Tag: paid reviews

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Palm Pre Plus Review

Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pre Plus Review, Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, verizon

Maybe you have seen all the UBER (yes, I said UBER) promotions for the Palm Pre Plus? I hadPalm Pre Plus, Palm Pre Plus Review, Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, verizon actually only heard of the Palm Pre before I actually received¹ my phone. Completely unaware of all the capabilities, functionality, fun, and the sheer ease of use with the Palm Pre Plus.

First and foremost the Palm Pre Plus is a smart phone. For those of you who are really unsure of what a “smart phone” may be (because really I had no idea until I bought a smart phone); a smart phone is a mobile phone with PC like operating capabilities. In a nut shell your phone is a pocket laptop.

Now as  a smart phone, or pocket PC owner, the first thing to be done other than allowing the battery to completely die and begin charging, is to check for updates.  While I should have known to update my phone and the OS installed on the phone, I made the “assumption” that the phone was current and up to date. I mean why roll out a BRAND NEW phone that you have to install updates to right? (*cough Microsoft) I found my phone needed an update thanks to Twitter. A quick conversation using my #verizonpalmpreplus hash-tag and VOILA! An angel of my friends swoops in to tell me to update my operating system to receive the newest capabilities.

Secondly your phone will have a set amount of storage, memory, etc. Be sure to check your total gig (if any) of storage to determine if your phone will have the capability to handle document storage, pictures, videos, the multiple functions you carry out on your phone. The Palm Pre Plus is a 16GB phone even with the installation of the operating system. The amount of storage allows me to take plenty of pictures, save documents (including PDF’s), and archive my email in the event I want ALL of my email saved to my phone.

Third, be sure that your phone is compatible with your PC or the PC you will be using to back up your information. Since many of us are on the go, we conduct a great deal of business, personal, and miscellaneous transactions on our phones. I personally have all my emails synced on my phone, my calendars, not to mention pictures and fun videos of my kids. Most phones do come with an installation disc for your PC while others simply require that drivers be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. In the case of the Palm Pre Plus, I downloaded drivers and saved my photos, ring-tones, and videos in the unfortunate event my phone becomes inoperable. In addition to backing up your vital information, you can update and sync all your calendars together with Outlook, Google, Facebook and more!

Palm Pre Plus, Verizon WirelessWith your smart phone being a PC in your pocket, you want your phone to multi-task. I found with my Blackberry this was nearly IMPOSSIBLE! One. Thing. At. A. Time. Which is fine if I was not on the go, dealing with the kids, making dinner and trying to Tweet. Basically, this scenario was never fine!

The Palm Pre Plus allows for the multitasking like a PC. For example, I was talking with my mother the other day on the phone. We were discussing the Celtic Woman concert I am taking her to for Mother’s Day. While speaking with her I was able to minimize the touch screen dial pad on the phone, open my calendar and tell her exactly what time and the day the concert was held. Whereas if I were on my Blackberry I would have had to tell her I would call her back with the details.

The Palm Pre Plus from Verizon is very simple to use. No thick books or manuals to walk you through the functions. Much like a PC with a user friendly layout, operating system, and superior HELP capabilities the Palm Pre Plus is a great choice for any mom or adult on the go who needs multitasking capabilities.

¹ I received a Palm Pre Plus on behalf of Verizon Wireless as part of their campaign to promote the Palm Pre Plus. In no way was my opinion or view of the phone swayed by this factor, my opinion is purely informational as an opinion from a consumer and should be considered as such.
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Palm Pre Touch

Palm Pre Plus, Verizon Wireless

Since the creation of the iPhone touch screen technology is EVERYWHERE. I had a second generation touch phone from Samsung and when I first got the phone I was thrilled, the touch was so exciting. But then the touch became an issue for me, I could not stand to use the phone. At times when I would be talking on the phone and I would rest on my shoulder the touch would have a life of it’s own. At my earliest opportunity I found a way to get a new phone, so I ran toward a Blackberry for the fact it was NOT a touch and has all the capabilities I needed as a busy woman and mom of three.

Palm Pre Plus, Verizon WirelessBut then I was introduced to the Palm Pre Plus from Verizon Wireless. I do admit I was very leery and hesitant of the phone because it is a touch. I told myself I would not get attached to the phone, I would not like the phone, I would avoid falling in love with the phone. Admittedly I lied to myself.

The touch of the Palm Pre Plus is very precise. Upon touching the screen, the touch response graphics resembles a water drop into a pond. No miss touches, no slips, no mistakes for the touch option. In the event you touch the screen to touch an application or option and you do not touch it dead center the correct application you are looking to operate in the PalmOS will open or nothing will happen. Now the “nothing will happen” is a HUGE plus to me.

I had a touch phone previously that when I touched the screen and it was not precise, it would just decide “Oh hey let’s open this application or option.” Which generally meant NOT the option or application I chose. I enjoy and completely appreciate the fact that Palm allows for a certain level of human error.

Furthermore the touch scroll is controllable. Again the problem with “traditional” touch is when scrolling, the screen would either creep at a snails pace or the screen would scroll so fast and out of hand you would have to creep at a snails pace to reach your destination. The Palm Pre Plus scrolls easily and in the event if the screen is scrolling a bit too fast you can grab it and slow it down allowing the user to find their destination and what they need.

What else is great about the Palm Pre Plus is that the screen goes into a sleep mode when speaking on the phone so that the user does not accidentally touch the screen and options sending the phone into an operating tizzy. The screen also reappears upon movement if removing phone from ear to allow for hangup or dial pad use. However, the screen does go right back into sleep mode again in the event the user is not finished with the call.

If you were like me and have lost faith in the touch screen; have a little faith in the Palm Pre Plus with the responsive, error buffer, and ease of use for operation.

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Palm Pre Apps

Palm Pre Plus Apps
Taking a day long excursion most parents or some responsible adults will plot out the plan of action for meals, budgeting how much to spend on meals, and whether or not to to eat before reaching a destination to avoid eating out and incurring the expense of dining at a restaurant.
Our trip to Legoland was basically the scenario where we would eat before we reached the park to avoid the expense and high cost of eating at a theme park, however our planning failed with finding a place to eat. As you may know, theme parks are rather expensive for dining options. Our family was looking for the typical fast food chain type restaurant to grab a quick bite before venturing into the land of Lego’s.
We drove for miles on Cannon Road in Carlsbad, searching aimlessly for some signs of life that suggested “Eat Unhealthily Here.” Finally when The Chad said, “I’m turning here and we will just have to hope for someplace to eat.” I had a beautiful epiphany. As if a higher power spoke to me and said, “Karie, you bafoon, pick up your Palm Pre Plus.” Because right at that moment I realized and said out loud, “Oh crap, I have an app for that!”
Palm Pre Plus Apps
An App for That
Yes. While on our six hour tour out to San Diego I browsed the app catalog that is installed on my Verizon Wireless Palm Pre Plus. I found a ‘Send my Location’ app which is a GPS locator for where ever in the world I may be, coordinating my longitude and latitude and or physical address depending on which I prefer and the app shows me on a map here I am located.
The second app I found was ‘Fandango’ because I cannot tell you how many times I have had date night with the hubs and we originally plan just dinner for date night and later decide, “Hey let’s get a movie!” So yes, there is an app for that too. You can search movie times as well as purchase your tickets with the app and walk right in to see your movie.
Finally, the best and most important app that I downloaded was the ‘Good Food’ app which tells you the name of all the “Good Food” restaurants in your GPS coordinated location.
Can I tell you this app totally saved us!
The kids were starving, we were getting cranky and ready to take them for the time of their lives at Legoland when ‘Good Food’ told us of a great little cafe style restaurant outside of Legoland that had EXCEPTIONAL food and over the top fabulous service. Truly the staff was wonderful at Bobby’s Hideaway Cafe and I am ever so thankful for the app on the Verizon Wireless Palm Pre Plus that directed us to the gem in the middle of strawberry country. Big thanks to the staff at Bobby’s who were awesome and I highly recommend their Beefeater with coleslaw, the slaw is made with fresh cabbage, thinly sliced apples, and cranberries. Needless
to say the Palm Pre Plus app called ‘Good Food’ really meant GOOD FOOD!
The apps on the Palm Pre Plus are easy to download and easy to remove as well all within a touch. Download happens within an instant as well as the install making the app ready to use and available on the navigation menu. So if you are wondering if there is an app for that, if you search you are likely to find that there is an app or you can create your own.
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Palm Pre Mobile HotSpot

Palm Pre

Palm Pre

Upon receiving the Verizon Wireless Palm Pre Plus I knew the phone had lots of features. No let me restate that, LOTS of features, seemingly unlimited capabilities in a phone. I knew of the online web surfing option, a Facebook app, and other data features I had seen with my Blackberry Curve. However, one feature that I was told about by the Verizon staff was that the Palm Pre Plus has a feature called the Mobile Hotspot. Okay, do tell, as I am not as tech savvy as my husband, I need a bit more explaining. Basically the phone turns into a wireless hub, port, connection, a wifi hotspot for up to five users or computers. You can also make this a secure or open connection just as you would with a wireless connection in your home.

EEGADS!
IT DOES?
SWEET!
Or so I thought.
Our trip to San Diego was a perfect opportunity to test out the Palm Pre Plus Mobile Hotspot. After we got out of town and the kids were entertained or fast asleep I decided to pull out my laptop to get some blog posts done. I grabbed my Palm Pre Plus and began to look through my navigation menu. The only option available was a Wifi icon. This was not the mobile hotspot option. So I began to Google on the phone to find the name of the app. Only after spending roughly two hours and nearly draining my battery I found a decent article that stated how the mobile hotspot works on the Palm Pre Plus. Here is what Verizon DID NOT tell me:
  1. You must pay a $35 activation fee for the 3G (or is it now 4G?) service capability to make the phone a mobile hotspot for the Wifi capability. This fee then notifies your account of the available hotspot app. However this option is FREE only with the Palm Pre phone, the activation fee applies to all other phones.
  2. You must then search through the THOUSANDS of apps in the app catalog for the Palm Mobile Hotpost specific app. Or as I did….update your operating system….AFTER you spent countless wasted hours searching needlessly.
  3. Only after paying the activation fee, searching endlessly for the app, you must yet again pay another fee. Yes, I did say you have to pay another fee, another $40 per month for what Verizon calls the Mifi. (Minus the former Mifi card that came with the service since your phone is now the air card per se.) However, again, what Verizon does not disclose is that this fee is waived for all Palm Pre Plus owners since this is a feature ONLY to this phone.
I was HIGHLY annoyed and frustrated at the lack of communication in part from Verizon regarding the Palm Pre mobile hotspot capability. Fantastic my phone can dial space but if I don’t pay the tolls and fees to talk to aliens then the option is fairly moot correct? More or less my annoyance was due to the fact that I was TOLD that I already had the mobile hotspot on my phone which meant I “assumed” I could use my phone for Wifi on the road and I could
post wonderful blog fodder.
All in all I am extremely happy with the phone, however, I am a bit disappointed that the Verizon Wireless staff failed to mention the fine print of fees and activation IN ORDER to make the phone a mobile hotspot at the time that I had activated the phone. Plus the mobile hotspot does have a data limit of 5MB for your usage, unless you have the unlimited data plan, so be sure to check with your provider to see what your data limit may be. In the event you are looking to game or do anything other than maybe check your email you will more than likely go OVER your data usage thus resulting in additional fees and charges and waiting until your next billing cycle to renew your data limit. But again, totally happy and satisfied with Verizon Wireless and the Palm Pre Plus, just disappointed with the communication at the store level.
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Saved by a Palm

No not that palm.
This Palm.

The Palm Pre Plus saved my life this week. Not literally in that it is not a secret defibrillator, though I am sure there is an app for that, but for the last week I have been terribly ill. I mean I was hacking a lung, running a fever of over 100 degrees, not pretty, all I wanted to do was sleep. The last thing I really wanted to do was fire up my computer and blog, check my email, send a tweet all while sitting in front of my laptop. I had no desire. But I knew I was receiving emails in my inbox, PTO, bills, blog giveaway entries and winners, I had to be able to read these emails, respond, and or forward important information.

Had I not had the capability of email on my Palm Pre Plus, had I not had the Synergy capability that syncs my emails, my calendars, my notes, everything I use on my laptop in Outlook I would be so behind. More so than I already am, but I am glad I was able to respond to my email recipients and read important emails with ease and without having to fire up my laptop. All while laying on my couch sulking in my misery of being sick. I know….rough life huh? In all seriousness the email capability is so seamless, streamlined and easy to access in the Palm Pre Plus.

Oh I also need to add that since the hubs works from home too I use Google talk to message him during the day. “What do you want for lunch?” “Dinner?” Or a quick may-day to tell him I am drowning with the twins. So while being sick, trying to maneuver to his office to tell him I need help or need something as close to impossible as well. The Palm Pre Plus has a messenger option too through SMS text and Google talk. I just logged in my Google account and VOILA! I can message right from my phone, again without firing up my laptop thus again making my life so much easier as a mom and a business woman.

*The Five Fish, Karie Herring, received a Palm Pre Plus on behalf of Verizon Wireless to review and share my experience with the phone. In no way has the review influenced my opinion of the product, my review is my opinion about the product.

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My Newest Love Affair

The new touch phones over the last year have been ALL the craze! The iPhone seemed to set the standard for touch technology but really…..I thought the iPhone as a bit of an over-glorified touch screen Blackberry. I had a Blackberry actually. I say HAD but I still have the phone…because this baby….yes THIS IS my new baby.

Yes ladies and gentlemen.
That beautiful piece of technology is my newest love affair. The Verizon Wireless Palm Pre Plus.

Now this phone is what my mother would tell me is “Fancy Schmancy” and she actually, did, say this, the day I got it. While I was on an adrenaline high to play with it I was a bit taken back. I felt uncomfortable, awkward at best using the device. I mean this is truly like a laptop in your purse or pocket or in your hand. I thought later as I as fumbling with it and figuring out all the fun features that the Palm Pre Plus is like my fabulous pair of Ralph Lauren pumps. I just needed to break in the feel, the gait, get used to the contour and after just a single wear, I look like I was born to wear this phone…err shoes.

What is truly fabulous about this phone thus far though is all the multi-tasking. You can have an app open and then minimize it on the phone itself and if you want…make a call. Tweet. (Of COURSE that was the first app I installed sillies) Best of all the organization, which is what we mom’s need, a bit more structure and organization to our chaotic life with kids.

But I am still figuring out all the features. Which can I tell you there are features GALORE. If you want to be organized this is the phone for you. I won’t say too much because I am still learning for myself so stay tuned as I share my journey with you all the features, fun, and capabilities of the Palm Pre Plus on behalf of Verizon Wireless.

*I was provided the Palm Pre Plus to review including one month of service and service upgrade to fully review all the features, capabilities, options, pros and cons of the phone. I already had service with Verizon Wireless in order to be eligible for this promotion.

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The Perfect Gift with Taylor Gifts

Valentine’s Day is upon us and I for one am not a fan of the holiday but as a woman, I take full advantage of the fact that my husband bears gifts on this day. So I was perusing various gifts as I am a practical woman, I like for items to last. Flowers die. Chocolate is gluttonous. Cards can be recycled. I want a tangible items that I can see each and everyday and know that my love bought me something that I can use for my passions.

My passions right, what exactly are my passions. If you read my Monday posts you know that my passion is food. Hands down, food is one of my main passions. I love to cook, I am a pâtissier and I pride myself in my culinary desserts and meals. I think the easiest dessert that I recently had the pleasure to make was creme brulee. I knew that the dessert would be impossible for me, I thought I was bound to destroy the warm custard. However, I lucked out and the end result was magnificent, minus the fact that I did not have a creme brulee torch to give the custard the sugary, golden, crusty coat.


I did make do with my oven on broil while I hovered to be sure that the sweet goodness did not boil over or burn. In the end, I found that the dessert would not be impossible for me and that next time I needed to have the finishing tool for the job. As for any job you cannot expect to show up without that ONE item. So I am sure to “hint” to The Chad how I would love a creme brulee torch not only for creme brulee but also for my flambe dishes and my reduction dishes as they require fire and when you have an electric cook top, fire is a bit hard to come by.

While this gift may seem completely off the wall, I find it completely practical, functional, a sign of true love that my man can gift me fire for Valentine’s. You know a man is a keeper when he can gift you fire and knives for a holiday.

What will you ask for this Valentine’s Day? Are you the hopeless romantic who swoons for flowers, chocolates and cards? Or are you the more practical gift recipient for gifts that last and are functional are the sure fire way to your heart?

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Cold and Flu Tracker and Triaminic

Winter is such a dreaded season for parents. The cold. The wet. The snow. The blistering winds that seem to cut through you like ice, and that is just the complaints from the adults. Our poor kids must really feel the weather with their small bodies, and we know they do, the runny noses, coughs, sniffles, the symptoms seem to go on and on.

What else can a parent do other than do the best we can with making sure our kids are bundled up, hydrated, and with the cough, runny nose, and sniffles they might need a little extra care by taking an over the counter cough and cold medicine. A trusted brand my family uses for our kids is Triaminic.

Triaminic is great because we as parents no longer have to fight with the dosing of hard to pour and hard to dispense (getting our kids to swallow) over the counter cough and cold medicine. Triaminic has Thin Strips that are placed easily on your child’s tongue and dissolve almost immediately allowing your child to take medicine to help him or her feel better without the awful liquid medicine taste, and you can get a $1.50 off coupon. Plus, parents no longer will have the worry of dispensing too much or too little which has been a cause for concern. However, always be sure to read the warning label and directions when administering any medication to your child.

If you happen to really be dreading the cold and flu season and wonder how you can stay ahead of the next wave or better yet how to better protect your family? Triaminic also has a fabulous tool called the the Cold and Flu Tracker where you can track and see the current levels of infection of cold and flu in your area. Triaminic also offers other tools on the website such as sick day guidelines, cough and cold guide and more. Check it out now and see what your standings are, I checked mine for here and Phoenix and with our mild winter we have been lucky to see only a moderate range of folks with cough and cold symptoms. Definitely something I will keep an eye on with a child in school and toddling twins at home. Because once one of them is sick, we all seem to get sick and what fun is that?

Be sure to check out the cold and flu tracker and keep your family on the leading edge of the cough and cold season as well as other tools to help keep your family healthy this winter.

*This post is a sponsored post on behalf of We Speak Media and in no way influences the outcome of this post. I received no product in conjunction with this post, my stated opinion is based on my previous use of the product and is no way meant to be taken as FACT or as medical advice to treat and or cure disease.

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Savings in Online Shopping

Now days who really wants to sift through endless ads and drive from store to store when looking to compare shopping prices. When I set out to do any sort of shopping I am looking for a handful of factors in the ideal product with the main factor being price. I then look at comparable options from one product to the next, then availability, quality of the product, and again back to price.

The Chad and I had remodeled our kitchen roughly five years ago and I sorted through catalog after catalog and new home magazine after the next trying to build the perfect kitchen in my head. We finally came up with a fabulous idea for our kitchen and we set out to shop initially for the cabinets, and in hind sight probably should have shopped online first, but managed to settle at our local home improvement warehouse.The two of us also knew we have to stay within a budget so again, price was a factor in our purchases and project. But we also did not want to sacrifice quality in price.

However, the appliances were a completely different story than the cabinets, appliances were virtually everywhere online. We knew that a great deal of online stores carried a vast array of products and we sought out the best shopping deals around by first shopping online. I knew in my kitchen I wanted a built-in refrigerator, but built-in appliances could mean trouble if they broke as the cabinets may be damaged or cut into in the event of an unforeseen repair, thus increasing overall cost for a favored product. So I began to shop for traditional refrigerators and in my quest I came across my dream appliances.

I found everything from the small counter top appliances, to specialized products like built in wine-coolers and of course the mother of all appliances, I found my refrigerator with matching freezer, built-in wall oven, glass cook top, dishwasher, and of course a free-standing kitchen hood. My kitchen is definitely a shining light with the stainless steel free-standing kitchen hood, fullsize stand alone freezer and full size stand alone refrigerator.
By shopping online, we were able to find the best shopping deals, price compare to local stores, and we were able to determine our total savings and stay within our budget during the kitchen remodel.

Ever since our kitchen remodel I shop online first before I even leave the house to shop in a traditional store. I want to know I am getting the most for my dollar no matter what products I may be in the market to purchase. By shopping online I was able to save thousands of dollars on my appliances, so even if I can shop online and save even a fraction of that number I am more than satisfied.
*Sponsored post, however, all the content here within is my first hand experience and was not influenced in anyway by this post.

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Shopping for Mattresses with ShopNBC

Tax season is swiftly approaching which means some of those lucky recipients of a tax refund might be considering a major purchase. Long nights may be spent pondering what exactly to purchase; going to the mattresses as they say in The Godfather, sleeping on what to purchase with our refund.

The answer might be more obvious than you realize, by actually “sleeping” on your next purchase. A new bed, mattresses, a quality nights sleep is what anyone and everyone dream about. Nothing says good morning than a fully rested, comfortable nights sleep and the only way to achieve those results is with a quality mattress.
But who has time for shopping for mattresses? All the laying down and getting up, laying down and getting up can really tire out anyone. Well when The Chad and I were looking at mattress sets, we did just that, we went and laid down on the job. Testing out every mattress and maker we could find until we knew what was our perfect sleeper.

We found that the Serta Pillow top fit both of our needs personally in relation to back support and comfort; and financially in the affordability and the overall return on investment for a new bed and mattress set. Next we did price comparisons with local and online mattress dealers. The price differences were astonishing with the local dealers wanting almost two to three times as much as the online dealer, most specifically ShopNBC. Shipping and delivery then began to be factored in and we still found that prices were significantly more affordable online than with a local dealer.

So we did what any good couple does before making a purchase, we “went to the mattresses”, and slept on our plan of action. Our answer was clear when we woke the next morning, stiff, cranky, and yearning for that perfect night sleep. We bought our mattress online, scheduled our delivery and we even reviewed the various payment options available.

ShopNBC offers a QuickBuy option which is a one step (two step if you are not yet registered with ShopNBC) checkout option and if you want you can consider the various financing options available from three, six to 12 month special financing. Needless to say any objection we had about shopping online was met with open arms, and with the ease of use of the website gave us a peace of mind, we will be returning customers.