Posts | Lose the Laptop Challenge

LETICIABARR'S POSTS

for leticiabarr

After Four Months, I Lost my Laptop in Favor of the HTC Tilt2!

At the beginning of the Lose the Laptop campaign, I was skeptical. I wondered aloud if a completely connected tech savvy mom-on-the go, such as myself, could really abandon my laptop and iPhone in favor of a the HTC Tilt2 that supposedly did it all.

Slowly but surely I cut my ties to my beloved phone and discovered that my Tilt2 was indeed so much more than a phone. I used it to keep in touch with my kids while my husband and I went on a long weekend getaway to New York City by sending them emails with photos of the things that we were seeing and doing so they wouldn’t miss us too much. While there, I documented my favorite places to eat and dishes and was surprised by the quality of the photos I was able to take with the phone’s camera upon putting together my blog post.

My Tilt2 accompanied me on many trips over the past four months, lightening my load lots thanks to the many great features. I used the AT&T Navigator help me chart my course from Fort Lauderdale to Miami meet friends for dinner, took it to a conference at Georgetown University where I used social networking apps to live tweet U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s speech, and threw family rules out about screen by allowing my kids to watch streaming Sesame Street videos with me while I was sick in bed! I was so glad that the Tilt2 comes with parental controls so my kids were watching age appropriate content!

I also found that my Tilt was a great shopping companion. While it may not have provided outfit advice like a bunch of girl friends could, my husband and I definitely relied on it when shopping for our new hybrid. Thanks to the ability to pull up our Excel spreadsheet that compared costs and features of different makes and models of hybrids using Windows Mobile and accessing TrueCars.com through Internet Explorer, we were able to make an educated decision when we bought our Altima.

I’ve spent the last four months filling my phone with tons of apps to enhance my productivity, locate the best our city has to offer, and keep my kids entertained whether on the go or at home.

Whether or not I’m the chosen blogger to win the grand prize at the conclusion of the Lose the Laptop campaign, I’ve walked away with a great experience thanks to my HTC Tilt2.

Best of luck to my fellow competitors! It has been an eye opening four months and I thank AT&T for inviting me to share in the experience of the Lose the Laptop campaign

To vote for Leticia, scroll to the top of the screen and click on the blue VOTE button that will help her win the grand prize of $5000 and make you eligible to win the prize money plus an HTC Tilt2 of your very own!

____________________

Leticia Barr founded her Tech Savvy Mama site to assist parents in finding the best technology products, websites, and resources for children. She serves as Chief BitMom onBitMoms.com where she advocates for internet safety and security for families and can always be found on Twitter.

August 1, 9:29 pm

Parental Controls Lifesaver for Tap Happy Kids

As a mom, I find that mobile marketplaces can be a lifesaver thanks to the wealth of content that can easily be accessed on my phone but they can also be a hazard in the hands of my 4 and 6 year old who are getting increasingly good at navigating my HTC Tilt2.

Have you ever thought about what might happen if your child got a hold of your phone and got a little tap happy? Not only might they download lots of content that could result in a huge bill, but some of it could be completely inappropriate

I am so thankful that the Mobile Video app comes with a parental control feature that helps prevent inappropriate content from being streamed to my phone during a wait at the doctor’s office or to ease a flight delay during summer travel season.

On the home screen, scroll to the bottom past the Video Categories and at the very bottom you will see Parental Controls in gray.

Tap on it to view the current settings and if they look like mine did where content filters and purchase blockers were both off, enter your PIN to set the parameters and turn the parental control settings on.

While this may not be 100% safe, it is a good starting point for errant tapping on a touch screen phone and makes me feel a lot better about giving my hands of my kids my phone to watch their favorite Sesame Street clips!

To vote for Leticia, scroll to the top of the screen and click on the blue VOTE button that will help her win the grand prize of $5000 and make you eligible to win the prize money too! .

____________________

Leticia Barr founded her Tech Savvy Mama site to assist parents in finding the best technology products, websites, and resources for children. She serves as Chief BitMom on BitMoms.com where she advocates for internet safety and security for families and can always be found onTwitter.

July 8, 9:42 pm

Zagat To Go App

The question, “What restaurant should we go to?” can certainly put a damper on a parental date night but thanks to the Zagat To Go app, there’s no guessing about the food or dining experience when shopping around for a great place to eat.

Available through the Lifestyle & Shopping category in the App Center’s Cool Tools/Apps section, Zagat To Go is a robust application that functions much like its hard copy counterparts except that you don’t have to lug a set of outdated guide books around with you. Like the print version of Zagat, the reviews are only a paragraph and provide a true narrative of what to expect, numerical ratings for food, décor, and service, and average cost.

Instead of flipping through a well worn copy of the book, I simply tapped the icon on my Tilt2 to launch it and then browsed for restaurants according to major metropolitan areas, zip code, address or intersection, or even according to my current location thanks to the built in GPS. I was also able to search for dining spots according to neighborhood, type of cuisine, and the recently opened hot spots thanks to the new category.

As a foodie, I prefer using the Top Lists when browsing for a date night dining spot to make sure we hit all the great restaurants by top area chefs. Scrolling past the Best Buys and Child Friendly categories, a search of more exotic fare turns up many choices. Luckily with each type of cuisine, there are only 3-5 restaurants that make the top list so it is easy to quickly read through the options.

Even though Zagat To Go can’t make the reservation for you, the application provides one-stop-shopping. Just tap on the Menu button in the bottom right corner to call the restaurant to secure your table and then pull up a map from the same screen.

If you can’t commit to purchasing Zagat To Go, enjoy a 14 day trial by visiting their site. For $29.99 a year, I think this is a wise investment that can save a savvy diner lots of money on mediocre food!

Bon appétit!

When not searching for her next great meal, Leticia blogs at Tech Savvy Mama and can be found Tweeting as @TechSavvyMama. She would love you to vote for her and be entered to win this month’s prize of a $500 Amazon gift card and a HTC Tilt2!

June 29, 10:39 am

Informed Consumer Uses HTC to Score the Best Deal on a New Car

Going to the dealership to look at cars can always be an ordeal and it always advantageous to be an informed consumer so you aren’t taken advantage of by a pushy salesperson wanting their monthly commission. Recently our family has been exploring the idea of buying a new hybrid and I’ve found that my HTC has been instrumental in helping us compare costs of the different hybrids and their various features.

Today we went to a Nissan dealership to take a look at the Altima Hybrid. Having done some research online, my husband and I compiled a spreadsheet comparing costs and features to the current model Prius and Civic hybrids. When we bought our last car 6 years ago we printed our spreadsheet or memorized it, keeping it in the car during our visit to the dealership. This morning before I left to go car shopping, I emailed the spreadsheet to myself and viewed it while the salesperson was talking to us using Windows Mobile on my HTC.

Besides being able to access the information we had gathered ourselves, I also found it extremely helpful to be able to access TrueCars.com using Internet Explorer. TrueCars.com is a site that enables consumers to see what others in the area have paid for the same model car using a zip code search. As I listened to the salesperson today talk about sticker price, rebates, financing, incentives, and being able to make a deal if we bought the car today, I was able to determine if his price was truly a good deal based on what other area dealerships had offered their customers for the same model with the features we want in our new vehicle.

Being able to access such comprehensive information through my HTC has been priceless. Car buying can be stressful and overwhelming but being armed with a wealth of knowledge that is accessible through my phone makes me a confident consumer because I know that we won’t be taken advantage of when it comes time for us to make our purchase.

Leticia blogs at Tech Savvy Mama and can be found Tweeting as @TechSavvyMama. She would love you to vote for her and be entered to win this month’s prize of a $500 Amazon gift card and a HTC Tilt2!

June 20, 8:50 pm

HTC Tilt2 Fuels My Addiction to Jasmere.com for Social Shopping on the Go

Jasmere is my new favorite shopping site. I love the diversity of the offerings that change every 24 hours and the fact that it offers a social experience where customers who forward the daily deal to their friends enjoy a lower price on the items that they covet. With deals every 24 hours, it is imperative that I stay in the know about the featured items on Jasmere because I wouldn’t want to miss a great deal.

Thanks to my HTC Tilt2, I can always keep up with Jasmere’s daily deal and bonus features wherever I may be. I can Jasmere’s deal via their page on my mobile Facebook app, on Twitter through PocketTwit, or through the email that I can easily pull up on my phone.

When I find a great deal on unique gifts like custom silhouette cufflinks for Father’s Day, gorgeous leather cases to protect my electronic gadgets, designer denim, fair trade French market baskets to hold my farmers’ market offerings, or organic meat and coffee, my Tilt2 makes it dangerously easy to make a purchase. I can pull up Internet Explorer by tapping on the big purple Order Now button to access my account and make a purchase.

Since I’m a bargain hunter and always crave the best for less, I find it easy to use my Tilt2 to Tweet out my purchase or post my new find on my Facebook wall to encourage my friends to visit Jasmere to make a purchase for themselves so we can all enjoy a lower price.

I can’t wait to use my Tilt2 tomorrow to see Jasmere’s latest great deal!

Leticia blogs at Tech Savvy Mama and can be found Tweeting as @TechSavvyMama. She would love you to vote for her and be entered to win this month’s prize of a $500 Amazon gift card and a HTC Tilt2!

June 9, 5:47 pm