So, do you have one of the new "smartphones"? What do you do with it?
My husband set us up with IPhones last month after our regular cell phone service ended. I was equally eager and apprehensive about using this new technology. Yes, even though I know how to blog and do message boards and email and web surf, I feel like I am just scratching the surface of the computer world compared to my husband and to what they do on Num3ers. I have never even sent a text!
Little by little I am figuring out what I can do with this phone. Here are my favorite features so far:
Contacts: I have gone from copying contacts into my planner year after year to using a Rolodex to adding info to my email program to having it all on my IPhone and I have to say I love having this information all together and with me wherever I go. The neatest thing, IMHO, is the mapping feature. You merely touch someone's address to see a map of where they live. Need to get there? Touch "map from your current location" and see the route you need to take. Another touch and you can call them to let them know you are on your way.
Now, if we can only figure out how to print address labels for Christmas cards now that I have all my addresses in one place. I am sure my DH will figure out how!
Calendar: I started using Google Calendar some time ago and love it mostly. I am not ready to give up my paper planner, but do enjoy the convenience of the online version. I can access the calendar from my home computer or my IPhone - they are tied in together. Let's say I get an email about an upcoming event. I can add it to my computer calendar without getting up and walking to the kitchen where my paper planner resides. I can also print out the calendar for the week to check it against my paper version or give a copy to my DH so he knows what is gong on.
I also love the frequency option - wen you enter an event you can select if this occurs weekly, monthly, yearly or from one date to another. This is making birthdays and anniversaries easier to remember and I can indicate that the kid's theater class goes from the first week of September to the third week of November. The best thing is having my calendar with me when making doctor and dentist appointments. I may never have to call back and reschedule again! I downloaded a liturgical calendar too - I don't remember how, but I think I found out about this on the 4Real board.
Email: It is a perk to be able to check email and send a reply when I am out. What I check on my phone gets marked as read on my home computer.
Web: I can check Google reader when I am out and web surf on the 3G network. The loading is kind of slow and the picture small, but you can enlarge the screen by spreading your fingers apart. It took me a week or two before I realized that! It is also great for looking things up, like at a violin lesson I looked up Judas Maccabeus so Dancer would be convinced to play the melody more like a procession for a "conquering hero" than a lullaby! When I figure out how to log into the library site from my phone I can reserve library books online while I am out at a talk or a store. In the meantime I just put the titles under Notes.
Notes: There is a little notepad for keeping lists. I love lists. Some of the lists I keep on this are curriculum I want to look at for next year, next food buying club order, Target list, Michael's list, piano lesson fees, fees and dates of other activities I might want to add in the future and my grocery list. Now, DH is trying to get me to use Grocery Gadget but I am just not there yet. I also tend to transfer my grocery list to paper before I go so it is organized by categories. I put in on a clipboard with coupons and prop it up in my cart so I can see everything and cross off items. Otherwise, if I use the phone I keep having to turn it back on.
Around Me: This was great for traveling. Anywhere you are you can find out what is near in the way of restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, coffee, hotels, parking, grocery stores, pharmacies and more. Select what you are looking for and see the address and number of miles away. One more touch and view a map from your current location. Touch the phone icon and call them to check there hours. We used this all the time on our last trip to Oklahoma.
Weather: In just a few touches I can compare today's weather with my mom and sister's in Oklahoma, my cousin's in London, Dancer's pen pal in Florida, Sunshine's pen pal in Los Angeles and my friend's in Dallas.
Calculator: Great for a quick checkbook balance!
All Recipes: Have barley? Want a side dish ready in 45 minutes or less? View the matches and cook away.
Music: I admit I have not yet figured out ITunes. I don't think my DH wants me to get hooked yet and spend $$ downloading music! He did find something called Pandora that is a web radio. You can select a genre like Baroque music or a group like Solas (Irish music) and listen to your heart's content for FREE. I can even stick the IPhone into our classroom boom box and hear it amplified. I probably have a cord that would plug into the van speakers. too. One mor ething to figure out!
Misc: Local news stories, BBC, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal. A Dictionary/Thesaurus, a units conversion, Google Earth and games.
Oh, and did I mention it's a phone too?
Ok readers, here is your chance to be brave and comment. Figure out how to sign in and decipher the code. I would love to know what you do with your IPhone and what fun applications I may be missing!
