Mobiles that can NOT be unlocked, Check before Buy

I will be adding the mobiles here that can not be unlocked from you corner shop or through any DIY software. You can still get these unlocked from your current network provider but they have conditions and charges.

This is to help users who are getting a new phone for reselling at some point or to use with multiple networks. Unless you get these unlocked / SIM free there is no point buying if you do not want to use it on same network.

Nokia
All BB5 phones can NOT be unlocked other than from the network itself.

6620
6630
6270
6280
6281
6680
7370
7710
9300
9500
N70
N90
N80
N73
All other mobiles in N Series AND in E Series

T-Mobile
Side Kick
Side Kick II

Correct me if I am wrong and suggest any model not listed here.

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12 Free Tools for Online Businesses

the following 12 tools and resources can be effectively used to give your online business that extra edge you need to stay ahead of your competition.

1. Free link partner evaluation tool. Alexa provides a free, downloadable toolbar that opens in your web browser whenever you're online. The Alexa toolbar is one of the most useful tools around for online businesses. The most useful feature is a "site info" option. When you click on this button, Alexa lays out all the details of the site you're on, including:
The traffic ranking of the site. This is also listed right on the toolbar itself.
A list of related links. Two or three of the most popular links also appear on the toolbar.
The number of other sites that link to the site
The contact information of the site owner
All site/user reviews

2. Free market research tool. When you're building a successful online business, you'll probably need to spend hours at a time researching your competitors and your target market and looking for new product ideas. The good news is that there are some nifty free tools available on the Google Toolbar that can make this whole process faster and a lot more productive. (Be sure to check the "Enable Advanced Features" option when you download it to enable all the options.) Take a look at some of these options:
"Google Groups" search: This is great for product or market research, as you can search for your keywords within the thousands of Google Groups online and find forums relevant to your site. By checking these forums regularly, you'll get to know what's important to the people in your target market.

3. Free image-reducing tool and free "tool kit" trials.NetMechanic is a tool kit resource, offering a number of free trials that are great for easily locating potential problems with your site and repairing them quickly. With this tool, you can address such problems as:
HTML code errors
Browser display problems
Lengthy load times
Broken links
Site downtime

Some of these tools will even give you a free monthly update! However, you'll get a limited version of each tool unless you're willing to pay the fee. But NetMechanic's image-reducing tool, GIFbot, is totally free and is a particularly useful resource.

Using GIFBot is an excellent way to reduce the file size of your images so your web pages load faster--and you don't lose those impatient surfers. Image files can be reduced by as much as 50 to 85 percent in many cases, and it's so easy to do that nowadays you'll look totally unprofessional with huge, lagging image files that take forever to load on your site.

4. Free HTML editor and HTML tutorials. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on HTML editors and web design software to create your own site. Nvu is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor that's similar to FrontPage or Dreamweaver--but completely free to download. The software allows you to create and manage a professional-looking website without any knowledge of HTML programming, and includes the following features:
WYSIWYG editing of pages, meaning you can see what your web page will look like as you're creating it
Integrated file management via FTP, so you can upload your pages to your web host
Easy-to-use interface
Free tutorials

5. Free keyword selector tool. Using Yahoo! Search Marketing's Keyword Selector tool allows you to easily discover which keywords are frequently searched by web surfers. Type in a term you'd like to target, and the tool will give you a list of searches that include your exact term as well as related searches. It will also tell you how many times those terms were searched in Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture) in the last month. A tool like this can help you optimize your search engine ranking by targeting keywords and phrases that are frequently searched by the online audience.

6. Free browser compatibility service. The browser compatibility experts at AnyBrowser offer every tool you'll need to make your site viewable, as the name suggests, in any browser. The most useful tool is the "SiteViewer," which allows you to see your web pages as surfers will see them on multiple browsers. For example, your site may look different in Netscape Navigator than it does in Internet Explorer--images may be broken, tables may shift and so on. With AnyBrowser, you can ensure you meet the needs of every browser.

7. Free search tool.1-Click Answers is a downloadable search tool available from the Answers.com search engine. It allows you to search multiple information sources and find instant answers containing concise information on the topic you're searching for.

8. Free content.FreeSticky is a good place to find free (or cheap) content for your site, so you can keep your site fresh and interesting for your visitors--and keep them coming back for more. Find articles, news briefs, headlines, tickers, tips of the day and more. The broad variety of topics range from financial advice to hip hop headlines, from travel guides to lottery results. You can also give away free software applications directly from your site, many of which are available for co-branding.

9. Free e-mail campaign ROI calculator.Marketing Today's ROI calculator is an easy-to-use device that allows you to accurately estimate what kind of return on investment you can expect from your upcoming direct mail or e-mail campaigns and promotions. The calculator is a simple tool that acts as an excellent reality check when you're determining your marketing costs.

10. Free web design tool. Most internet entrepreneurs have very little, if any, web design knowledge. That doesn't have to be a barrier, however, to creating a professional-looking web site.

One of the hardest tasks for someone with no design experience to do is to choose the color scheme for your site. Well, this easy-to-use, free tool from ColorMatch 5K allows you to create a complete color scheme at the click of the button. It also gives you the HTML codes for the colors you choose--every web color has a code, such as #000000 for black--so you can use them on your site and not have to worry if that pink really does match that orange.

11. Free site search tools. If your site is more than a few pages and doesn't have a good internal search tool, you're probably losing many a frustrated visitor. SiteLevel can set you up with effective, free search tools for your website.

12. More free marketing tools. You got it...Free Site contains free stuff! And lots of it!

Although not everything on this site is e-business related, you'll find plenty that is. Probably the most useful section for e-businesses is the "webmaster" section. Here you'll find the "Internet Seer" site monitoring tool that provides downtime alerts so you don't lose valuable customers. You'll also find:
Tools to help you check your keywords and your link popularity
Suggested methods of winning awards for your site
Scripts, banners and polls
Guestbooks, message boards and more

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The Secret of becomnig a Successful Blogger.

If you decide a blog makes sense for your business, here are some things you should keep in mind.

Start by setting goals, policies and tone. Decide what you want to accomplish with your blog and let those goals influence your content. For example, you may want to establish yourself as a "thought leader'' in your industry, boost your site's status in search engine results or differentiate your business from the competition. Also, if your blog will have multiple in-house authors, decide on basic ground rules, such as never trashing the competition. If possible, make a staff member the blog editor to check entries before they're posted for grammar, typos, tone and consistency.

Keep it relevant and personal. Blog readers want to know what you--or others in your company--think about the trends relevant to your industry. If you run a local real estate firm, your readers would likely want to know your thoughts on buying and selling trends in your area. Make your entries personal by speaking to readers directly. Tell them a story. Use an authoritative yet conversational and informal voice.

Make it useful. When you offer helpful tips and links to other resources on the web, your readers will be more inclined to tell others about your blog. For instance, have you read a new book that's relevant to your readers' interests? If so, write a short review of that book in your blog. If your blog is an information resource for your industry, other bloggers and website owners will want to link to it. And the more sites that link to your blog, the more likely it will show up near the top of search engine results.

Use relevant keywords throughout your blog. This is another way to boost your blog's chances of showing up at or near the top of search engine results.

Keep readers hungry. If your blog entries are clear, concise and compelling, readers will want to return again and again.

Use a soft sell. Don't use your blog to re-purpose press releases, brochures or other content originally created for marketing, PR or advertising. Readers can smell a blatant pitch a mile away.

Update often. Readers expect blogs to be refreshed regularly. If you update your blog once a month or less, you may not develop a devoted readership. Shorter, more frequent updates are preferable to longer, infrequent ones.

Consider sharing the duties. Blogging requires a time commitment. Sharing the blogging duties with others in your company can take the pressure off. Plus, multiple voices can make a blog more interesting.

Stick to it. If you decide to start a blog, make a commitment to keep it going. An abandoned blog won't give readers a favorable impression of your company.

Be prepared to evangelize. Because blogging is still relatively new, some stakeholders in your company may be unconvinced of its potential return on investment. Explain how a blog might help your business. Provide examples of blogs you admire and, if possible, how those blogs translated into sales leads, better customer relations or other benefits.

Consult with trusted advisers. Before embarking on any new marketing initiative, it's always a good idea to consult with those whose opinion you trust. Do you know a business owner with a business-oriented blog? If so, ask what impact the blog has had on their business. Also ask your in-house or contract marketing expert for input on your blog's goals, content or tone. Finally, talk to your webmaster, site designer or other web-savvy adviser. Should you add a blog to your small-business website or create one on a separate, public site? What keywords would they recommend using?

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See How Easily You Can judge a domain name in a self-appraisal.

See How Easily You Can judge a domain name in a self-appraisal.

1) Marketability
2) Phone Test
3) Name Length
4) Brand Recognition
5) Development Value
6) Dot Value
7) Site Traffic natural
8) Site Traffic by Search Engines
9) Industry Strength and Positioning
10) Search Engine Popularity
11) Grammatical / Linguistic value
12) Revenue Generating
13) Comparable sales value

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1) Marketability
How many parts make up the name?

A part is classified as a word, a hyphen, or a number.
Example.com has only 1 part, the word “example”.
JoeTheFisherman.com has 3 parts, the parts “Joe”, “The”, and “Fisherman”.
Joe-Fisherman.com has 3 parts, the parts “Joe”, “hyphen”, and “Fisherman”.
1Fisherman.com has 2 parts, the parts “1”, and “Fisherman”.
eFisherman.com has 2 parts, the parts “E”, and “Fisherman”.

1 part award 100 points
2 parts award 10 points
3 parts award 2 points
4 parts award 1 point
5 parts or more award 0 points

2) Phone Test
Try giving out the Domain Name on the phone. How does the domain name sound on the phone.

Does the domain use a hyphen or a number?
Do I spell out a number inside the name ex: (“one”)?
Does the domain use a miss-spelling at all?

If the answer to these questions is all “no” then multiple current score by 5.
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then divide current score by 2.

3) Name Length (doesn’t include the length of “www.” or “.” or the ending extension)

Find the highest rule that applies.

If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 8 characters, then multiple current score by 6.
If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 15 characters, then multiple current score by 3.
If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 19 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 10 characters, then multiple current score by 4.
If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 16 characters, then multiple current score by 3.
If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 19 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

If 3 parts and the name is less then or equal to 12 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

4) Brand Recognition
Do people know what the site does even before they even go there?
Either through the meaning of the name or by advertising.
An example of advertising is everyone knows Microsoft.com or ATT.com.
Normal people will need to use the domain meaning to score on this point.

If name has Brand Recognition then multiple current score by 3.

5) Development Value
How much work as been put into Developing the site?
Just a Splash page then multiple current score by 2.
Something more then a Splash page then multiple current score by 3.
Has the domain ever hosted a website that received more then 1000 visitors a day then multiple current score by 25.

6) Dot Value
If .COM extension multiple current score by 3.
If country extension multiple current score by 2.
If country extension is now generic no bonus (example .CC, .TV, .WS)

7) Site Traffic Natural
10-39 natural type-ins multiple current score by 4.
40-100 natural type-ins multiple current score by 8.
100+ natural type-ins multiple current score by 25.
Natural type-ins means (Unique IPs without referrers)

8) Site Traffic by Search Engines
10-39 Unique IPs multiple current score by 2.
40-500 Unique IPs multiple current score by 3.
500+ Unique IPs multiple current score by 4.

9) Industry Strength and Positioning
Does the domain have a calling? If the domain has a targeted industry how crowded is that industry? Does the domain accurately and generically describe what it was registered to do. Here is an example, For a travel agent, FlyCheap.com is a score 3. For a travel agent TravelCheap.com is a score 7.

Describes generically the industry then multiple current score by 7.
Describes specifically something in the industry then multiple current score by 3.

10) Search Engine Popularity
How do the terms in the domain name rank in Search Engines?

“Great”, then multiple current score by 7.
“Good”, then multiple current score by 2.
“All Right”, then no bonus.

11) Grammatical / Linguistic value
Does it sounds correct? Does it read like a human normally speaks. For example: ShoppestMall.com, this sounds wierd. But ShoppingMall.com sounds correct. The plural form verses the singular form makes a huge difference.

If the name sounds correct, then multiple current score by 2.

12) Revenue Generating

Multiple yearly income of the domain by 2.5, add this dollar value to your final price.

13) Comparable sales value

What other domains have sold at that price. Is your name the same score?
Market analysis on your domain price is very important. Being able to justify your price against other domains selling price is key. Don’t do marketing analysis off of list price. Only selling price will work. To find prices of domains that have sold use Afternic or other domain auction sites.

The highest score possible is something huge like 6,615,000,000
Score doesn’t correlate to actual price very well, You need to use percentiles to figure out what the price is.

Total score:
Lowest = $15 (40 percentile)
Low score = $25-$40 (30 percentile)
Mid score = $100-$300 (25 percentile)
High score = $500-$1000 (3 percentile)
Extreme score = $1000+ (2 percentile)

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6 Tips For Saving Gas

In the past months we have seen the price of gasoline soar higher than ever before, and this can be hard on people who have a budget that is tight. Even though gas prices have come down a slight bit, you still will want to do everything you possibly can to save on the money you have to pay out for gas. There are a variety of ways that you can save gas, and save money.

Tip#1 - Start Carpooling

Carpooling is a great idea for fellow students and fellow employees both. If you can find people that are going to the same place you are you can save gas by riding together. It may be a good idea to trade off on who is driving from week to week so no one person gets stuck having to drive all the time. If you have to take your children to school or other functions you can also work on trading off with your friends and neighbors to take them there.

Tip#2 - Public Transportation

If it is possible you can take public transportation to work instead of driving your car. Not only will this save you money on gas, but you will also be able to relax and not worry about having to drive through all that rush hour traffic. You may even be able to fit in a quick nap on your way to work or on your way home.

Tip#3 - Price Shop

Often it may be so convenient to buy your gas at the small gas station just up the road, but to save some money on gas you may want to check the prices at other gas stations that are nearby as well. Even if the difference is only a few cents, after putting hundreds of gallons of gas in you vehicle each year, those few cents are going to add up to quite a sum of money.

Tip#4 - Get Moving

You can save some money on gas if you start walking to where you are going, or you can ride a bike as well. You will not have to worry about paying to park your car, and the exercise will be great for you body. If you are walking or biking you will not have to worry about those huge traffic jams either.

Tip#5 - Take Care of Your Car

It is always important to take care of your car so it gets the best gas mileage possible. Also be sure to plan where you are going before you go so you will not have to backtrack and waste gas. If you can, you should use your air conditioning as little as possible because using it takes more gas. Roll down your windows and you will use less gas.

Tip#6 - Check your Tires

It is important that you check the air pressure in your tires as often as possible. If your tires are too low, or the pressure in them is unequal it can make your car burn more gas. You should also be careful how you drive. If you take off from every red light very fast you are going to burn more fuel, so it is best to take off a little slower.

These are a few tips that can help the money conscious person to save money on gas. Even as gas prices drop, these tips can still help you to save more money. Conservation is important, so take advantage of these tips, save money, and save gas.

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