it raw… I’d call it “earthy” (in addition to salty of course).  Compared to idoized salt, this is more pure and you can taste the grounded element in it.

And finally, if you’re interested in reading the message from Ted & Jen and the info they included about each product, click on this image and zoom in.

collage of introduction message and information sheet included in the july 2012 yuzen box

 

eBay success

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
0

listing of deckmyphone's fuchsia-colored iphone 4 case on ebay siteA few days ago, I decided to try to sell my iPhone cases (currently listed at DeckMyPhone) on eBay.  After all, the new iPhone is supposed to be coming out in a few weeks and before we know it, the iPhone 4/4S model will become obsolete.  Granted, there should be a nice secondary market of people purchasing iPhone 4/4S’s once the price of those drop in light of the newer model coming out.  Still, I’d like to be able to move my product as much as possible so I can then focus on getting some iPhone 5 cases to sell.

To my delight, I got a bid on the very first day AND have since sold three at the “Buy It Now” price!  Who knew that people were so eager to get a case that they’d pay over twice as much to get it ASAP.  I happily obliged and sent out their covers the day they were ordered.  I was even more pleased when I discovered how easy it is to ship with eBay, printing labels at home for packages that I can arrange for pickup if I want.  It’s like the entire Stamps.com service, but integrated so I don’t need to pay for the membership.

So far it’s been a great experience selling on eBay and I think I might start listing other random items that I have for sale.  Who knows what people might want to buy.  🙂  As for the iPhone 4 cases, I hope that this streak continues!  You can check out my listings in my personal account and my business account.  Feel free to start bidding!  😛

Tap away

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: ,
0

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail!  I had ordered a phone clutch from Koshi (coming soon) and then discovered they were giving away stylus pens for those who liked their Facebook page.  Of course I had to jump on that offer!free stylus pen sent by koshi electronics

free stylus from koshi electronics on iphone

Blissmobox: Blissful Bites

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

After much anticipation, I’ve finally gotten to enjoy my very first blissmobox!  This is the July box and I chose the Blissful Bites option to get my snack on.

blissmobox is just under $25 per month with shipping (or as discounted as just under $120 for 6 months) and comes with eco-friendly products in themes like beauty, snacks, home, pets, and more. Each month you choose from two or three themes, or skip if none of them appeal to you. They do not offer a referral program.

the choices for july's blissmobox: naturally hers, naturally his, or blissful bites

The three choices for the July blissmobox.

Inside, I found seven great items: 479° Popcorn, Beanitos chips, Crunchmaster crackers, Betty Lou’s cereal bar, Braga Farms pistachios, Giddy Up granola, and Panda licorice.  It’s a nice mix of sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy, all with plenty of flavor and goodness to boot.

collage of july blissful bites blissmobox with contents slowly unveiled

collage of 479 popcorn in black truffle and white cheddar flavor479° Popcorn, Black Truffle & White Cheddar – I’m actually not a huge fan of popcorn, so it’s a feat that I actually liked this one. The flavor hits you after you eat some and inhale… it’s very rich and a bit overwhelming, but strangely addicting. I’ve never really cared for truffles but this gives me just enough of the flavor without making me queasy.

collage of beanitos black bean chips in chipotle bbq flavorBeanitos black bean chips, Chipotle BBQ – These are so much like corn chips I’d never miss the old stuff. Great taste and crunch factor, though the chipotle BBQ flavor was a bit spicy for my sensitive taste. Still, I enjoyed them and would eat them despite the stomachache.

collage of crunchmaster multi-seed crackers in original flavorCrunchmaster multi-seed crackers, Original – Talk about extremely crunchy! These rice crackers offer a satisfying crackle as you eat them. They are tasty on their own, and probably awesome with dip.

collage of betty lou's justgreatstuff cereal bar in superberry acai flavorBetty Lou’s JustGreatStuff cereal bar, Superberry Açaí – Moist and luscious, with bits of fruit to chew on and a gentle sweetness. These are so much better than other cereal or energy bars! If I needed an on-the-go snack I’d totally have to get these.

collage of braga farms pistachios in salted flavorBraga Farms organic pistachios, roast & salted – I’ve never been particular to pistachios so I don’t lean either way with these. They taste much like other pistachios I’ve had and they’re organic, so that gives them bonus points!

collage of giddy up and go granola in notoriously nutty flavorGiddy Up & GO granola, Notoriously Nutty – Wow! I have never actually been excited to eat granola, but one bite of this and I was shocked into a smile. I think it’s the cinnamon that gives it a delicious sweetness, coupled with the slightly soft chewiness that makes this so good. This isn’t the dried-out, washed-up granola you may be used to.

collage of panda licorice in blueberry flavorPanda licorice, Blueberry – I took a bite and was surprised that this was a rather dry treat. I despise normal black licorice so I was reluctant to try this, but then I love blueberry-flavored things, so I gave it a shot. It has a nice mild flavor and kind of reminds me of a blueberry fruit strip or soft granola bar. There is a slight lingering taste of licorice but nothing too strong.

If you’d like more info on these brands, you can click below to enlarge the photo and read more.

information on brands included in blissmobox's july edition blissful bites

Bucky Balls in purple

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: ,
0

A long time ago, Panda got me a set of Bucky Balls. I took them to work and played with them often, and then the office got a set that everyone played with. I’m pretty sure that somewhere along the way my Bucky Balls got mixed up with those and eventually were distributed all around the office, stuck to metal cabinets and poles. Lately, I’d heard news of some consumer board trying to get them banned so I wanted to make sure I have a set in case they are forced out of business, plus they were encouraging us to buy to support them. By this time, they’d expanded into so much more than the original set I got – they had colored ones and large ones and even cube ones. I couldn’t resist the purple set since it’s my favorite color, so that’s what I ordered.

purple edition of bucky balls in original packaging

side panel of bucky balls purple edition

bucky balls purple edition removed from box

bucky balls purple edition with travel case and starter manual

Robot romance

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
0
set of girl and boy robot charms on chains

So cute! His and hers robots.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...