Consumer Talk

Borders announced today it has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to close 200 of its 500 superstores in the next several weeks, including stores in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Orlando and elsewhere in Florida.

At least 15 Florida Borders stores have made the hit list, including 2240 East Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale; 12171 West Sunrise Blvd. in Plantation; 1051 W. Sand Lake Road in Orlando; and others in Tampa, Altamonte Springs, Jacksonville, Ocoee, Oviedo, Gainesville, Jensen Beach, Naples, Brandon, Clearwater, Fort Myers and Sarasota.

This could be the beginning of the end for what had become the second-largest bookstore chain in the U.S. Could it also be another sign of the times that book reading is moving faster and further into the digital age, leaving dead-wood media in the rear view mirror? Remember, Amazon recently announced it is selling more e-books than both paperbacks and hardcovers.

Ia statement issued today, Borders president Mike Edwards said “It has become increasingly clear that in light of the environment of curtailed customer spending, our ongoing discussions with publishers and other vendor related parties, and the company’s lack of liquidity, Borders Group does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor.”

Edwards holds onto hope that Borders will still have a bright future ahead, saying: “This financing should enable Borders to meet its obligations going forward so that our stores continue to be competitive for customers in terms of goods, services and the shopping experience. It also affords Borders the opportunity to move forward in implementing the appropriate business strategy designed to reposition Borders to be a potentially vibrant, national retailer of books and other products,” Mr. Edwards emphasized.”

How would you like a cheaper mini-me version of the Apple iPhone? If so, you could have one in your hands possibly by this summer.

Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are among the media outlets jumping on the bandwagon to report Apple may be preparing to release a new iPhone this summer that is smaller and lighter than the current iPhone4 – possibly up to one-third smaller. Those who claim to have seen the small iPhone say it has an edge-to-edge touch screen, along with the virtual keyboard you would expect and voice-based navigation features.

June is the expected release date, which makes sense since that is when the newest iPhone would be released based on past Apple release dates. Most analysts also expect the iPhone 4 to be updated or replaced with iPhone 5. Per usual, Apple is silent on the speculation.

Cost? The small iPhone could carry a small price tag too. Currently, with a phone carrier subsidy, consumer can purchase an iPhone starting at $199 with a two-year contract with AT&T or Verizon. But the tiny iPhone could be cheap enough that carriers may be able to subsidize the whole thing and offer for free to consumers – with the pre-requisite two-year contract, which allows carriers to recoup their investment and then some.

Another possibility is that Apple will make its MobileMe file-storage and music service free to all customers. That would mean users could store files on a cloud rather than take up valuable memory space on their iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. Free MobileMe storage would also make it easier for Apple to produce a smaller version of the iPhone, since it won’t need storage capacity.

The free HeyTell app delivers push-to-talk features to the iPhone and Android smart phones, mimicking Sprint Nextel services and products.

Instead of dialing, texting or e-mailing, just tap the “Hold and Speak” button to make a walkie-talkie-like phone call on the iPhone.

Technically speaking, HeyTell is a cross-platform voice messenger. You don’t need an account to use and it works over 3G, Edge and WiFi networks.

HeyTell users can send and receive voice messages with a single tap. The developer claims voice messages are sent faster than SMS messages-  and without a fee – and data usage is less than e-mails. Check out the HeyTell video presentation.

Available for free at iTunes and the Android Market.

Electronic Arts shook the gaming world by announcing the shut down of servers for its popular Lord of the Rings and Sims Carnival gaming series, along with select Madden and Nascar titles – and reminded all consumers that no offer lasts forever.

Each year EA lists as shut down list, but this year seemed to sting a bit more for loyal gamers who lose the chance to play franchise games, such as the Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II and Sims Carnival. It’s also surprising to see relatively new games, such as Madden 09 and Nascar 09, get the axe. The 2010 versions will continue, but for how long?

The gaming bloodshed began in January and ends March 1. To be fair, EA supported Lord of the Rings for about five years, and it is expensive to keep these games alive.

An online apology from EA, which has suffered recent financial losses and workforce layoffs, states: As background information, the EA sports games scheduled for shutdown in February and March 2011 represent roughly 1 percent of all peak online players across all EA titles. Despite some people’s perception, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these older games up and running. We would rather our hard-working engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99 percent of customers playing our more popular games. These decisions to retire games is never easy. The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage.

The point is: When it comes to gaming, get used to change.

What do you say? Are you surprised by EA’s shut down list?

Today Verizon opened its store doors – and online shelves – and began hawking its version of the Apple iPhone, the first in the U.S. not to be tied to the AT&T network.

The company opened stores early at 7 a.m. in anticipation of sales, with some stores sending out representatives at 5 a.m. to hand out numbers to people already in line. Best Buy and Walmart also began selling the Verizon iPhone at select stores across the country.

Verizon has some reason to expect high sales numbers. The company has reported that consumer interest for the iPhone has been greater than for any of its other smart phones, including the Motorola Droid and Droid X, according to the New York Times. And Verizon sold out all of the iPhones it had available for pre-orders.

Did you get one? Let us know in the comments section or in an e-mail to dvasquez@sunsentinel.com whether you stood in line today or opened your mail to receive the new Verizon iPhone? Many of us would like to know whether it was worth the wait – and cost.

Still considering buying one today? Check out my previous Consumer Talk post on what you should know to buy one.

The Verizon iPhone 4 lands across America on Thursday, but here is what you need to know if you live in South Florida and want to get your hands on one:

Verizon: All Verizon Wireless stores will open early to accommodate anticipated demand for the first non-AT&T iPhone.  Beginning at 5 a.m. Verizon store representatives will pass out numbers to any customers who have waited in line before the store opens. Stores open early, at 7 a.m., and will close at 9 p.m.

Apple: You can also order a Verizon iPhone 4 from the Apple Online Store today and have it shipped free to your door or have it available for pick up at a store. On Thursday, Apple store will open at 7 a.m. and the Verizon iPhone 4 (as well as the AT&T version) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Walmart and Best Buy: The Verizon iPhone 4 will be sold at 600 select Walmart stores at the in-store wireless areas, and will carry the same $199 starting price for the 16GB model. You should be able to also choose from a variety of accessories, including cases and car chargers. Call your local Walmart store today to find out whether it will carry the Verizon iPhone 4 on Thursday. Or check with your local Best Buy store, as Best Buy will also offer the Verizon version of the iPhone.

AT&T announced today new unlimited mobile phone to mobile phone calls without extra charges, a perk for customers with qualifying voice and messaging plans which the company will begin offering free on Thursday.

The news released from AT&T today means customers can enjoy unlimited mobile calling to any mobile number in America.  The Unlimited Mobile to Any Mobile plan is available to AT&T customers with an unlimited messaging plan and a qualifying voice plan. Qualifying voice plans are: Nation 450 & 900 Voice Plan, as well as, FamilyTalk Nation 700 & Higher Voice Plan.

If you subscribe or sign up for those plans, you qualify.

Existing (and again, qualifying) customers can activate Mobile to Any Mobile by visiting www.att.com/anymobile. The URL will not work until Thursday.

From AT&T: “Mobile to Any Mobile is an exciting offer that will keep our customers connected to the people they want to talk to, when they want to talk to them, without the hassle of watching minutes,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We’re giving customers more options and even better value.  And when you include Rollover Minutes, a benefit available exclusively from AT&T that lets customers keep their unused minutes for all domestic calls, including to landline numbers, it’s clear that AT&T offers the most flexibility in the industry.”

More info: Unlimited messaging is available for $20 per month on an individual plan and $30 per month for a FamilyTalk Plan, which allows for up to five lines.

We all know about the federal Do Not Call List – and how telemarketers, debt collectors and others tend to violate our rights not to be harassed by phone. Now new apps allows users to file complaints directly to the Federal Trade Commission directly from an iPhone, Blackberry or Android smart phone.

Talk about popularity: First Orion, the makers of an app called PrivacyStar, announced today that users have already filed more than 100,000 complaints with the FTC. For iPhone users, check out Do Not Call, which also helps you register with the national Do Not Call Registry and file complaints against telemarketers and others for violations.

Of course, you can always register with the National Do Not Call Registry on your own to avoid unwanted calls or report violators by calling 1-888-382-1222 or visiting www.donotcall.gov. The National Do Not Call Registry gives you an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls you receive. Once you register your phone number, telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry have up to 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you.

What do they do? Both the PrivacyStar and Do Not Call apps allows consumers to file Do Not Call telemarketing and debt collection violations to the FTC straight from their phone. When unwanted calls come in to your phone, both apps capture all the necessary call information for filing a complaint and send it along with any comments from you in a report to the FTC. All consumer complaint data is fed into Consumer Sentinel, the secure database available to more than 1,800 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad involved in consumer protections.

From First Orion: “With an estimated 150 million telemarketing calls being made daily in the United States and of those, as many as 20 percent may be Do Not Call violations, we knew there was a growing need for the PrivacyStar reporting function, but did not expect it to take off as it has,” said Jeff Stalnaker, CEO of First Orion. “We are now averaging over 10,000 complaints filed per month and the response from customers has been amazing.”

In addition to the reporting features, PrivacyStar offers the following capabilities:

Call Blocking – Block individual numbers, entire area codes, all private or unknown numbers and wildcard characters

SMS Text Message Blocking – Block SMS text messages

Caller ID – While the phone is ringing, PrivacyStar displays the name of the calling party.

Caller Lookup – Identify unknown callers by name and take appropriate action, such as adding to the contacts list.

Do Not Disturb – Forwards all non blocked incoming calls to voicemail and sends a custom text message acknowledging the call.

Pricing and Availability: PrivacyStar for Android and BlackBerry smartphones is available for a free 7-day trial period. For continued service, PrivacyStar is available for $2.99 per month or for discounted semi-annual and annual periods. Consumers can add PrivacyStar to their monthly mobile phone bill from most of the major mobile phone providers. PrivacyStar is available at BlackBerry App World, Android Market and www.privacystar.com.

Do Not Call for iPhone is very similar, allowing easy registration with the Do Not Call Registry and automatic capturing of phone call information that can easy be passed on for an FTC complaint. And, again, you can add your own comments.

Pricing and Availability: Do Not Call costs 99 cents and is available at iTunes.

Dating someone new is tough enough without having to worry about your personal safety – and a new iPhone app provides piece of mind, alerting friends and family when you get home or when you are missing in action.

The new myDate Tracker Alert app for iPhone makes it easy to set-up a network of friends and family who will receive text and e-mail alerts should you not make it back from your date at a time specified in advance by you. Think of it as having the protection of a parent’s watchful eye – without having a real parent nag you.

How does it work? Log into the app and provide details of your upcoming date, including where, when and – most importantly – contact information for the person you are going out with. You also choose a check-in time, the time you expect to be back home alone. Once you get home, you log back into the app and check-in. All done. But if you don’t “check in,” text and e-mail alerts are sent to your list of emergency contacts, including the details of your date and who you are with. That way, if something goes wrong, you’ll have loved ones on your trail as soon as possible.

Don’t worry, if your dates goes well and you stay out longer than expected, you can always log into the app and change the check-in time. Also, you can cancel the whole thing if your date never shows up.

Now get back out there and look for Mr. or Mrs. right, and be safe about it.

For more information, check out the Date Tracker Alert Website.

Verizon iPhone 4 pre-orders for existing customers sold out in less than 24 hours, the company reports. The good news is other Verizon customers – as well as the general public – will have a shot at another round of pre-orders next week.

The company’s Website was inundated with customers wanting to be first to get their hands on the first non-AT&T iPhone, which bodes well for Verizon and Apple.

And for Verizon customers who missed out, you’ll be able to order an iPhone 4 beginning at 3:01 a.m. Wednesday, February 9, the day before the iPhone 4 will be sold to the public online and at Verizon and Apple stores. Non-Verizon customers will, however, have a chance to pre-order too on Feb. 9. Beginning  at 7 a.m. that day, the general public will be able to pre-order through Apple’s online to be possibly be picked up the next day at a local store or to be delivered later at home.

Want more information? Call Verizon at 1-800-2 JOIN IN or Apple at 1-800-MY-APPLE.