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Best Buy's Geek Squad agents patrol the streets in search of problematic PCs, using mobile devices to pinpoint locations, take notes, and process payments
DOUBLE AGENT 340 PAtrols Yonkers, N.Y., and surrounding areas looking for spyware-infected PCs and crashed hard drives. Within close reach rests his indispensable weapon, a Pocket PC phone that serves up a wealth of information and connects him wirelessly to the headquarters' IT systems.
The agent is Cristian Luzbet, dressed in a black-and-white ensemble with a matching breakaway tie, and he works for the Geek Squad, a 24-hour response unit that offers computer and network support for home PC users or businesses without an on-site IT staff. Luzbet has worked two years for the Geek Squad, a division of electronics retailer Best Buy, earning him a silver badge that he proudly displays over his belt buckle.
Luzbet drives one of the Geek Squad's signature black-and-white Volkswagen Beetles. His Geek Mobile, as they're called, is loaded with hard drives, wireless cards, routers, and an occasional Snickers candy bar wrapper. But you won't find street-map books, computer manuals, or paper stacks of customer orders. All the information Luzbet needs he can get with his Sprint PPC-6700 Smart Device running Windows Mobile 5.0, which retails for about $450. Using Internet Explorer, Luzbet can link directly to Best Buy's order system.
Best Buy has about 12,000...