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Finding items using my phone

I work at a rather well known retailer. For a little over 10 hours a day, I spend walking around where you shop. I mean I do more than just walk around but that is besides the point. While I am there making sure items are in stock for guests to buy, I sometimes spot items I want to buy. I tend to whip out my phone and snap a photo of the label

Why the label? The label holds a lot of information for people who work there. On the little 3x2 piece of paper. The item number, the location, and bar code that I can scan. I can find a lot about the item. I can find out if we have it in stock still, if it's not on floor is iin the backroom or is it available at another store. If all else fails I can enter the item number online on the company site and order it from there.

The only downside is I sometimes end up with 20 photos of labels and no idea why I took them.

As part of the AT&T Lose the Laptop challenge for June, we were tasked with the theme shopping. So as part of the June challenge, people who vote are eligible for the prize of a $500 Amazon gift certificate and an HTC Tilt 2. Just register and vote every day and it wouldn’t hurt if you voted for me. Every day you vote, you are entered to win.

June 29, 10:46 am

Comparison Shopping

The number one feature I love about my smart phone is not the texting or camera or any of the applications. Although those are all nice. The best thing is being able to connect to the internet. I remember the days of yesteryear when fire was first brought down from the mountain and you had to sit at home tied to a cable with your computer to do even a percentage of what you can do with a phone.

I love getting the best price possible. I shop the clearance sections in stores. While I am browsing items, I have my phone out looking on eBay, Amazon, and competitor websites to see if there is a better price. Granted with those you have to pay for shipping and there is not instant gratification of having my purchases in hand. I am willing to forgo all that for a better price. I am not talking about a couple pennies but percentages. I factor in driving to the store and back into cost of things.

I don't mind searching the internet while pushing a cart around the store. In fact, I might even find a better and different deal had I not spent sometime searching. I might have not gone done aisle and seen the awesome deal at the end of the aisle.

As part of the AT&T Lose the Laptop Challenge for June, we were tasked with the theme "shopping". So as part of the June challenge, people who vote are eligible for the prize of a $500 Amazon gift certificate and an HTC Tilt 2. Just register and vote every day and it wouldn’t hurt if you voted for me. Every day you vote, you are entered to win.

June 25, 7:15 pm

Shopping for the Impossible

June is a rough month for my family in the shopping department. There are a least 5 birthdays in the month of June. Throw in Father's Day and it can get near impossible to shop and have unique gift ideas. One particular challenge arises for this month. My dad!

A couple facts about my father. My father is 70+ years old and can buy what he wants when he wants. In fact, he probably owns everything he wants. He is impossible to shop for. I am not alone in this. Everyone in our family has the same issue. We have all started using our smart phone to communicate gift ideas.

My brother will send me a photo of a first edition book. I will be at our parent's house checking his collection. My mom will shoot a photo of a cool, eclectic item and we all shoot back our opinions. My wife will read some cool blog post about an item and forward the page to all us. The ideas are flowing. Gift decision will be made by committee.

So what did we get him this year? Well, we have a couple more days. The text, multimedia, and emails will be flying.

As part of the AT&T Lose the Laptop challenge for June, we were tasked with the theme "shopping". So as part of the June challenge, people who vote are eligible for the prize of a $500 Amazon gift certificate and an HTC Tilt 2. Just register and vote every day and it wouldn’t hurt if you voted for me. Every day you vote, you are entered to win.

June 24, 8:49 am

Texting and Shopping

With both my wife and I working opposite schedules, we tend to do our shopping without the other. A smart phone has been a helpful tool in keeping us in touch. Be it a text or a picture, our smart phones keep us on task and budget.

I usually do shopping after I get off work. In the past, we had to make phone calls back and forth to figure out what the other had bought. With our smart phones, we now are smarter about how we communicate.

We text our “needs” or shopping list to each other. This is helpful to me because sometimes my memory is not what it used to be. I can reference the list on the phone. That way we duplicate our purchases.

Other times, we send a picture of the item if we are trying to clarify what the other meant. I might not know what laundry detergent is the right brand or what deodorant I use. It is super helpful when we are brand loyal to certain items.

As part of the AT&T Lose the Laptop challenge (www.losethelaptop.com), for June, we were tasked with the theme "shopping". I would not be able to complete shopping with out a smart phone. So as part of the June challenge, people who vote are eligible for the prize of a $500 Amazon gift certificate and an HTC Tilt 2. Just register and vote every day and it wouldn’t hurt if you voted for me. Every day you vote, you are entered to win.

June 22, 8:09 pm

Finding time to travel and losing the laptop

I just started a new job about two months ago. With a new job comes no vacation days or time to travel. Or does it? As in everything in life, it is what you make of it. Let me tell you how it works with a photo essay, all the pictures were taken with the HTC Tilt 2!

Photo 1: You travel to faraway lands while reading a book

Photo 2: Or have a picnic made for princesses

Photo 3: Traveling to the princess' castle is fun even if you don't fit

Photo 4: Traveling to England to have tea with Queen err I mean the princess.

Working 50 + hours, you have to find the travel where you can.

The imortant part of all this, is being able to document it all. Before long, pictures and activities like this will embarrass my daughter so I need to preserve these. Plus they make great wedding day photos.

So how can you do this without overloading yourself with cameras, calendars, laptops, cords, etc? You have to Lose the Laptop. AT&T has supplied me with a HTC Tilt 2 to lose the laptop. As a matter of fact, all of the photos in this post were done with the HTC Tilt 2

The “Lose the Laptop” program is not just for me but for you too. Over the next couple of months, I am going to do some missions. This month it is all about Travel.

Like I said, it is not just about me but YOU get something too. First, you have to read posts about losing the laptop. You then register and vote for your favorite post/person (HINT: ME). And by registering and voting, you can win too! For example, a voter during April could get a $250 travel voucher for American Airlines and a chance to win your very own HTC Tilt 2.

Full post with extra photos can be found on my blog.

April 7, 11:07 am