Is Blackberry the New Pager?

Blackberry users around the world were nothing short of pissed when they noticed reoccurring issues with their handsets and the inability to send messages and email.

Even though users in the United States were immune to most of the issues, the blackout left millions of users without email, web browsing and Blackberry Messaging (BBM) services following the crash.  Blackberry services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa experienced complete blackouts and now the problem has spread to Latin America.

According to the company RIM, the makers of the Blackberry, "the messaging and browsing delays... in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM's infrastructure," a company statement said.

Surprisingly enough many of those complaining about the crash said on Twitter that they could not live without access to BBM.

Customer loyalty to Blackberry in the midst of lack of innovation and multiplying problems should not be surprising.

As a reformed Crackberry addict, I thought that someone would have to pry the Blackberry from my cold, dead hands.  I loved the Qwerty keyboard, the battery lasted forever, and the Blackberry was extremely easy to use. 

Well, at least I thought until, I got my hands on an Android!   The best two features that I love about Android and more specifically my HTC EVO, is that I can customize the hell out of the phone, read kindle books, and browse like a superstar.

Also, imagine changing your Blackberry theme by touching the icons rather than loading an entirely new theme.  Oh yeah by the way, the Media apps are a lot better. 

Plus, there is a new Blackberry Messenger app available for Androids.

So, this blackout leads me to ask, “Is Blackberry the new Pager?”

Live Positive!

Joveline

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Holland Turner Media Group, or any employee thereof. Holland Turner Media Group reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter content in any manner it sees fit or deems unacceptable.

Part II: President Obama Helps with Student Loan Repayment

The bad news: to date, President Obama will not be able to offer any type of bailout relief for student loans unless he wins the 2012 election.  Why?  Any worth while legislation to save the middle class has been and will be denied by Congress. 

However, there is a glimmer of good news:  All student loan borrowers must thank President Obama for the “Pay As You Earn” proposal that will reduce student loans repayments for 1.6 million people!  In short, his proposal will cut student loan payments from 15 percent to 10 percent of their discretionary income starting (hopefully) in 2012.   

The “Pay As You Earn” proposal includes an “Income Based Repayment” (IBR) plan that will currently reduce your standard repayments to 15% of your discretionary income.   The amount you pay is based on your previous year’s Federal Tax Return. 

According to Whitehouse.gov, “the program lowers monthly payments for borrowers who have high loan debt and modest incomes, but it may increase the length of the loan repayment period, accruing more interest over the life of the loan.”

The Whitehouse provided an example Standard Repayment plan vs. the Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan.

“…take for example a nurse who is earning $45,000 and has $60,000 in federal student loans. Under the standard repayment plan, her monthly repayment amount is $690. The currently available IBR plan would reduce her payment by $332, to $358.  President Obama’s improved “Pay As You Earn” plan -- reducing the cap from 15 percent to 10 percent -- will reduce her payment by an additional $119, to a more manageable $239 -- a total reduction of $451 a month.”

Another example:

“A teacher who is earning $30,000 a year and has $25,000 in Federal student loans.  Under the standard repayment plan, this borrower’s monthly repayment amount is $287 .  The currently available IBR plan would reduce this borrower’s payment by $116, to $171.  Under the improved ‘P ay As You Earn’ plan, his monthly payment amount would be even more manageable at only $114.   And, if this borrower remained a teacher or was employed in another public service occupation, he would be eligible for forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program after 10 years of payments.”

This plan is not a student loan bailout plan but it is an excellent plan.  If student loan borrowers are not able to catch up on their student loan repayments with this plan, they simply just don’t want to repay.

For more information to determine if the Income-Based Repayment plan is right for you visit:  http://studentaid.ed.gov/ibr 

Live Positive!

Joveline 

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Holland Turner Media Group, or any employee thereof. Holland Turner Media Group reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter content in any manner it sees fit or deems unacceptable.

Part I: Student loans have risen by 511% in 10 years!

The first question I have to ask, “Is it wrong to offer college graduates who have student loans a government bailout?”  

If your first instinct is to say “no,” this is understandable.

However, if you believe that students should not be offered a bail out, then you must ask yourself: what about the massive packages that were offered to banks?  Should the U.S. government bail out banks?

The truth is that both groups are vital to the growth of the American economy and student loan debt is another drag on the middle class of whom the American economy depends on.

The Atlantic Magazine, reported that student loans have risen over 511% over the past decade to a total of $550 billion, while USA Today reports that student loan debt may be as high as $1 trillion this year. 

Along with the rise of student loan debt, there is student loan default.  According to the New York Fed, student loan defaults have risen from 5% to 10.6%, nationally.   Throughout the country, some defaults are as high as 20%.  

To put this default number in perspective with the current recession, according to Business Week, “8.8% of federally guaranteed student loans that entered repayment in 2009, were in default by the end of 2010. To put that in perspective, keep in mind that in this case “default” means nine months of missed payments.”

This is terrible news.  Most people do not realize that making consistent, on-time, monthly payments to their student loan does not improve their credit score but going into default will make your credit score complete road kill. 

So what does all this mean? 

The Bottom line: Borrowers of student loan debt are not and will not contribute to the American economy?  Why? Simply because there is and will be less money to spend on housing, large electronics, supporting small businesses, investments, and the list goes on. 

Stay Tuned for Part II of the Student Loan series:  President Obama Helps with Student Loan Repayment

Live Positive!

Joveline

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Holland Turner Media Group, or any employee thereof. Holland Turner Media Group reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter content in any manner it sees fit or deems unacceptable.