Tips Tuesday: Send Your Kids Back to School with the Best Suited Device for Them

As August is coming to a close, friends and family are trying to catch their last 'fun in the sun' moments before summer officially ends, and school begins. In light of it being back-to-school month, and having the added stresses that come along with that, I wanted to share a resourceful article with great information about picking the right device that fits your youngsters needs. The article is titled "How to Pick the Right Back-to-School Computer for Your Kid." Check it out to see some suggestions regarding which computers are best for kids of different ages. 

Photo Credit: www.imore.com

Not only is picking the right device important, but choosing the right support to go along with that technology is also key. With so many consumers turning to mobile and portable devices, the best way to respond to troubleshooting, diagnosing problems, and how-to support questions is to utilize light-weight and intuitive self-help options such as Virtual Agents. 

Since the kids of this generation are growing up in a technology driven society (also referred to as the App Generation), it is inevitable that they will utilize their devices in school settings. Parents need to know how to pick the right one, and teachers need to learn how to incorporate the kids identity with technology and use it in their curriculum. "Born after 1990, members of this generation have been surrounded and immersed to an unprecedented degree by technology: laptops, tablets, smartphones, handheld devices of every size and shape. Unlike so-called digital immigrants, they cannot remember a less technological era; indeed, unlike every previous generation, most of them do not know what it is like the be lost" (The App Generation: How Technology is Changing Us). 

What devices work best for your family's needs? Do they like the kid-friendly touchscreens or the more advanced software for performance?
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Virtual Agents Enhance the Customer Experience within Handheld Devices

Lately, there has been much news about trusted brands expanding product lines to include mobile devices, as well as consolidation among vendors. Top PC manufacturers are starting to realize that to stay a competitor in the industry they need to branch out to the tablet, smartphone, and wearable device markets. For example, Lenovo recently acquired Motorola Mobility from Google with the desire to strengthen its position in the smartphone market (Lenovo to Acquire Motorola Mobility from Google). Also, Dell has been reaching beyond PC’s to solidify its stake in the tablet and mobile arena. Big name companies are also preparing for the wearable device boom. Intel jumped on the wearable train and acquired Basis Science, a provider of high-end fitness trackers, along with a few other companies that specialize in wearable tech (Intel Buys Fitness Band Maker Basis Science). Amazon's recent announcement of a smartphone, further validates the demand for not only mobile devices, but enforces the consumer desire for streaming media on the go. 

While Virtual Agents are known for the ability to troubleshoot issues and answer questions about desktops and laptops, they are also flexible enough to live on handheld devices. Their lightweight characteristics give them the ability to adapt to almost all environments. In fact, noHold's CEO has talked about a future where websites take a more proactive approach and begin by asking the visitor a question first; comparable to a concierge style Virtual Agent.

Do you see the future of websites (via PC’s or mobile devices) being more proactive, intuitive and interactive? Will trusted brands start using this concierge-like approach to seamlessly guide users through their websites? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.   

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The Future of Wearable Technology…for Kids!

Kids in the 21^st century are getting accustomed to technology at much younger ages. "Around one quarter of children aged 12– 15 (26%) and 18% aged 8-11 have their own tablet computer, while household ownership of a tablet has more than doubled since 2012 (51% vs. 20%). Use of a tablet computer at home has tripled among 5-15's since 2012 (42% vs.14%) while one-quarter (28%) of 3-4's use a tablet computer at home" (Digital Kids: how children are using devices, apps and media in 2013). With such compelling statistics about the use of technology among children, Leapfrog has decided to venture into the wearable technology market. They already create apps and tablets focusing on education, but the LeapBand is a similar concept to adult fitness bands (i.e. FitBit, Jawbone, Nike Fuel Band, etc.), encouraging play/ healthy living habits for children.

As mentioned in the video above, Trying Out Leapfrog LeapBand, a Fitness Band for Kids, the LeapBand is an interactive “fitness gadget” for children ages 4 to 7 with 50 games and challenges such as “walk like a crab” or “spin like a helicopter.” Once an activity is completed, new games and “virtual pets” are unlocked on the device. Another feature, designed for the parents, is the ability to monitor your child’s activities and control what challenges they can and cannot do.

Children are exposed to technology use all the time. In a technology driven era, children are sometimes expected to know how to use these devices. (Tablets in the classrooms, smartphones, etc.) Providing them with a popular technology that also promotes physical activity is a great way to support healthy lifestyles later on in their adult years, while learning the ins and outs of using different technologies.

Can the worries of parents about their children not getting enough exercise or outdoor activity due to technology now be put to rest? Do you think we should embrace the use of technology for our children?

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Mayday!!!

     This year, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablets came in at number 8 on the best tablets of 2013 from techradar.com. With the success of Kindle tablets, just recently Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire HDX. Among many other unique features, one of the most intriguing is the customer support option provided by clicking on the "Mayday" button. Once you push the button, a live support representative will pop up on your screen in the form of video chat. You can see the representative, but the representative cannot see you. However, the customer support agent does have the ability to see your screen, control your tablet, and draw arrows or lines on your screen to point you in the right direction. Though this seems like a great idea, it might run into a few problems with consumers and also with the company, Amazon.  

     Are people going to feel comfortable allowing a live person access into their tablet and having the ability to make changes? Privacy is at the top of everyone's list when dealing with personal devices and data security. Employees using the Mayday button at work allow support representatives access into company networks and data, which increases the potential of security breaches.

     Another factor to address...is it cost effective? How much will it cost the company per video chat for a live person to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer support questions... or to answer prank calls? Having an automated support representative to answer customer questions decreases the cost of support, while increasing customer satisfaction. 

     What do you think about Kindle's new Mayday feature? Do you think the benefits of a live support agent outweigh the cost? 

Throwback Thursday: Tablets taking Over the Industry!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

With the holidays fast approaching, I’m seeing a bunch of articles talking about how Tablets are going to out sell PCs for the first time.  This got me thinking about when the first tablet was introduced to the world of technology and when did they start to gain popularity.

Photo Credit: EdibleApple

I think the most commonly known tablet is the iPad, but did you know Apple had created a tablet before that in 1979! It was called a Graphics Tablet. The main feature of this tablet was to be able to draw a design with a stylus and be able to transfer that image to your computer; this was before Photoshop was around of course.  Original asking price? $650!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

iPaq was also a trendy device in the early 2000’s. This personal “pocket PC” was created by Compaq until Hewlett-Packard acquired them. This tablet used a Windows Mobile interface. Check out the photo of the personal digital assistants (PDA) on the right.

How many people remember the Palm Pilot? Before Smartphone’s were around, people needed a way to manage and store information such as phone numbers, addresses, to-do lists, calendars, etc. The Palm Pilot was capable of all those things, but had the convenience of being compacted into portable device.

Photo Credit: Home Toys

Another popular device that received a lot of attention before the tablets of 2010 was the convertible laptop to tablet. The screen of the laptop could swivel around and convert into a tablet.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Tablets that are popular today (i.e. iPad) have not been on the market for too long. The first iPad was introduced in 2010, only 3 years ago. They have gained popularity quickly and the demand for tablets to growing. Employees are starting to bring their tablets to work, instead of working from a PC. And some schools are providing tablet use for the students in their libraries.(BYOD phenomenon!) Today, there are tons of top companies that produce tablets. Apple has the iPad, but shortly after the release of the iPad came the Samsung Galaxy Note, Google Nexus, Sony Xperia, and more. 

Photo Credit: Digitaltrends

With so many developers of tablets, consumers are sending in thousands of questions wanting to know what tablet bests suits them or ask technical support questions. Having a Virtual Agent to answer your customers questions will increase sales and customer satisfaction, while lowering costs.

Adding QR codes to the tablet packaging which will bring up a Virtual Agent on your phone will enhance the customer experience and encourage customers to purchase the device that fits his or her needs confidently. This will also give you a step up on competitors. To find out more about QR codes and Virtual Agents, view "How to Increase Sales by Providing a Great Customer Experience That is Easy To Socialize."

What's your favorite tablet? How do you get shopping advice and support on your device? Have a great week!

Photo Credit: memecenter

Throwback Thursday: Virtual Agents Integrating with Video Games?

I was looking for some Throwback Thursday photos to share today and I stumbled across a couple that caught my eye. How many people remember using a Macintosh like the one below? Here is a picture of a Macintosh model computer, circa 1984.

Image Credit: http://oldcomputers.net

Check out the floppy disk reader attached to the front of the computer screen! This brings back so many memories of playing "Oregon Trail" and other video games via floppy disks. Now a days, our phones (which are sleeker and smaller than computers) act as our computers. All you have to do to get a video game is go to the virtual "App Store" on your phone and buy a game in the palm of your hand...LITERALLY! Compared to video games from a decade ago, newer video games are much more interactive and have the ability to communicate with Artificial Intelligence. Here is a snapshot of a video game we all loved to play as  kids, Rad Racer circa 1987!

Image Credit: gamefaqs.com

Today, interactive video games, engaging life-like characters and virtual worlds are the norm. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, imagine what new capabilities video games and/or computers/tablets can achieve in just a few years from now. Maybe an interactive Virtual Agent implemented in your video game to answer questions, or become your virtual buddy? The possibilities are endless.

Have a great week!