New Cellphone Repair, Accessory Shop Opens on 78th Ave. in Town Center

Tired of driving to Bellevue or Seattle for repairs and accessories for your wireless devices and smartphones?

IPhones, Samsung Galaxies and other smartphone models have become so ubiquitous, Sound & Vision owner and local resident David Lang said he believed the time was right for a local solution and opened the Island's first cellphone repair and accessory shop at 2758 78th Ave SE in Island Square.

"I often wanted things done (for my wireless devices), and we had to go off the Island to do that," he said. "We want to be a part of, be involved in the community."

The store opened Dec. 12, and Sound & Vision also specializes in repairing tablets and game consoles and selling stylish accessories. Lang is an Apple-certified repair technician, in addition to an expert at repairing and servicing other smartphone models, e-readers, tablets and wireless devices. Repairs such as liquid damage, cracked screens, data back-up and new battery supply replacements are among the services offered.

"My philosophy is 'don’t throw it away'," Lang said, explaining the differences between his store and E-Cycle Washington on SE 30th Street. Game consoles, for example, usually malfunction and fail becasue the drive usually wears out, which can be replaced.

"A lot of these these gadgets can be reused and updated, or the parts can be reused," se said. "Part of our business model is to help recycle: cell phones, any gaming consoles, Wii, also iPads, any Tablet computers — anything that’s a wireless device is recyclable."

Inside the store, the wall is lined with Otter skin, UAG and Survivor-brand smartphone cases and highly stylized smartphone "skin" SlickWraps. Under a glass case, iPhones with custom designs and colors are on display. An "iPhomorphosis" conversion kit to change the color or design of the iPhone is on sale at the store for $120.

Repair price range start at $49 for basic repairs, and from $80 to replace broken screens (for earlier models of the iPhone and iPods). An initial, free diagnostic is available for slow or malfunctioning phones.

Lang also runs his consulting business from an office at the store location, focused on business automation, "cloud services" and customer relationship management (CRM) with his colleague, Jen Morrison.

Originally from Seattle, he went to Southern California, and began working as a technologist and started his consulting business, Clear Scenario Solutions, 20 years ago, counting Microsoft, T-Mobile and Starbucks among his clients.

He said the idea of opening a retail and repair shop on Mercer Island came to him last Christmas when he noticed he was spending a lot of time away from his family. He said he planned running the store as a family business with the help of his wife, Stacey, and eventually his three children — ages 13, 10 and two.

"I saw myself working through Chrismas thinking, 'You know, what I want to have is a little more control of my time'," he said. "And a little more time with my family, and more options to be with them.”

Sound & Vision is holding a "Grand Opening" on Jan. 1, (store hours: Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., repair drop-off available or scehduled by appointment), to welcome in the public and show off the latest smartphone accessories and gadgets.

The first 20 customers who come in will get a free mood button for an iPhone. For more information or to contact the store, visit http://soundandvisionwireless.com/ or call 206-832-1818.