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| July 25, 2004 | News Channel 8 - Tampa Bay Online |
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| Losing Track Of Cell Phone Has Its Costs |
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| Portfolio Company: FusionOne |
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According to a survey by FusionOne, a company that provides syncing software for mobile phones, 43 percent of mobile phone owners have lost, damaged, or had their phone stolen.
Of those forced to be without their mobile phone, a little more than one in five say the worst part is losing numbers stored in the phone, and no where else.
Stacey Biggs of Tampa can relate to that. She suffered the consequences of a broken and stolen phone twice, both after a night of dancing.
In the first incident, Biggs kept her phone in the waistband of her outfit as she got her groove on. Store clerks told her that as she boogied-down, her perspiration short- circuited her phone.
``It was kind of a pain not having certain phone numbers,'' Biggs recalled. ``Nowadays, I don't have to remember people's numbers. I just look it up on my home phone [caller ID] or cell phone.''
It took three days for the service provider to send Biggs a new phone - for which she had to pay. Her original phone was free because of the plan she signed.
Out Of Touch
The second time, Biggs left her phone in her purse and her purse was stolen. Fortunately, the service provider waived the replacement fee for the phone since the cause was theft. But she still had to wait three days for a new phone, and reprogram all the numbers into it again.
``I felt out of contact,'' Biggs said.
It's likely the 166.6 million wireless subscribers in the United States could sympathize with Biggs. And imagine being one of the close to 8 million wireless owners who cut the cord and only use a mobile phone for contact.
``I would be lost,'' said Chris Dixon, a roofing supply salesperson who uses his cell phone for personal and work contact. ``I do not memorize phone numbers anymore. I wouldn't know how to reach anybody. I could lose money, lose business, and have customers upset because they couldn't reach me.''
You could solve the hassle of re-entering (and remembering) phone numbers by using a service provider and phone that has a simcard, or memory chip. That's what wireless-only owner Matt Preston has. ``I would go to my service provider and put my simcard in another phone, and it would be my phone, my contacts, my number,'' Preston said.
Protecting Investment
But that only works if the phone breaks and you use a phone serviced by the same provider. If it's lost or stolen, that's where insurance policies may work.
Many providers enable you to purchase insurance for phone replacement with minimal service interruption for a few dollars a month.
That's what Biggs has now. She owns a more expensive camera phone and considers paying a few dollars a month better than shelling out the full amount if she has to replace her phone for a third time. It's enough to make her consider leaving the phone at home the next time she straps on her dancing shoes.
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