What could be more fun than an exclusive weekend of peaceful pampering, gourmet food and technology for working moms? If you’re a busy ‘mompreneur’ who needs a pick-me-up every now and then, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Verizon recently had the pleasure of being a sponsor for a MomBizRetreat hosted by Lara Galloway and Shelagh Cummins of MomBiz. The event brought together a small group of female business owners for a weekend of relaxation, information and powerful lessons about finding the balance between raising a family and growing a successful business. Since part of effectively managing the roles of CEO and mom means being able to effectively and efficiently optimize time, Verizon was happy to present a lunch-and-learn that included tablets, apps and other devices that can help busy ‘mompreneurs’ increase productivity and be successful in both roles.

“It’s no secret that mom-owned small businesses, like ours, run on the backbone of technology,” said Lara. “We need our businesses to be on-demand wherever we are, so that most often means we’re running them on our smartphones. “We teach our mompreneurs that leveraging tech is the key to flexibility in their businesses and their home life.”

Over the course of lunch, attendees were given a taste of technology for working moms that can simplify an assortment of daily tasks in the realm of business and personal. From WiFi monitors that allow users to see everything that’s going on at home, to powerful business solutions like mobile card readers and web conferencing apps, we demoed a wide range of wireless wonders that can make their smartphones and tablets even more functional, thereby providing these busy working moms more value from the products and services they’ve invested in.

One attendee was especially excited to learn how the Intuit GoPayment could help her conveniently process back-of-the-room sales at speaking gigs.

“It was a serendipitous moment because the next day I was scheduled to speak at a fundraiser,” said Dr. Stacey Francis. “Talk among my MomBiz buddies hours before, centered around how I needed to get a device to swipe credit cards on my phone, which was actually one of the devices showcased at the luncheon. I was able to get it on the spot to use the next day.”

Overall, the women walked away feeling refreshed, empowered and excited to take their already mobile lifestyle to the next level.

Are you a working mom? If so, how do you use technology to manage home and work life?

For more Verizon Wireless news specific to Michigan, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

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Steve Conner and his family live in the small town of Dixon, Illinois, more than 80 miles to the east of Carol Stream where his commercial web printing company, American Litho, is based.

Steve commuted more than 300 miles per week to and from the office in Carol Stream. And, while he wanted to work from his home office more often, the lack of broadband options in his area made it difficult to do so.

That was until Steve found a great solution in Verizon’s HomeFusion and 4G LTE wireless network.

Verizon HomeFusion is a service that offers a reliable alternative for residential broadband in areas with limited broadband choices. Using a small antenna on a rooftop, it harnesses the power and immense footprint of Verizon’s 4G LTE and brings it into the home. That’s a power, and footprint, available to more than 95 percent of Verizon’s existing 3G network.

“HomeFusion has allowed me to process and file reports and estimates quickly, without having to worry about whether or not the signal will drop out,” said Conner. “When working remotely, fast speeds and a reliable signal make all the difference in my line of work.”

With the help of a quality 4G LTE signal broadcast throughout his house, he can now send files in 30 seconds, rather than the 10 minutes it used to take.

“It’s really made working from home more efficient for me—I can get more done when I do,” said Conner.

Verizon’s HomeFusion has not only streamlined his work at his home office, but has now allowed him to feel more comfortable working from home more often— ultimately saving him more than 400 miles per month.

For more Verizon Wireless news specific to Illinois, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

The post Verizon HomeFusion Saves Dixon Customer Time & Gas Money appeared first on Verizon Wireless Midwest Area.

Earlier this month we announced the impending opening of the Innovation Station in Warrendale, PA. This location serves as an operation center for innovative technologies , demonstrating a variety of wireless technologies, as well as Verizon’s dedication to M2M solutions. The Cranberry Eagle highlighted the opening, noting a variety of different M2M products available, including 3-D imaging software, augmented reality, vending technology and more. The opening was a tremendous success but is not the only chance for people to find out more about what Verizon is doing for businesses small and large. Those looking to find out more about Verizon’s work in M2M technology are welcome to contact me on Twitter, check out our website or comment below.

For more Verizon Wireless news specific to Pennsylvania, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

Photo Credit: Bob Fritz

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The Verizon Team Penske Indy Car

Did you know a big event that draws a significant amount of people to a small area — like the Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in Milwaukee — can also increase wireless data traffic by more than 70 percent?

In anticipation of a major event, Verizon Wireless deploys a 20,000-pound vehicle, jam-packed with $500,000 in sophisticated mobile network technology, a 30-foot antenna and back-up generator to support the thousands of additional wireless users attending such an event.

A COLT, or “cells on light truck,” is a fully functional mobile cell site that enhances wireless capacity in a given area. This vehicle enables the thousands of additional customers who have descended on a large-scale event to continue using their wireless phones concurrently so they enjoy clearer reception, fewer dropped calls and the reliably fast data services they expect with 4G LTE.

Verizon Wireless’ COLTs can also be rolled into hard-hit areas in need of temporary extra network capacity during disasters, such as New York and New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 or the tornado that ravaged Moore, Oklahoma.

In addition to support for Milwaukee IndyFest at Wisconsin’s State Fair Park over the weekend of June 14, Verizon is rolling out the COLT to a number of events this summer and fall.

• Country USA Music Festival in Oshkosh – June 25 – 29
• Rock USA Music Festival in Oshkosh – July 17 – 20
• NASCAR Series at TRACK in Elkhart – June 20 – 22
• Summerfest in Milwaukee – June 26 – 7
• EAA Fly-In in Oshkosh – July 29 – Aug. 4
• Okotoberfest in La Crosse – Sept. 27 – Oct. 5
• CranFest in Warrens – Sept. 27 – 29

Verizon’s high-speed 4G LTE wireless network is available in 497 markets. A 4G LTE COLT capitalizes on that footprint to make an important addition to a large-scale sports or entertainment event, ensuring customers continue to benefit from the high speeds they expect across the country.

For more Verizon Wireless news and stories from the Midwest Area, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

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Dads rarely get the recognition they deserve, which is why Father’s Day is a great opportunity to show your dad how much you love and appreciate him. Buying gifts for him, though, can be difficult, putting Father’s Day gift ideas at a premium. Our very own Matt Baliva stopped by the KTVI Fox 2 studio in St. Louis to showcase a few of these amazing smart accessories from which to select the perfect gift for your dear old dad.

• Show Dad you care about his health with the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale which provides a full picture of health measurements with everything from weight to body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI). The Wi-Fi-enabled scale will help him reach his weight goals by letting him set goals, track progress effortlessly and stay motivated each and every day. The stats also automatically upload to his Fitbit dashboard through Wi-Fi, where he can get a more comprehensive view of health and fitness. It also comes equipped with a free smartphone app to track progress on the go.
  

• For the dad who loves TV, the Belkin @ TV Plus or Slingbox 500 make for a great gift. These devices allow Dad to watch and control the TV and all of its programming right from his smartphone or tablet.

• If your father spends his Saturdays on the golf course, then he’d surely appreciate the Zepp GolfSense Sensor. This smartphone accessory is a lightweight sensor that attaches to a golf glove and transports data on a golf swing via Bluetooth straight to the free smartphone app.

• Dad can take his music anywhere with excellent sound quality with the Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker. This speaker requires no wires and is small enough to bring along anywhere he may go.

See the interview by clicking play below:

For more Verizon Wireless news and stories from the Midwest Area, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

The post Verizon Accessories Make For Perfect Father’s Day Gift Ideas appeared first on Verizon Wireless Midwest Area.

This is a guest post by Tom Snyder, founder and president of Milwaukee-based Trivera Interactive, regarding his experience  personal review of the Galaxy S3.

My wife and I have been Motorola Droid … and Verizon Wireless … customers for several years. My predisposition toward having an actual hard keyboard has limited my choices whenever it was time to upgrade. When I started hearing the details about the Samsung Galaxy S4, I thought it might be time to finally move on. I was given the chance to test drive a Galaxy S3 first to see what life would be like without a slide-out keyboard.

I saw the light!

Within a day, I was so used to the onscreen keyboard that I was able to type faster than I ever had with the hard keyboard. The processor in the S3 was faster than my Droid 3, making all the apps I use load and run much faster. And the smoking fast speed of Verizon’s 4G completed the trifecta. It took a little time to get used to the new UX (user experience), but everything was just as intuitive, if not even more so than what I was used to. While I probably would have been fine with an S3, with the additional features and screen size of the S4, I knew I’d eventually end up regretting that decision later on.

Within 48 hours, I had made my decision to pre-order two S4s (one for me, and one for my wife). They arrived yesterday, and after a day of having my own, loaded up with all my stuff, I’m giddy about the next two years … keyboard-free.

P.S. As part of my test drive, I was also given a Verizon 4G LTE Jetpack hotspot to use for a few days. Perfect timing, as we were having wifi problems in a part of our office; a 120-year old building with stone walls 2-3 feet thick in places. The Jetpack gave us signal strength and speeds that our commercial wireless router couldn’t approach. I may buy one just for insurance next time our Internet connection goes down.

For more Verizon Wireless news and stories from Wisconsin, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

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Tornado season is upon us. So far, the National Weather Service (NWS) indicates Indiana has had four weak tornadoes in 2013 – less than half the average of 10.7 tornadoes in Indiana for the first five months of the year since 1951. It’s been a quiet season overall according to weather officials with the lowest number of tornadoes reported nationwide since 1954.

America’s wireless industry is helping to build a Weather-Ready Nation through a nationwide text emergency alert system, called Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), which will warn you when weather threatens.

Though this text alert system is a great help, being proactive about being able to stay in contact with family, work and emergency personnel (when needed) can be crucial. Brownouts due to excessive heat and electric usage, as well as other forms of severe weather, can leave you without power, and a way to contact loved ones. Possessing simple tools – such as portable chargers – that will help you in keeping smartphones charged can help you out in the darkest moments when severe weather strikes.

Many emergency management agencies, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Indiana State Police, recommend that wireless phones be part of your emergency kit while traveling. Portable chargers and common proactive tips are the best ways to keep you connected.

A few tips for keeping in touch during and after severe weather:

• Start by checking out the mAh capacity on a portable charger. The higher the number, the better the charge. The LG Wireless Charging Pad provides four extra hours through inductive charging, but still requires a charge through an electrical outlet first.
• Find out if the charger can extend the battery life of multiple devices at once. Many are equipped to handle a wireless phone and tablet at the same time. The myCharge Summit 3000 allows you to charge up to three devices at once, all on a built-in, fully rechargeable battery.
• For USB-charged devices, the Motorola P893 is a convenient charge-and-set-aside device that can be powered up at your convenience and then used when needed most. The Duracell Portable Power Back works similarly for Apple and Micro USB devices.
• Check device compatibility. The Mophie Juice Pack PRO Outdoor Edition converts an iPhone 4/4S into a connected, dedicated GPS device through the Mophie Outdoor app and also extends battery life by switching to Standby mode. Other Mophie devices will charge smartphones with universal charging ports as well as other Micro–USB devices.

When it comes to choices, there are plenty of reasonably priced options for consumers, including inductive battery covers and pads, portable chargers and vehicle chargers. You can determine device compatibility online for any product or ask your retail advisor at a local store what’s best for your family to prep for any emergency. It can’t be stressed enough, though, that being proactive in having charging devices powered and ready ahead of a storm is crucial to staying connected when a storm hits.

The post Tips for Keeping Smartphones Charged During Severe Weather appeared first on Verizon Wireless Midwest Area.

 
This is a guest post from Lisa and Jeff Arndt, a couple who recently biked cross-country to raise awareness and funds for a cause providing service dogs to children with autism. To read their other posts about this adventure, click here and here.

My husband and I took an amazing journey by tandem bicycle across the southern tier of the United States from March 9 through April 29 with Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers. Since we embarked on the Pedal 4 Paws ride as a fundraiser for Custom Canines Service Dog Academy, Verizon provided us with several devices: a Samsung Galaxy tablet and Samsung Note II phone, as well as portable charging systems. Custom Canines is a nonprofit organization supported by volunteers who train amazing service dogs and place them free of charge with people who find the dogs help change their lives.

These devices from Verizon proved invaluable, and we used them almost continuously along the 52-day, 2,858 mile journey, in sometimes very remote areas of the southern United States. We blogged daily about our journey to keep our loved ones (and anyone else interested) informed with the help of the Samsung tablet. There were many times on country roads in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas where we saw nothing but Border Patrol vehicles and a few wild horses for 6-7 hours, but we could still text our friends, take photos, and one day we even Skyped in the hot desert sun with our young godchildren in Wisconsin who were building a snowman while we were sweltering. It was amazing, and we were so thankful to Verizon for its strong signal and network.

We mounted the Note II to the handlebar of our tandem.  We downloaded our cue sheets here so we could follow along on our route turn by turn. We used it to find restaurants in upcoming towns and daily weather reports. Through dust and sand storms in the desert to the one rainy day we rode through, the heat and humidity of many days, the cold of innumerable nights in our tent, and even when we used them so much the battery drained, the devices never missed a beat. We have amazing pictures that we will cherish and reminisce of the amazing scenery, lovely people and animals we shared the road with, the majority taken with the Note II.

People are welcome to read more about the actual journey on the Custom Canines blog. We were able to raise about $10,000 for Custom Canines, which is short of our goal but still incredibly humbling and will be put to good use to fund the raising and training of more amazing service dogs for children who need them. We always need and gratefully accept donations.

We are loyal Verizon customers already and are forever grateful to the company for its generous donation of the devices and including us on their Midwest blog. What did we learn from this amazing journey we completed? Whatever your dream or bucket list, do not wait for tomorrow. Live your life to the fullest today; slow down and enjoy the small things. We will always be grateful we took this trip and the sacrifices we made to make it happen. Thank you to the entire team at Verizon!

For more Verizon Wireless news specific to the Midwest Area, subscribe via RSS to news by state. Or, subscribe to the entire Verizon Midwest blog via RSS, or by entering your email along the left side of the blog.

The post Guest Post: Custom Canines’ Pedal 4 Paws Journey Recap appeared first on Verizon Wireless Midwest Area.

The Midwest blog loves to get a wide assortment of perspectives on Verizon products and college students are no exception. Levi Castle, a writer for tech stories for the Iowa State Daily, recently offered to review several Verizon products. One big winner for him was Beats by Dre’s new portable speaker, the Pill. To read his Beats by Dre Pill review and find out why he felt the speaker this is the first time that he “loved a demo product so much that [he] had to buy [his] own,” click here.

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