Archive for July, 2009

Travel Tips

iphoneIt often comes as a shock to receive your phone charges after using it during an international trip. That may be because your international data usage is not covered under your existing data plan.

For all iPhone users out there, the following tips from AT&T offers ways to minimize data charges when traveling outside the U.S.:

INTERNATIONAL DATA USAGE TIPS

Turn Data Roaming “OFF”: Be sure to download and install the latest version of iPhone software from iTunes. By default the setting for international data roaming will be in the “OFF” position.
– To turn data roaming “ON/OFF” tap on Settings>General>Network>Data Roaming

Utilize WiFi Instead of 3G/GPRS/EDGE: WiFi is available in many international airports, hotels and restaurants to browse the Web or check email.

Turn Fetch New Data “Off”: Check email and sync contacts and calendars manually instead of having the data pushed to your iPhone automatically. This way you can control the flow of data coming to your iPhone.
– To turn off the Auto-Check functionality tap on Settings>Fetch New Data Change Push to “OFF” and Select to Fetch Manually

Consider Purchasing an International Data Package: If you are traveling outside the U.S., purchasing a Data Global Plan will significantly reduce the cost of using data abroad.

Reset the Usage Tracker to Zero: When you arrive overseas access the usage tracker in the general settings menu and select reset statistics. This will enable you to track your estimated data usage.
– To reset Usage Tracker to Zero tap on Settings>General>Usage>Reset

From iPhone Travel Tips:

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp

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Saturday, July 25th, 2009 Productivity tools No Comments

Passport to getting things done efficiently

PassportVeronica, a Prialto member, was at Costco recently, hoping to take advantage of their passport photo service so she can renew her passport. Unfortunately, when she saw the size of the photo, she realized that it might not have the right dimensions. You see, Veronica does not have a U.S. passport, and until this moment, she hadn’t thought about photo size. So, she called her personal assistant and sought his help. While Veronica went on with her shopping, her personal assistant did some research on the web: He looked up the guidelines for passport photos on the consulate’s website, and compared that with the U.S. passport photo guidelines. Once he determined that the requirements were different, he then proceeded to research photo studios that did passport photos for various countries. He found one at a location nearest to Costco. He then called her back and passed on the information to her.

Without any interruption to her schedule, Veronica was able to go on with her day. And for a mother of three, very active children, assistance such as this helps her manage her time efficiently.

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Saturday, July 11th, 2009 Time Management, Wow! Moments No Comments