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You must have been nice, not naughty this year because Ting and Uber have some cool holiday gifts for you. These two tech companies have been busy planning their gift list and they’ve come up with something everybody wants more of: time and money.
Ting
Free Coffee for You!
Ting, the cell phone carrier that loves to save you money, has announced lots of news to make your holidays merrier. Starting today, December 5, until Wednesday, December 11, Ting is offering a free cup of coffee (in the form of a $5 Starbucks digital gift card) to any Verizon and AT&T subscribers who visit Ting’s website and calculate their potential savings in switching to Ting. With over 200 million potential customers who could get a Starbuck gift card, Ting must be a wee bit concerned that Starbucks could run out of coffee this coming week.
My full review of Ting: Ten Reasons Why Ting May Be Your Next Cell Phone Provider
You can take advantage of this offer by going to the Ting Coffee website and entering either your Verizon or AT&T username and password so Ting can enter your cell phone usage information into Ting’s savings calculator automatically. Ting will then show you how much you can save by switching to Ting and give you your $5 Starbucks digital gift card. Ting promises that it will only use your credentials to plug your cell phone usage information into its savings calculator and then will delete your credentials from its records.
Ting hasn’t forgotten about its beloved current customers. Current Ting customers can take a friend out for a coffee, hot chocolate, egg nog, beer, cupcake, or other food or beverage and discuss the benefits of using Ting. After the chat, customers can send their receipt to Ting and answer a few questions about their conversation to get up to $10 credited to their Ting account. Head to the Ting Coffee Customer website for more details.
The iPhone and Nexus 5 Come to Ting
In the unlikely event that Ting buying you coffee isn’t enough to celebrate, Ting has even more news to make you smile. If you’ve been wanting to use an iPhone on Ting, your wish has come true: you now can bring an iPhone 4 or 4S to Ting. The rules are a bit involved so be sure to check the FAQ’s before you run out and get an iPhone to use on Ting: Ting iPhone FAQ. Sorry, no iPhone 5, 5s or 5c yet, but stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech for future updates from Ting.
If you’re an Android fan instead of an iPhone fan, you also have good news from Ting. You can now bring to Ting the Nexus 5 from Google for $349. Find out more information from Ting Nexus 5 FAQ.
Uber — Christmas Trees and Gifts
Uber, the company that likes to drive you around town in style, wants to bring your Christmas tree to your doorstep today. Uber has joined with Home Depot to deliver Christmas trees directly to people’s homes. All you have to do to order your tree is use the Uber app, requesting “UberTREE”. That’s it, use the app and you’ll have a tree and a gift from Uber delivered from Home Depot to your home.
My full review of Uber: Uber – Your Magic Wand for Riding in Style!
Just a few details to keep in mind. Uber isn’t Santa so the trees aren’t free. Uber trees are 7-8 feet tall and available for $135 in the following cities:
Supplies are limited as is the window of availability. You can order a tree between 11am and 8pm today only.
Your on-demand Uber Christmas tree will arrive complete with a stand and a gift from Uber. I have no idea exactly what is in the Uber gift but I’m hoping a Wonder of Tech reader who uses the Uber app to order a Christmas tree will be able to tell us what they got!
If you’re new to Uber, you can download the app and sign up for the service using the promo code UberTREE for $20 off your first Uber ride.
You can find out more about Uber Christmas trees from the Uber website and by following the hashtag #UberTree on social media.
Your Thoughts
Do you like it when tech companies have interesting promotions? Would you like a free coffee from Ting? Are you excited about the iPhone and Nexus 5 coming to Ting? Do you like the idea of an on-demand Christmas tree delivered to your home? What do you think the Uber gift is? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
I don’t usually bother much with Christmas, but I’m trying to make an effort this year. My Christmas tree is pathetic, but I really like it because it reminds me of the one we had as children! I’ve been out taking Christmassy photos too. I photographed the switch on of the local festive lights. I came back in hypothermia, it took over 24 hours to thaw out. The lights are great but it was interesting. Some people asked if I was from the local paper. Publishing is democratic now. The mayor kept me waiting and so I didn’t take their photos! People Power!
I’m trying to come up with high resolution images for a Waterways calender for 2015. I wish they had given me more warning. It’s harder in winter. I have to send them before the 31st of January, but we want some Black Country ones in it. I have some art pictures and interesting edits on a Zillion Ideas. Christmas ones on WordPress!
The trend in the UK this Christmas is for really useful gifts!
Hi Mike, Totally useful gifts are great, but then again so are fun gifts!
Sorry about your pathetic Christmas tree this year. But if you have ever watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas you know that you can still have a great Christmas with a pathetic tree. 🙂
Do be careful of the cold when you’re out taking photographs. As a true artist, you probably become consumed in your work without regard to your comfort.
That’s excellent you’re doing a calendar. What a brilliant use of your work.
I will be over to visit your wonderful article soon. This has been a busy week for The Wonder of Tech. There is so much timely tech that I am publishing every day this week, which, I realize, is a light schedule for you!
I read your linked post and Ting looks very promising. Does it service the Philadelphia area?
Does it make sense for someone who has a simple $25 Metro PCS plan which one of my family members is using now?
Hi Steven, Yes, Ting uses the Sprint network which includes the Philadelphia area. You can check the Sprint Coverage Map to see if you have coverage where you need it.
You can use the Ting Calculator to see whether Ting would save you money over your Metro PCS plan. Your savings will depend on how much you use your phone and what you use it for: calls, texts and/or Internet. I know two people on Ting whose monthly charges are less than $25/month. One only uses his cell phone for calls and uses less than 100 minutes per month. His bill on Ting is $11/month. Another Ting user I know also uses less than 100 minutes per month but has about 1000 text messages. Her monthly bill is $20/month.
Ting billing is based on actual usage so your Ting charges can change each month. The Ting Calculator will help you figure out whether to switch to Ting.