Where to Buy the Cheapest iPod® and iPod Acessories®

Reader's Question:

I am looking for the cheapest iPod® accessories in the market and is now trying to compare market prices from online prices. Will it be cheaper for me if I buy iPod® online?

Billy

NY, New York

Based on my experience, shopping online always has more direct results. It gives you a wide array of stores to choose from, and you can also get the best deals in the market.

The challenge with shopping any products online is the ability to determine which ones are legitimate which needs a little bit of research on your part.

Some sites might just be middle players and you might end up purchasing higher than if you could have purchased from another source.

I suggest you try to make sure you are able to exhaust the market outside online stores such that you have an idea what is the lowest available in the market for the specific iPod® product you have in mind.

I have purchased my iPod touch online from this site called www.iPodlist.com and the good thing about it is that I purchased it so much lower than the ones posted on Ebay or even from the market.

You should give it a try. I think it's an independent website from Apple, but it is the largest marketplace for iPod® and iPod® accessories online. Try it now...

Let your friends call your cellphone from Myspace

Reader's Question:

I live in North America and I would like my friends to call me through my Myspace profile without having to plug in my phone number. There are lots of spammers in Myspace and I do not want my phone number to be shown to everyone. Is there something I can do?

Macey

I found a great widget online.

I think it is the coolest way your friends can call you over your cell phone without having to divulge your phone number.

It is just as easy as A, B, C. I learned about this from reading random blog posts, and here’s how it works…

To start with, you need to sign up online. Better use internet explorer, since I cannot sign up with firefox. After signing up, I received the script for the widget and my own JingleMe password through my sign up email. The script is also visible on the Jingle Me interface. When I logged in, I found a link on the left portion which allows me to see the html script which you can easily copy and paste to your blog. When you need to login to your JingleMe account though, better use Internet Explorer since firefox does not really do anything when it comes to logging in.

All I needed to do was to copy and paste the widget script on my blog and here’s how it looks on one of my blogs..




If any of your friends want to call you, all they need to do is to click the widget and he/she will have to plug in his/her phone number on the dialogue box. I am using mozilla firefox, so I made sure the popup blocker is disabled so the call window would appear.

Once your friend clicks on the Call button, both yours and your friend’s phones will ring which will instantly connect you. Your number stays private in any page you like to have a widget which can make your friends contact you.

The system actually announces the caller, so you will know who’s calling you…which gives you the option to answer or reject the call.

The good thing about this widget is that it is ABSOLUTELY FREE if you get the basic service. So you need not worry about charges. However, you can upgrade service if you need more features and want more call time. I think it will cost you around $4.99 to upgrade…but you can checkout the website www.JingleMe.com to check out the latest rate for upgrade.

You might also want to sign up now while it is still free for basic service users in North America. Once you’ve signed up, you might want to tell your friends in North America about it. I was able to use it with my Myspace, Facebook, friendster, iKArma, Worldsentiment, and even Craiglist!

How to setup a callcenter that would succeed in San Francisco, CA?

Readers’ question:

Do I need specific technology for a call center to be successful, or would it be more effective if I invest in people? I need information on how I can make sure I will succeed if I put up a callcenter in San Francisco, California.

Frank Taylor

San Francisco, CA

First of all you should make sure that you plan your call center in San Francisco, California well for you to succeed in this venture. Any call center represents your company’s culture, employee’s skills, products and reputation.

There are many factors that affect the success rate of your call center. In planning your call center, you need to create a balance between choosing good technology and equipment while beating milestones, and at the same time making sure that you do not overlook the very important core of this business: customer – relationship strategy.

To get started you have to build good deal for your company and its products. Your primary goal is to establish a reputation of delivering satisfactory service and high customer satisfaction rate. Generating profits and ROI should always be a secondary goal.

First of all, you need to define your vision in doing the business in San Francisco, California. If it is already clear to you what you want to happen, you can go ahead and take stock of resources that are already in place.

Among the resources that need to be assessed are the office spaces that you need for that the number of agents that will man your callcenter. You also need to have a very good callcenter software that will handle incoming calls and be able to manage your customer and product database is very well. On top of this, you need to have adequately trained personnel who will be able to assist customers who called in efficiently and effectively.

More over, you should never overlook scheduling. Time zones will greatly influence your man power and shifting. Never underestimate the power of training which will be your engine to retain accounts that maintain a good customer satisfaction rate.

Lastly, always consult the experts in setting up a call center. It’s not a very wise decision to experiment with this very fast paced industry. Get an expert to build up and run your call center. It is always wise to invest in people’s skills and experience, as a call center is almost always a people-based industry.

Free VoIP service. Is there any?

Reader's Question:

I would like to know if there is such thing as free VoIP service in Anchorage, Alaska AK?

Barbara
Anchorage, AK

I tell you what, Barbara…most of the programs available offered free VoIP service when it was first introduced over the internet. Sweet…but gone are the good old days when it comes to free VoIP service.

These days, VoIP services are no longer free but can be used at very minimal monthly fees relative to the benefits you get from getting the service in Anchorage, Alaska. Among the many advantages that VoIP offers is that you will be able to enjoy unlimited calls and you can make long distance calls without any charges at a low monthly rate compared to the ordinary telephone long distance charges.

Skype and Yahoo can still make you call free of charge using VoIP programming in some areas in Alaska AK. This is possible through a PC-to-PC call to another user who also has Skype. Although there will be credits that you might need to purchase to avail of other features and functionality.

There’s just one bad side for VoIP though especially during emergency situations in Anchorage, AK. When you call 911, your address will not be determined which will cause problem for the dispatcher to retrieve your location information.

Still the pros outnumber the cons which make VoIP a very wise investment for businesses like callcenters in Anchorage, Alaska AK. With VoIP, calling multiple users at one time will be possible with lowest cost compared to other methods of doing teleconferencing. This way, callceneters will be able to generate greater revenues and lower operational expenses.

How does my VoIP in Los Angeles California work?

Reader's Question:

I call my boyfriend in Canada all the time all the way from Los Angeles CA through my VoIP and it has greatly reduced my phone bills over the last 6 months. I wonder how my VoIP in LA work?

Bunny

Los Angeles, CA

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) allows you to call your boyfriend who has VoIP or others who has a telephone number (local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers). It uses broadband connection to get connected to your boyfriend in Canada. There are various VoIP services out there and some would only work over your computer or a special VoIP phone. There are also other VoIP services in California that use a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter.

So you might want to know how does a VoIP / Internet Voice Work in Los Angeles, California CA.

A brilliant technology, your VoIP services convert your voice into a digital signal traveling over the internet. The signal is converted to regular telephone signal if you are trying to call a regular phone line in Canada. You may also make a call directly in Los Angeles from a computer, special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to a VoIP adapter. Wireless hot spots in LA, California such as parks, airports, and cafes also allow you to connect to the internet which will enable you to use VoIP service wirelessly.

VoIP and call center operations

Reader's Question:
I would like to know how can VoIP directly affect call center operations? I am an IT engineer of a callcenter in Texas.

John

Dallas, TX

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) involves using the internet as telephone service. Speech is digitized, split into packets which are sent over the internet and will be reassembled at their destination. VoIP were effective replacements for traditional PBX-based systems that offered cheaper dial tone. As VoIP vendors approach call centers with a different mindset than that of conventional telephone companies, new applications will always emerge.

This could also translate to call center operational savings and gives freedom for call centers to expand anywhere in the world at low cost as compared to using PBX. Number of seats in a center could tremendously be reduced with the VoIP system, as it will be possible to use IP agents or home-based agents. Moreover, VoIP controls call center turnover as employees will be able to work at home or close to home. It opens a new set of labor pool who can’t easily come into the office like persons with physical handicap.

By far being the most low cost and economical solution, the use of VoIP makes possible for any call center need not to be in major urban areas, which lowers operational cost in the long run. This results to a lower real estate cost and at the same time, helping the environment by reducing travel time and fuel consumption since agents don’t have to drive to the office.

VoIP makes call center operations easier since experts will be able to virtually handle customer problems without actually being there at the center in the event of escalation. Agents will be able to have access to expert talents to draw assistance from.

Using VoIP for call center will be able to integrate your data and phone systems. It will be easier to tie up VoIP packets to your center’s IT system, which is impossible to do with the conventional phone system. This way, all calls can be stored, analyzed, annotates, and routed very much easier compared to having a conventional phone system. This is because VoIP is an open system. Although not everything is completely open and interoperable in the world of VoIP, at least a great deal is unlike closed environments of traditional phone systems.



__________

VoIP for CallCenters Advantage

Reader's Question:
How can VoIP benefit callcenters? I am using PBX for 100 seats in Arkansas.

Jamie

Little Rock, AK

VoIP brings significant competitive edge for your call center. In addition, VoIP for callcenters offers lower costs, better control, improved integration with data systems, more flexibility, and a range of new services and capabilities.

Lower cost for VoIP for callcenters is the result of the regulatory environment. This is one major factor which attracts many call centers to use this technology. Lower cost per minute can dramatically translate to millions of dollars as savings per year for most call center enterprises. Long distance costs drop when trunk lines are replaced with broadband internet connections. Essentially, local phone bill is slashed plus the fact that VoIP equipment for callcenters comes usually cheaper than any conventional telephone gear.