I've had the same cell phone number for eighteen years now. Not many people can say that.
The first analog phone I owned was the size of a chihuahua and had the reception of a hand-held AM radio with a broken antenna and weak batteries. I had that phone for six years and used it maybe four times at most. If I remember correctly, it only ever rang once. It lived in my glove box in case of an emergency while I paid the bill month after month.
During those years my phone provider changed hands four times. Technology pushed forward and cell phones shrunk to a more manageable size. I started getting tempting offers from the new (and still current) provider, and while I still had no intentions on using it for anything other than emergencies, I took the bait and graduated to a new phone. A few years later I upgraded again, and then again almost three years ago.
My life changed greatly over the course of those upgrades and I gradually started using my phone more and more. Once I had one that actually fit in my purse, the sheer convenience of it drove the use. Do we need milk? I'm not sure. Call home and find out while standing in front of the cooler at the store instead of guessing. Then, more and more friends and family started embracing the cell phone age. That took convenience to a whole new level. There was no longer a need to wait until the evening to make a call and hope to catch them at home. Everyone was suddenly accessible any time, any place. Then Punky was born and the rest is history. I couldn't go a day without my phone now. I need to know I can be easily reached if something happens when we're apart. Period.
My contract was up on my last phone in April. Even though I hated that phone more than any other I ever owned, I hung onto it while I teetered back and forth on the whole concept of smart phones. Cool? Yep. Expensive? Definitely. Worth it? I wasn't convinced. My phone was dying a slow death for months. It would hold a charge for maybe a day, but die suddenly and unexpectedly in the midst of a single phone call. The front screen rarely worked, and the other would randomly go black for no reason. It was time to make a move.
I read all I could about smart phones, and annoyed the hell out of everyone around me that has one. Do you have one? What kind? Do you like it? Can I touch it? See, the last phone I bought was the most popular model at the time, and like I said, I hated it. I wasn't about to make the same mistake again.
A few weeks ago I bit the bullet and made the upgrade to a smart phone. I decided to go with the new iPhone 4S for a few reasons, the biggest being the fact that I have an iPod Touch which is exactly like the phone without the phone component. I have my entire music collection on it, plus videos and games to amuse Punky when we're on the road. I knew I could copy it all in a few simple clicks rather than starting all over with a different brand of phone.
The verdict? I love it. I feel like a kid with a new toy. It didn't take long to figure out why they call 'em smart phones. Talk about holding your entire life in the palm of your hand. It's amazing.
There truly is an app for just about anything you can imagine, and all of that information is with you and at your fingertips every moment. You can track your periods, easily count calories, and see the current temperature outside. You can schedule every meeting, birthday, and doctor appointment with multiple reminders how ever far in advance you want them. You can manage your bank account and pay bills, instantly get new real estate listings in your area, and turn your house lights on while you are out for the evening. You can keep track of your household budget, keep up with social networking, and receive breaking news alerts. You can scan barcodes to compare prices between stores, organize your grocery list by aisle to view while shopping, and take quality pictures and videos. You can keep up with the stock market, manage your medication, and learn a new language. You can get instant turn-by-turn directions, do-it-yourself manuals, and first aid instructions. And, of course, you can read books, play games, and listen to music.
As an added bonus, the iPhone has Siri - your personal, virtual assistant. The voice recognition software blows my mind. The phone can do almost anything I need by simply asking the question. This comes in handy with an extremely inquisitive three-year-old. When she asks a tough question, I ask my phone and have an answer in seconds. Just in the last few days I've needed to know how to say 'peach' in Spanish, how far the Earth is from the sun, and how big (wide) the railroad tracks are. Yes, I'm serious, and yes, she really did just turn three.
I've used my cell phone as my alarm clock for years and now it's never been easier. I tell the phone to set the alarm for the time I want and it's done without pushing a button. If I need to call for a doctor appointment during my lunch hour, I tell the phone to remind me at noon so I don't forget. It tells me the current temperature at seven every morning so I know whether or not to start the car early.
No comments:
Post a Comment