Have you purchased from EXPANSYS USA?  If so, rate your experience over at ResellerRatings.com by following this link: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Expansys_USA 

Take a couple of minutes (it's fast, I promise) to rate your experience with www.expansys-usa.com and you will automatically be entered to win an Apple iPad2, on August 1st, 2011.  We'll notify the winner on August 1st, and they will have it in their hands on August 3rd!  Will you be the lucky one?  The odds are pretty good!

Datajack is the perfect solution for anyone who needs a mobile broadband connection with no long contract!  With nationwide 3G support corporate business travellers, mobile small business owners, and students alike can get download speeds of 600kbps to 1.7 Mbps without a huge costly commitment.  For a similar service with carriers such as AT&T or T-mobile, users can pay upwards of $60 per month for 5GB of data usage with 2 year contract required.  Datajack's initial cost is $149.99 for the USB modem and first month of service.  After the initial outlay, 5GB of prepaid data is just $49.99 and customers pay for service only when they re-up.  This is great for users who need service either all the time, or infrequently.  How much they choose to pay is completely up to them!

Initial reviews of the Datajack service have been excellent.  While 3G service can depend on things like tower proximity, weather and physical obstacles there have been no major problems when it comes to coverage.  eXpansys has a handy link on our Datajack product page to double check coverage by zip code.

This week has been an exciting one in the world of mobility.  Microsoft, the sleeping giant, has awoke and launched 8 new devices into the wild at an event in New York city.  All of this new kit runs Windows Phone 7, which is the next big thing in smartphone technology.  Based on first impressions, and actually seeing what Windows Phone 7 can do we at eXpansys are very excited!  Let's take a closer look at some of the features, what devices will be available, and who the launch partners are.

What makes Windows Phone 7 different?  Everything it seems, since Microsoft has completely dumped their previous architecture in place of something lighter, faster, and easier to use.  Forget about taking 4 or 5 steps just to check your email or do anything else with this OS.  With live, customizable tiles on your home screen and activity centered hubs Microsoft claims users can do everything they want in "20% fewer steps".  Sounds good to me!  The new OS is centered around hubs that encompass different activities or media including people, pictures, office, music/video, marketplace, and games.  From the main area of each hub, users can simply pan to the right for more options and activities within each hub.  Every area of Windows Phone 7 is very intuitive, and centered around how people actually use their device.  This is a major improvement over Windows Mobile 6.x.  Do you want to update your Facebook or Windows Live status?  No need to open an app, the phone IS your interface for social networking.  At setup, users log into their accounts and all contacts are downloaded directly to the phone.  Within the People Hub users can comment on their contacts' status, and from the "Me" tile on the homescreen their personal status can be updated. 

Microsoft has also gone to great lengths to integrate their Live services including One Note, Xbox Live, and Zune.  With One Note, any documents created on Windows Phone 7 are automatically uploaded to a user's Live Skydrive for later viewing on a PC.  Xbox Live is integrated with the gaming hub.  There will be two services available for Zune, a monthly unlimited download plan and a per song option.  Now, let's take a look at what devices have been announced at launch!

HTC 7 Trophy - An ergonomic touchscreen device (pre-release name was the Spark)

HTC 7 Surround - An AT&T phone with 720p HD video and Dolby® SRS stereo surround sound.

HTC HD7 - A T-mobile phone with the largest screen (4.3") available on a Windows Phone 7 device.  Basically the orignal HD2 but with WP7.

Samsung Omnia 7 - A touchscreen device with a large and brilliant Samsung AMOLED screen.

Samsung Focus - Billed as AT&T's thinnest Windows phone, encompassing a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen.

LG Quantum - Touch screen AT&T device also having a slide-out keyboard.

LG Optimus 7 - Touch screen device with special features such as DLNA multimedia sharing and Scan-Search application.

Dell Venue Pro - Backed by the Dell name and sporting a 4.1" touch screen.

All of these phones are expected to begin shipping early to mid November, just in time for the holidays.  Check out our Windows Phone 7 page for these and additional devices.  New releases will be posted as they are announced!

Take your data with you everywhere without taking it out of the house! Pogoplug’s POGO-E02 multimedia sharing device lets you connect any external hard drive and then access and share your content over the internet. From In your pocket on a smartphone to any computer hooked to the internet. You can view, download or stream your data through any web browser across multiple platforms (Windows, MAC, and Linux). It’s easy to share video, music, and photos with no uploading.

Installation is quick and there are no monthly or annual fees. Set up took less than 5 minutes including trying to find an outlet to plug the device in to. This is the simplest Sharing device I have used and it works great. You really don't need to know anything about networking to do this. There are a few simple steps to follow but nothing more complicated than plugging it in and going to the pogoplug website.  Now you have access to your pictures, music, and videos where ever you choose to use them. I love to have my digital world at my fingertips.

Thanks
Eric Smith of Expansys

For a one time cost under 80.00 you can access your External Hard drives worldwide

Order your PoGoPlug now and access your data anywhere!
Features
•    Pogoplug lets you connect to any external hard Drive and then access and share content through the internet. Simply log on from any computer to get access to your Pogoplug connected content.
•    Stream videos, music and photos directly to your iPhone, Blackberry, Android OS.

•    No monthly fees and No Strings attached ever!

•    100-240V, 50/60HZ Power Requirements, USB 2.0 Drive Connection, Gigabit Ethernet Connection, and Drive Formats NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and non-Journaled (HFS+),      EXT-2/EXT-3.
•    Works with Safari, Firefox 3, IE 7, IE 8 and Chrome Web Browers. MS Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.4 and above (Intel& PowerPC), 32bit kernel only, Linux.

Hands Free car kits are becoming more and more important for the road warrior in all of us.  Not only are more states starting to require hands free talking while driving, but more and more statistics are starting to surface that show more accidents are caused because of cell phone use by the vehicle operator. 

So…you’ve decided it’s time to get a hands-free car kit.  Congratulations – I agree! 

Follow these three simple steps and you’ll be up and running (driving and talking) in no time!

Step 1: Choose a car kit from eXpansys

We offer a few options, but I recommend the following models:

Parrot MKi9200 
Parrot MKi9100
 

Step 2: Match your vehicle with your car kit.  You’ll need a harness

Different makes and models of vehicles require different harnesses.  Just give us a call and we can help you determine which harness is right for your vehicle.

Step 3: Installation

We make this simple.  Purchase one of our nationwide install cards  and take your vehicle to any of installers “in network” and they’ll install your new car kit for you.

 

In summary, we make purchasing a car kit a one-stop process. 

Come to eXpansys and pick out your car kit, harness and install kit and pay one price, one time!  It’s that easy!

I'll admit it, I'm a big kid and I love to play with toys. So, naturally the Parrot AR Drone quadricopter caught my attention. It's a RC quadricopter that is controlled by your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. All of the videos I've seen make it look real easy to fly. When Parrot came in to eXpansys to give a demonstration I couldn't wait to get my hands on the controls and fly the AR Drone around the parking lot.

Here we go, controls are in my hands now. This is going to be easy. Oops, I just ran it into a wall. Alright, my first run was not successful. You know what they say, if at first you don't succeed try again. I've learned from my first flight, right?  What can go wrong? This isn't too difficult now. Whoa, hold on. STOP!!! Thud, right into the side of a car. That crash is worthy of a failblog.org post.  That's it, where do I sign up for flight school? Now that I've successfully crashed this thing twice I'm done. Let's give the controls to someone else and see how they do. Another co-worker took the AR Drone to the skies, and did a little better.  Check out my flight tip below…. (It’s much easier to fly if you keep the camera facing forwards!)

Let's take a look at one of the main features of the AR Drone.  The AR Drone has 2 video cameras on it.  The video feed from the AR Drone is displayed on your device.  That's really cool.  Now you can fly around your house and see what your kids are doing.  You have the front camera and one on the underside of the AR Drone.  These cameras can be used for many different applications.  One of the main uses will be augmented reality games, which should be available real soon.  One of the games will allow you and a friend to compete against each other in a virtual dogfight.  The AR Drone uses the cameras to locate your enemy and then it's up to you to take them down.  

When you receive your AR Drone it will include an indoor and an outdoor hull.  I recommend using the indoor hull at first.  Just until you get used to the controls.  Let's say you crash your AR Drone and break it.  No fears, Parrot thought this through and almost every piece of the AR Drone can be purchased and replaced.  Plus, Parrot has videos on their site to help guide you through the repairs.
Even though I crashed it, the AR Drone took a beating with me at the controls and it kept on going. I thought I broke the hull on the second crash. Here's a quick tip for you. In order to fly the AR Drone without crashing it, make sure the front camera is pointed away from you. Once that camera is facing a different direction the controls are a little tricky to master.  Also, you may want to consider going to an open field with lots of space around.  A golf course, baseball field, or football field are some great places to learn to fly the AR Drone.

If you already have a Parrot AR Drone, let's see some videos of your initial flights. Reply to this post with your videos.  Hopefully, you had better success than I did.

To all of the other big kids out there that do not have a Parrot AR Drone yet, check out the Parrot AR Drone on the Parrot shopping website today.  Once you order one, you may want to order at least 1 to 2 extra batteries for it since like most RC units, the battery life is only 10-15 minutes of flight time.  

Did you know that for $60 a month you can have unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited text messages and unlimited web browsing from your mobile phone?  That’s right… all of this is available from the folks over at Simple Mobile.  Oh, and by the way – no contract to sign either!

Could it get any easier than this?  Purchase a Simple Mobile SIM card from this link http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=193750 , activate it, fill it up with all the talk, text and data that you can use and away you go!

Simple Mobile service will work with any of our GSM unlocked phones – and what could be a better combo than an unlocked phone from eXpansys with contract free service from Simple Mobile? 

Go ahead, try it…It’s SIMPLE!

This week HTC has announced two awesome new Android handsets that are sure to be big sellers for the fall season.  The Desire HD and the Desire Z are both running Android 2.2 (Froyo), wrapped in different form factors catering to different user needs.  

The Desire HD is reminiscent of the HTC HD2, with it's enormous 4.3" screen and black metal body.  New features on this device include 720p HD video recording, photo geo tagging, and 802.11n 

HTC's new Desire Z brings back a form factor not seen since the Touch Pro 2, with its slide out keyboard.  Even with the keyboard added, the Desire Z maintains a thin design at just over 1/2 inch thick.  This device runs an 800Mhz processor, which is still a lot of power for an Android device and includes many of the same new features as the Desire HD, such as High Def video recording and geo tagging.

The Samsung Galaxy S has just arrived at eXpansys USA.  We grabbed a review unit for a quick look, and WOW do we like what we see!  The bodystyle is reminiscent of the iPhone 3G/3GS form factor, having a piano black finish with silver metal border around the front face.  Pictures from the web of this phone don't do the screen justice.  The "Super AMOLED" screen is bright and crisp with a full 180 degree viewing angle.  Certainly one of the best screens we've seen on a recent smartphone.  You've got to see it for yourself.

Let's take a quick look at some other highlights of Samsung's best smartphone to date.

• 1GHz processor
• Android 2.1 (Eclair) OS platform
• HD Video Player & Recorder with LED light (1280 x 720)
• 5 mega-pixel auto focus camera
• 4" Capacitive touch screen (multi-touch zoom)
• 8GB Internal Memory (in stock now), 16GB model coming soon.

As you can see by our photos, this device is thin and packed full of awesomeness.  Come on by eXpansys USA for full specs and more information.

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The Motorola Milestone XT720 is now available for pre-order at eXpansys USA.  This device has taken some of the great features from the original Milestone, and made them better.  The XT720 is packed with media-centric features, but is also a powerful business tool.  Let's take a look at some of the Pros and Cons of this smartphone.  Overall the good certainly outweighs the bad.

Pros

• Android 2.1 platform, with access to the Android market
• 8 mega-pixel camera & Xenon flash for excellent pictures
• Excellent quality 720p HD video
• Large capacitive touch screen
• Device feels remarkably well-built in your hand

Cons

• Minimal internal storage
• Large for a smartphone
• Xenon flash is hard on battery life

Although the XT720 is short on internal storage (512MB), Motorola did a nice job compensating for this.  The internal microSDHC slot will accept cards up to 32GB, with an 8GB card included to get you started.  The device is large for a smartphone, but with built-in features like HD video and Xenon flash most will be willing to make this trade off.  eXpansys USA is accepting pre-orders at a price of $589.99.  Be sure to drop by our Motorola Milestone XT720 page for more information on specs and video reviews.