New accessories you will want for your new Samsung Galaxy S4

Here are a couple accessories you may just want to pick up for your Samsung S4. I got these at half price thanks to the deal Samsung is offering for registering your device on their site www.samsung.com. For each device I registered I received a 50% off code for anything in their store that was under $50. So here is what I picked up.

The out of phone charger comes with a spare battery and a charger that can also be used to charge the phone. I carry a portable charger as well but when you are charging 2 phones, one blue tooth a Wi-Fi hotspot and a tablet you can tax that charger, so for the price I couldn't beet the extra power. As both phones take the same battery I should be good to go for a few days without having to worry about having enough power.


The tectiles are the second version, these will work with any of Samsungs NFC devices, but the S4 will not work with the old tectiles. So far the aren't a lot of features you can use the tiles for but as with the first batch, more will be coming soon. I tried them out on my Nexus & it would recognize them but wouldn't change any of the settings. As I can not download the Samsung Tectiles app to my Asus tablet...Maybe tat will change as well or there may be an app that will allow the tiles to work on the tablet, but I haven't looked into that as of yet.. The day is still young.

So this is some helpful accessories that I thought I would pass along to you my readers. If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer them. I will do an update when and if I find a way to get these tiles to work with my Nexus 7. But if you have a nexus 7 and want NFC tags you can find them on just about any site that sells tech toys.


I am Ken "Duck" Geraths, a USCC Customer Crew member

New Videos coming this week

I will be recording some new videos this week. Most will be labeled "Beginner" as they will be for people that are new to the smartphone world. One easy way to tell them apart will be the beginner videos will be done on a black S4 and the advanced or normal videos will be on a white S4.


The beginner videos will start from the basic's, how to clear the screen, answer the phone and such. There has been a rush of people wanting and needing that. "Find a nitch, fill a nitch" as I always say. So start checking my YouTube page k1960g for videos coming soon.

History and mystery and my history

I have been a U.S. Cellular customer for over 9 years. For the most part I have been happy as a clam there was that time with the blackberry curve that still leaves me saying NEVER AGAIN. Over the years many things have changed in the phone world as have I. I went from using the most basic phone the "Phantom" to using the Samsung Galaxy S4, one of the most advanced phones out there. I have also gotten quite good at figuring them out. How to know what short cuts get you where and how to trouble shoot them.


A couple years ago my local store asked me if I would come sit in on their smartphone workshop. They wanted me there to help people with some questions that they were getting that they just weren't sure about. So I started showing up on the first Saturday of the month and helping out with questions and showing the customers how to do this and that on their phones. At this same time frame I started a cell phone help page on Facebook called "The Coffee Shop". The page has over a 100 members and is very active. Most things are not phone related as we have become a close nit family. But we do talk about things going on in the cell world. Now my cell phone store is about the same. I walk in there and they turn and see that's its me and they greet me and go back to what they were doing. Now you may say that they should greet me and see what I am there for, and you would be right...except. I have told them Over and over and over before they really understood I meant it. that when I come in I know what I am there for and if I really want something I will let them know, but that most of the time I am there to chit chat, and if I am there and there is a line...move me to the back of the line. This took about a year to complete but now they are all comfortable with this.



Now while all of this was going on I was being asked buy customers to meet with them outside of the smartphone workshop. Something that at first I was not sure I wanted to do. But as more and more people requested my help, I started to give into the idea that there was a real need. I started meeting people at Starbucks and teaching them how to get the most of their new device. AT&T found out about this and the next thing I knew they were sending me customers as well. Now I am meeting with clients 3 to 6 times a week. ranging from showing them how to just do the basics to how to make their phone their own.


So I decided that I need to put a name to this little business and what better than the one place I can not start my day without. So I named it "The Coffee Shop" and I model it after that. Friendly and fun, a place where all are welcome no matter their level of phone "Smartness" where the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Now the one catch is that the customers I have only are with me for a short time, as the learning curve is short. Once a person gets comfortable navigating the phone they will no longer need me. I'm good with that, and the sooner it happens the better job I am doing. I still get to meet some really great people and I hope some will remain friends for a long time yet to come. They also know when the step up to a new device where to come for questions.


But back to the beginning here, remember me saying that I had a bad taste in my mouth with Blackberry... well it was that bad experience that pushed me to android. I traded in my POS Blackberry Curve for a LG Apex. A low end android, perfect for starting off. Most people had many issues with this phone, I had one and was able to figure out how to fix it myself.... That's how it started. I then started jumping from phone to phone culminating to a 6 different phones in one year (last year). This year I am slowing down a bit, I don't need every phone that comes out no matter how cheap I can get them. (USCC lets you use a point system to not only push your upgrade date, but to purchase phones and accessories as well) I know most of the tricks and features of phones before the phone hits the street due to many friends that are as crazy about phone tech as me and the many blogs and video's that are out in the world today. I have been using Samsung devices for the last year and a half, I am not stuck on Samsung, I am using them because to me they are the most advanced and have the most features. There are phones out there I would be more than happy to own, HTC and LG both have a new super phone I would love to have, but my carrier doesn't have them at this time. I am not willing to switch to another just to get a phone, besides why switch to another carrier when you are so happy where you are at. I am not dissing the other carriers just stating that I am happy where I am at. I have a friend that works at AT&T that understands this and never try's to pressure me into switching.



So I guess what all this is about is me, me being happy at my place in time and looking forward to what comes next. I often wonder where all this will lead... And that is kind of the best part. It is leading somewhere and only time will tell.


I am Ken "Duck" Gearths and I am a USCC Customer Crew Member

Smartphone to the rescue

I leave the house for work 4 days a week at 4am. I ride my bike most days as the weather has improved. The other day I woke, showered and dressed for work as I always do. I then normally catch up on tech news that came out after I went to bed the night before, and on my Facebook page. So on that fateful day I headed to work on my bike, helmet on head light, tail light on. Pulling into the bike parking area I turned off my lights pull my lock out and reached in my pocket for my keys... They were gone. I reached for my wallet, it was also not there. So I knew they were both at home, no way to lock my bike (but I knew I could store it in the store for the day) and no way to pay for lunch. So I headed in for the work day wondering what I would do for lunch as I get hungry after working hard. Then I remembered I had my Samsung Galaxy S4 on my hip... I had hope. Sure enough I checked my Starbucks app on my phone and I had a balance that would allow me to pickup a sandwich. So when lunch time came I ran over and got a hot yummy sandwich using no money out of pocket as they were empty.


I don't have Google wallet setup on my phone as of yet and either is my local Starbucks, but as long as I have their app I am good. You might just want to think about setting up a backup plan such as the Starbucks app. One never knows when a brain fart will happen.

Screen protector review

I stopped into my local USCC store this Thursday with a few items I had left over from some of my older phones that I thought my good friends there could use. I had some left over screen protectors from a tablet and a Samsung Galaxy SII I no longer own. As it turned out they had a gift for me there as well, they wanted me to try out a screen protector on my Samsung Galaxy S4. Now I have mastered the art of applying screen protectors a few months back.. (yeah I know I'm a little slow). So when they asked if I wanted to try out the screen protector I was a little hesitant, for a couple reasons. One I had a few sitting at my house and two I really didn't want to purchase something I really didn't need. As it turns out they had a extra one in the back for some reason or another. I don't look a gift horse in the mouth Now this screen protector is made by Puregear and is called PureTEK It is an industrial strength protector for HD screens. Its not new to me, I have seen them but comes with a hefty price tag. It retails at the store for $29.99, which is the main reason I have never tried them before.


So as I watched Devon set my phone in the cradle clean and prepare the phone as I have done myself I was thinking that this was going to be just a gimmick, the screen protector was going to be just a screen protector and nothing more. He set the clear film in place and with one smooth motion had a screen protector installed in seconds, no bubbles, no slight "to far to one side or the other" just a perfect fit. I thought that was cool as it takes me a few minutes to work out the bubbles and such.


Then came the news He should of told me this first I think. He said "It will take about 3 days for this thing to cure, but once it does if you scratch it the scratch will just "Melt away"". I'm not sure if it showed on my face but my mind was saying "Huh?". I have not tested the scratch part as I have a habit of trying to avoid such things on a brand new phone...Silly me. One thing I did notice was that the first day or two the screen protector was "Soft" and grabby. My finger or thumb wouldn't slide across the screen smoothly.Something else Devon should have told me. But as I had figured when he said it needed to "Cure" that meant it would smooth its self out, and it did. The thing is crystal clear and I am loving it. The fit is just right as it does not go from edge to edge which means I wont be peeling up the edges when I switch cases as I do so often. I have had that issue on many screen protectors I have used in the past, in fact its the main reason I have to replace them. So maybe you do really get what you pay for, this one time anyway. I am picking up another S4 this month as my line comes up for an upgrade. I think I will be adding this screen protector too, as I will be using both phones the price is cut in half The way I look at it anyway. So I will post again if I ever scratch this puppy and it "Melts away". But for now I am thinking that if you have a pricy phone and switch out cases (or you are just hard on screen protectors) you might just want to give this one a try.