Mobile Device tuneup?

[hightechrex]

What do you all think about a service that configures application and system system settings to improve the performance and battery life of a phone or tablet? Sound like a good idea?

Includes
A detailed assessment of Apps using the most system resources and using the most battery. As well as system settings that reduce the data and system usage while idle. After that either notify the customer of the issues OR apply the fixes needed to improve the devices performance.

 

[FoolishTech]

What do you all think about a service that configures application and system system settings to improve the performance and battery life of a phone or tablet? Sound like a good idea?

Includes
A detailed assessment of Apps using the most system resources and using the most battery. As well as system settings that reduce the data and system usage while idle. After that either notify the customer of the issues OR apply the fixes needed to improve the devices performance.

Not a bad idea. But sounds more like a training session than a service - you are better off to approach it that way (and charge appropriately too!)

I say this because 95% of your work will be educating the client on what features they are going to have to live without to increase performance/battery life. You wouldn't want to disable something as part of your tuneup that they don't realize will affect them in some way later on.

That may also include educating them on how to turn on/off certain things "on demand" like enabling their WiFi when in range of a capable network so they don't use their data plan excessively, and disabling it when away to preserve battery life... etc. etc.

 

[hightechrex]

Not a bad idea. But sounds more like a training session than a service - you are better off to approach it that way (and charge appropriately too!)

I say this because 95% of your work will be educating the client on what features they are going to have to live without to increase performance/battery life. You wouldn't want to disable something as part of your tuneup that they don't realize will affect them in some way later on.

That may also include educating them on how to turn on/off certain things "on demand" like enabling their WiFi when in range of a capable network so they don't use their data plan excessively, and disabling it when away to preserve battery life... etc. etc.

I agree completely. How should I charge for that? Bearing in mind that everything would have to be done onsight because no one is going to want their phone to leave their home. How much would you charge for such a service in your area?

 

[FoolishTech]

I agree completely. How should I charge for that? Bearing in mind that everything would have to be done onsight because no one is going to want their phone to leave their home. How much would you charge for such a service in your area?

Well I don't see it as onsite only. I can see it being done in store or wherever, just that they will not ever want to LEAVE that phone with you or be in any way separated from it, for any amount of time.

But as for my onsite rate, I charge the same onsite for ANY service, and that is my onsite hourly rate of $90/hr. with a one hour minimum. (though I do not advertise this so it isn't taken advantage of, if I show up and it's a 5-10 minute fix I only bill for 1/2 hour...)

I can't see charging that at all for this type of service though. I would probably charge a half hour for $45, and try to get them educated within that time frame and be on my way. But if you add in some small talk which happens with every onsite, and I would be undercutting myself by doing any more / staying any longer for that price. So it may be worth it to you, if you plan on this being an onsite service, to "bundle" this with another service, simple PC tuneup, etc. and charging more (a full hour of your labor) just to recoup some of that lost time, be able to charge more and make it worth your while, while providing additional VALUE to the customer.

 

[hightechrex]

Well I don't see it as onsite only. I can see it being done in store or wherever, just that they will not ever want to LEAVE that phone with you or be in any way separated from it, for any amount of time.

But as for my onsite rate, I charge the same onsite for ANY service, and that is my onsite hourly rate of $90/hr. with a one hour minimum. (though I do not advertise this so it isn't taken advantage of, if I show up and it's a 5-10 minute fix I only bill for 1/2 hour...)

I can't see charging that at all for this type of service though. I would probably charge a half hour for $45, and try to get them educated within that time frame and be on my way. But if you add in some small talk which happens with every onsite, and I would be undercutting myself by doing any more / staying any longer for that price. So it may be worth it to you, if you plan on this being an onsite service, to "bundle" this with another service, simple PC tuneup, etc. and charging more (a full hour of your labor) just to recoup some of that lost time, be able to charge more and make it worth your while, while providing additional VALUE to the customer.

Very very informative post. I will keep all that in mind; your pricing scheme seems fair on both sides of the fence. Have you ever had to run antivirus on a customer device?

 

[FoolishTech]

Have you ever had to run antivirus on a customer device?

Like a tablet or smartphone? No, luckily not yet! (And I don't know the first thing about doing so either - but Google is my friend

To be perfectly honest, I am just now adapting to the smartphone lifestyle in the last few DAYS, as I was forced to get a new droid on our corp plan at work, (unlimited everything, yes unlimited data, pretty sweet.) Mostly I never bought into smartphones because I knew I couldn't afford the data plan I *wanted* ... So until recently I preferred my phones to make/receive calls and used basic pre-pay phones... that's about it LOL. I don't ever even "text" haha, me and actual "communication" are pretty traditional; but I did watch Netflix on this thing last night!

 

[phaZed]

I have never been requested to "tune-up" a phone or tablet before. As it goes with Android devices, there really is not much need to trim up start applications and such. Any slowness is usually rectified by cycling the phone off and on anyway.

Also, most of the slowness from handsets come from the carrier's ROM.. and can really only be fixed by unlocking, rooting, and installing a CLEANRom or something similar.. which I do get requests to do.

 

[hightechrex]

I have never been requested to "tune-up" a phone or tablet before. As it goes with Android devices, there really is not much need to trim up start applications and such. Any slowness is usually rectified by cycling the phone off and on anyway.

Also, most of the slowness from handsets come from the carrier's ROM.. and can really only be fixed by unlocking, rooting, and installing a CLEANRom or something similar.. which I do get requests to do.

Most of this post has been directed towards increasing battery life and as you even said yourself that you get requests to do. Everything you just listed is still a form of tunign up. How much do you charge to unlock, root, and install a clean rom?

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I have noticed with my DROID X that if it's acting slow and a power cycle doesn't work I defrag. the SD card and it makes a notable difference.