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Verizon iPhone 4 Poll Results
Last Wednesday, we polled our readers on whether they were planning to get a Verizon iPhone 4. The poll received a total of 816 responses, and the results were quite surprising. Over a quarter of all voters, *26.1%*, replied that they plan to continue service with AT&T. Only *7.35%* of voters replied that they were planning to switch to Verizon, and slightly over a quarter, *25.86%* (existing VZW customers?), replied they were excited to purchase an iPhone after years of waiting.
Though plenty of voters seemed eager to either switch to Verizon or upgrade their existing phones to an iPhone, *25.61%* reported they plan to wait for whatever Apple releases next–presumably the iPhone 5. A meager *0.61%* of total voters replied they only plan to purchase an iPhone 4 if Apple finally releases the much fabled white version. Nearly *15%* of voters replied that they were not interested in an iPhone, or at least not at this time.
This week, Verizon released several “*details*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/verizon-to-offer-30-unlimited-data-plan-for-iphone/ regarding the forthcoming phone’s data plan and pricing structure. Maintaining an edge over competing AT&T plans in some areas–specifically data–these announcements would likely have changed the results of the survey had they been announced earlier. To view the complete synopsis of the poll, click “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/vote-are-you-getting-a-verizon-iphone-4/
Have your opinions on the Verizon iPhone 4 changed now that the carrier has announced plan features and rates? Comment “*here*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/verizon-iphone-4-poll-results/ and let us know!
FEATURED SPECIAL | 50% Off MiLi Products
MiLi makes great batteries and chargers for your iPod, iPhone or iPad. *For a limited time, we’re featuring everything in stock up to 50% off!*
For example, my favorite is the “MiLi Power Spring 4 Battery Case for iPhone 4.”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20533/at_kb I’ve been known to run my battery down -playing BeJeweled- doing extremely productive things on my phone, so I can __allllways__ use more battery life. I like that this is a slim option that nearly doubles the life of the iPhone 4 battery.
“MiLi Power Spring 4 Battery Case for iPhone 4”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20533/at_tt ($49.99; normally $79.99)
“See all MiLi products and specials here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/mili
_Dear Friends,_
The snow seems to be staying south of us again in this week’s snowstorms. This seems to be the pattern that has developed over the past few years. As the storms work their way up the east coast, high pressure seems to keep the snow pushed south. Nevertheless, we have had enough snow that the ski areas are happy and the snowmobile trails are open. Seed catalogs have started to arrive and it is just over a month to Town Meeting Day when it is traditional to start the tomato plants for the garden.
We have three universal job requirements at Small Dog Electronics. Each employee is required to meet all three each year. The first is Apple training. Apple has a series of educational modules and exams that constitute their online sales training. There are four levels of accomplishment: Silver, Gold, Apple Product Professional and Apple Sales Professional. Every member of Small Dog Electronics is required to reach Apple Product Professional and all sales people are required to reach Apple Sale Pro. Each year in April we hold our Apple Sales Professional dinner which started out with 6 people five years ago but this year we have 36 people out of 50 that have reached the highest level of Apple Sales training and 100% that are Apple Product Professionals. We will be hiring a bus this year to bring the folks from Vermont over to meet up with the folks from our Manchester store for this annual event.
The second job requirement is that each employee take a paid day off to perform community service. I do not dictate what community service they do, only that I get an email with a description. We have had employees help their neighbors, work with Special Olympics, create websites for the local library, work in the schools or clear trails for hiking. I was very proud of this commitment to community service until one day, I was visiting Ben & Jerry’s headquarters and mentioned this commitment to community service to the CEO. He nodded politely and said, “that is great; we give our employees up to 40 hours paid time for community service.” I guess we have some work to do get there, but this is a key element in the People part of how we measure our success.
The last of these requirements is a weekly report. This is the hardest to get compliance from the team, but we are well over 90% each week. This weekly report is sent to their manager, Hapy and me. The format for these reports is as follows:
* What were your accomplishments this week and how did you do versus your plans for the week?
* What are your plans for next week?
* What obstacles did you encounter and how did you resolve them?
* What resources do you need to do your job more productively?
* Tell us about one customer encounter this week.
* Please make one suggestion for the company, and list any other commentary you may have.With over 50 employees, I find these reports to be an extremely valuable management tool. Just as we want to take advantage of every opportunity to talk to you, our customers, I find these weekly reports from my team to be packed with valuable information, ideas and opportunity.
We Want to Hear From You!
As we’re constantly working to improve customer satisfaction, we’ve launched a UserVoice feedback forum on Smalldog.com. You can access this feature by clicking the small blue box hovering on the right side of our site, or by clicking “*here.*”:http://bit.ly/hu9VQr
We’re receptive to any and all feedback to help us strengthen our customer experience. Please feel free to leave feedback about our site and stores! Thank you!
Congratulations to the Packers and the Steelers for their victories. I had to tear up my “Bears to win” ticket from Las Vegas and now I can devote my time to following the Boston Celtics, at least until pitchers and catchers report next month!
It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of January. Grace was trying to cheer me up out of my winter blues and explained it to me: “we are almost through January, then we have a little dinky month of February, then we have a short vacation in March and soon you will be riding your motorcycle.” She is definitely a 1/2 full kinda gal but February is a brutal winter month and March, well, you can have anything in March: snow, rain, mud, flood.
Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali, Ed, Ben_Happy Birthday, Macintosh
The past Monday marked the 27th Birthday of the iconic beige box which ultimately gave way to the iMac I’m typing this post on.
On January 24th, 1984, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh to the world. The first machine to run Mac OS (then System 1.0), the Macintosh revolutionized the personal computer industry, and changed the face of industrial design in the computing market. Prior to the machine’s release, the concept of an all-in-one computer was largely unheard of. In the days leading up the the machine’s official unveiling, Apple aired its famous Orwellian inspired–Ridley Scott directed– “*advert*”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8&feature=related during Super Bowl XVIII.
Though its specs may seem paltry by today’s standards, for its time, the Macintosh yielded the complete package for many users. Here’s a quick history lesson:
The Macintosh (later rebranded Macintosh 128k) debuted in January 1984 for the initial price of $2,495. Carrying the model number: M0001, it boasted the following specifications:
*Macintosh*
* Built-in Display: 9-inch
* Processor: 8 MHz Motorola 68000
* System Bus: 8 MHz
* Internal Storage: None
* Media: 400 KB 3.5″ Floppy
* Onboard RAM: 128 KB (Expandable to 4 MB)
* Graphics: None
* Peripherals: Apple Mouse and KeyboardToday, accounting for inflation, $2,495 in 1984 dollars would buy you the following:
*iMac 27-inch*
* Processor: 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
* Cache: 8 MB L3
* Internal Storage: 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
* Media: 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* RAM: 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
* Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
* Peripherals: Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpadand you’d still have a little under $1,000 left over!
We’ve certainly come a long way in just 27 years. I raise a toast to the “Insanely Great” little machine which arguably started it all. Cheers, and Happy Birthday!
What are your memories of the Macintosh? Feel free to share them “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/the-macintosh-turns-27-today/