New LifeSize Passport

Over the last few months the industry has suddenly been flushed with a number of lower priced video conferencing solutions. The Polycom QDX 6000 and the LifeSize Passport.

Is this due to the economic situation? Are companies crying out for cheaper solutions? I think so but these new solutions seem to be aimed far more and the smaller company, or home worker who could do with high quality video conferencing at a more affordable price.

The Polycom QDX 6000 is quite a nifty bit of kit although it is not HD, so there is the slight fear that it may become obsolete over the next few years? However for just over £2500 with people and content it is quite a bargain. Although it does slightly make you wonder why the rest of the Polycom ranges are so much more expensive as this isn’t a great deal different to them?

An HD cheaper solution is the new LifeSize Passport. A fit in your hand easily portable bit of kit that basically plugs into your PC and away you go with HD video conferencing.

The Passport also allows you to use Skype with it but only with the audio. If, as LifeSize claim, you will be able to use this with Skype video calls in teh future then this really will be a truly amazing piece of kit.

Imagine if you are a recruitment agency, you could then host face to face video interviews with people all over the world, expanding your client base and providing a truly amazing service. All you would need for this is for the potential interviewee to have Skype. Which is free anyway! Fingers crossed that this will happen.

In the meantime check out this link to see more –  http://www.lifesize.com/en/Products/Video/LifeSize_Passport.aspx

Going abroad with your Blackberry?

With the summer holiday season being in full force and with manypeoplenipping off abroad to avoid the hum drum of the British summer, we have been asked time and time again how to turn off your emails so that you don’t get charged for data use whilst abroad

So, here is the solution:

Simply follow the instructions below, it takes 10 seconds to set up.

• Go to “Settings”
• Go to ”Mobile Network”
• Select “Data Services”

This displays 3 options:

1. On
2. Off
3. Off when roaming

• Select off when roaming and this will allow emails and web browsing in the UK but not overseas. This doesn’t affect your voice services in any way.

So there you go! You can now go abroad safe in the knowledge that you won’t be charged a fortune to use your Blackberry whilst you are abroad.

O2 only one of big three to see revenue growth

The last financial quarter saw O2 coming out as the only big three operator (Vodafone & Orange being the others) to have seen a growth in its revenue.

Vodafone and Orange both saw a 4% drop in revenues compared to the same period last year. This is resulting in a number of cost saving ventures to help them protect their declining margins.

Why are O2 growing? They have a fantastic retention record with their existing customers a and have over 9 million people on contracts.

So is it all about keeping your present customers happy rather than having poor customer service and trying to get new customers? Maybe this should be a lesson to us all?

24 hour working people

A recent report has stated that during the credit crunch and hard times people are more likely to stop going out and stop buying new clothes than give up their mobile phone.

Is this a sign of the times? Are people really more interested in being contactable than enjoying themselves?

Do businesses have to be available 24 hours a day to stay ahead of the game? Recently a customer complained when they weren’t able to get hold of our customer service team at 9pm on a Friday evening? Should our customer service team work longer hours or is this a ridiculous request from a customer?

People now a days think believe that if they are paying for something then they should be able to get service and be able to speak to someone at whatever time they need them?

Will this drive up prices as compaines will start having to pay staff for extra hours? Have we gone too far?

Are we turning into a 24 hour company country?

Working in the sun

With the seamingly endless downpour of rain that has blighted our forecasted ‘BBQ summer’ many people are looking for ways to rejuvenate themselves, and sometimes their business, with an injection of Vitamin B12, and so are heading off to sunnier climes.

But how do you keep an eye on your business whilst soaking up the warm summer rays, by a body cooling pool with an ice cold beer in your hand?

Well. Simple really! Modern technology now allows you to keep in touch with your employees and yoru business whilst taking a well earned break and holiday.

You don’t even need to carry bag loads of equipment. All you really need is a Blackberry, a laptop, a Mirial video conferenicng license and a plug in mobile broadband dongle.

Get your emails, reply to them, even if they contain excel, word & powerpoint documents on yoru Blackberry, & keep in face to face contact via video conferencing on your laptop whilst making the call for free over the internet.

It is so simple, we could all be working from a beach in the not too distant future!

Good customer service is worth as much as sales

With the current economic situation as it is, the importance of good customer service is really starting to show. From all of the companies that are trying to sell you something at the moment the real difference can bet he service that you are shown.

If you have a question about a product, you want to be able to ask a compnay without being hounded for days after by an over aggressive salesman. If you receive good customer service whether you are a customer or not you are far more likely to return to that company when you do need their service.

There are so many companies that are after a quick buck and as soon as they have sold you something you never hear from them again. However now is the time to make sure that when you have sold someone a product that you keep in touch with them to make sure they are happy, therefore building trust and keeping that customer for far longer than you would have done with a quick one off sale with no follow up.

Here is something for you to try this week. If you come across one of your customers or potential customer in the press etc. send them a little email. not trying to sell to them, but just saying well done, or congratualting them on the deal etc.

let me know how you go on by replying to this post. I look forward to hearing form you.

better handset or cheaper line rental?

The mobile industry changes more quickly than any other sector of the communications industry with new tariffs, new handsets and new deals coming out all of the time. This seems to have stuck in the consumers heads and more and more people are starting to complain that now when they upgrade their mobile phone they are having to pay for their new handset.

The reason this is happening is because the mobile networks have listened to consumers and are lowering their tariff prices and throwing in loads of great free deals to compete with each other

For instance most tariffs now offer FREE UK standard landline calls! incredible really when you think about it but this does mean that the mobile companies do have to still make money which is why you end up having to pay for your handset.

What other industry would you sign up for something for only 2 years and then be given something worth about £600 for free?

So this is why things are changing and you may have to contribute to a new handset in the future; you can’t have it both ways, with cheaper line rental and lots and lots of free calls, the mobile industry has to make money somewhere so your handset pricing is liable to go up

Nokia go with Android for their smart phones

Nokia go to Android

It looks like Nokia have had a bit of change of tact and are lookng to be using Google’s Android system with their new smart phones.

Android is an open source system where any software developer can have access and so they can develop applications, products, litle short cuts, helpful tools etc. all for free so it is potentially and incredibly exciting development.

It is also apparently a lot more secure than the iPhone and even many Blackberry’s

Nokia and Android

So keep an eye on Nokia’s new phones coming out soon as this could be the time that Nokia take back the market share that they have been losing recently…

The best small business mobile tariff?!

Vodafone have recently brought out a great new small business tariff called ‘Your Plan’. Not a great name but really very good for small business owners who want to have access to their emails using a Blackberry

Get a FREE Blackberry Pearl, unlimited calls to stabdard UK landline numbers & a choice of 5 different price plans with Blackberry email thrown in for free!

So from £25 a month you can have full email access wherever you are, free UK landline calls, 500 free mins, 250 free texts and 500MB pf data!! A seriously good deal!!

So give us a call to order yours today

Hot weather! do you want to sit in your car?

With the recent weather really starting to warm up, do you really want to be sitting in your hot sweaty car, whilst being stuck in a traffic jam, on your way to a meeting? Only to get to your meeting all hot and sweaty, flustered and not on your A game to be immediately on the back foot talking to someone who is cool calm and collected having been in their nice air conditioned office all morning waiting for you to arrive?!!!

This is something that you must pass everyday on your way to work. A hot looking salesman stuck in his car swearing at the traffic and the temperature in his car?

So why do we do it?!! there is no need to anymore. Simply get HD video conferencing installed in yoru office and not only can you make far better use of your productive work time saving yourself hours having to drive to and from meetings, you also save money on fuel, hotel bills and car wear, but you can also do it all from the comfort of your nice cool office, allowing you to be sharper and more alert than if you had just been driving about in a hot sweaty car.