SaveOnCellPhones.ca

The following Top 10 list will help you get more out of your cell phone. Enjoy! 

(Part 1 this week, Part 2 next week!)

Learn “How To” check in for your Canadian Flights directly from your cell phone!

If you have a flight in Canada and you are looking for a great way to both expedite your check in process as well as save some paper, this blog entry is for you.  For the past 18 months both West Jet and Air Canada have been offering “Mobile Check-in” for their Canadian Domestic flights.

This means that from your mobile phone you can login to mobile versions of their site and check in for your flight along with getting an E-Boarding pass emailed directly to your phone.  This means that if you are a busy business traveller and you don’t have time to get to a printer before you cab to the airport you can save the wait in line by checking in from your phone.

These paper-less boarding passes are great for on the go travellers that are looking for ways to avoid the lines when they are arriving late from a meeting.  Here are the respective websites that you will need to access from your mobile device or PDA:

Air Canada: http://mobile.aircanada.com

(AC Demo Video: http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/mobile/mci.html)

West Jet: http://mobile.westjet.com

(WJ Demo Site: http://c5dsp.westjet.com/guest/webcheckin/mobileTour.jsp)

(Many US and Eurpean Airlines have Mobile Check In as well.  However, they appear to only be for domestic flights at this time and not for any cross boarder international flights. FYI)

“Introduction of the mobile boarding pass is a key element in Air Canada’s initiatives to use the most recent and secure mobile and 2-D barcode technologies to simplify our customers’ travel experience,” said Lise Fournel, Senior Vice President E-Commerce and CIO. “In addition to the simplification of travel and business processes made possible by the replacement of paper with electronic documents, we’re particularly excited about the expanded application of 2-D barcode technology that gives our employees better tools to serve our customers more efficiently.”
(http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2007/21/c3273.html)

I would suggest that you save some time and check out the above links from your mobile phone and save some time at the airport on your next flight.  Enjoy your time and be sure to come back to the blog soon.

Here is a great tip for any of you travellers to the USA.  The carriers in Canada are starting to catch on to our work and travel patterns and are falling into suit offering data add-ons that help to eliminate the typical roaming charges that come from visiting the USA. 

As an example Rogers announced a $10 Data Roaming Add-on this year which helps their subscribers save money when travelling to the states.  You can add this feature on to your phone for one month or more and it provides significant cost savings for your DATA usage.  Without the package you would be paying $6/MB, on top of your current data package. With the$10 add-on you only pay $1/MB in additional roaming charges. 

NOTE: With 1MB you can send/receive 514 emails (text only) from a BlackBerry® Bold™ or send/receive 341 Instant Messages from regular consumer phone.

So if you are travelling to the USA and you expect to be using more than 2MB of Data (2MB x $6 = $12) then the $10 add on makes sense to utilize.  Add this on before your trip and you will realize the cost savings on your next bill.

For more information on this offer from Rogers visit their website at: 

http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-network/wn_usdataroaming 

For more information on Travel Add-ons offerred by Rogers visit:

http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-network/wn_travelphone.

I will be writing about offers from Telus and Bell in the weeks to come.  In the meantime feel free to visit their websites with more information on their US Data Roaming Plans.

Zer01 Mobile – New USA Cell Phone Service Operator

The United States is seeing significant growth and competition in the wireless industry.  One of the most recent players is a company call Zer01 Mobile (www.zer01mobile.com).  Zer01 Mobile launched services in the United States July 1, 2009 and offers a very unique service for customers, UNLIMITED USAGE!  That is correctly, Zer01 offers true unlimited calling, unlimited data and unlimited web browsing.  The unbeatable part of their offer is their pricing in the US.  Starting at just $69.95 / month Zer01 is going to be a competitive player in the market that will likely attract a lot of new business.

So what is the difference with Zer01 that allows it to offer true unlimited service at a low discounted price?  Well the answer is Veritable Mobile Convergence (VMC) which allows “smart phone users to make voice calls or transmit data by sending voice communications through a VoIP system.”  This patent pending technology is provided through Buzzirk Mobile’s VOIP communication system and allows for this inexpensive communication channel, more info at (www.buzzirkmobile.com).

One of the main challenges facing Zer01 Mobile is device compatibility.  As of today the only devices compatible for them are Windows Mobile 6.0 type devices on the GSM network.  CDMA models are not compatible and many GSM mobiles will not be compatible either.  This means that customers would have to change devices including ditching their iPhones and Blackberries, which may be tough for many consumers to handle.

However, the company still seems to be drawing on positive PR and exposure. Zer01 Mobile has attracted so much attention lately that at the CTIA 2009 Wireless 2009 Conference they were awarded the ‘Best Overall Product’ by Laptop Magazine.  As Zer01 Mobile moves into the USA marketplace it will be interesting to see how their service, devices and company hold up against major industry players like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.  However, if the product is as good as it sounds it could change the landscape of the mobile industry.

The next question is when can we expect a service like this in Canada?  Well, although the website does mention entry into the Canadian market I would not expect to see Zer01 Mobile in Canada anytime in 2009.  The Canadian marketplace is very difficult to enter due to government regulations and tight competition from the current players.  For now, watch what Zer01 Mobile and other new entrants to the US market do and maybe we will see them and their low cost, high usage options in the not too distant future. 

World Cell Phone Penetration Reaches 60%

In 2008, the International Telecommunications Union forecasted that global cell phone penetration would be at 50% by the end of the year.  As of 2009, the numbers are now showing that 6 out of 10 (or 3 of 5) humans on the planet now have a mobile phone. A United Nations 2009 review reported that global cell phone penetration is now at 60%.  As a result we have seen an improvement in cellular services around the world as companies upgrade to 3G networks and offer new services and plans for customers.  The growth in the market has mostly been attributed to an expanding pre-paid market as apposed to a slower growth rate in plan subscriptions.  The carriers and manufacturers are looking to cash in on these new users which are nearly 4 billion individuals across the world.

There is a definite skew toward the developed nations of the world.  Switzerland, as an example, has over 80% cell phone penetration and most developed nations are over 60%.  However, there is expanding growth in third world countries where some people don’t have bank accounts but do  have cell phone accounts!

The rapidly expanding market penetration of cell phones is magnified by the fact that  in 2002 only 15 % of the global population used cell phones. In only 8 years the world population of cell phone users has gone from approximately 1.2 billion to 4 billion.  Some reports are suggesting that by 2012 nearly 90% of the world’s population will be using cell phones.

What does all this mean?  Hopefully for Canada it will mean two things. 

1. That Canadians will see more competition and thus better pricing and services.

2. And that with more cell phone users in Canada that they will have more of a voice and say in the government decisions on cell phone practices in Canada.

What do you think?  Will increase market penetration of cell phones in Canada and the world be a positive or a negative?

(For more information on this article see: http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-41586-113.html)