Reading to Write

Most Americans own a cell phone of some type. Some of them, like a couple of my brothers, still have a simple phone that they use only to make calls. However, a growing percentage, like my youngest brother and I, have “smart” phones. Actually, a better name for them that is growing in popularity is “handheld device” with the word “device” being code for mini-computer.

My cell phone holds my life. If I were to lose it, I’d be lost for days while I reassembled all the data that is stored on it. Losing my wallet would be easier to handle. That would only require a couple of phone calls to cancel my cards and trips to various agencies to pick up replacement ID cards and driver’s license. Losing my phone would create a black hole in my daily routine. It would require days of reassembly. In fact, some of the information couldn’t be recovered and I would need alternate methods of handling important activities.

1. It has my address book for all my family, friends and business contacts. This isn’t the simple call list held by phones for decades. This application allows me to include mailing addresses, company names, email addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, and a photo. It even has an area for making notes.
2. I used to keep a calendar on my computer that was synced with one online. Since I got my Blackberry, they are sadly out of date because I put everything in my phone and seldom take time to sync it with my Outlook.
3. Although my email still goes to my Outlook and gmail account, I now communicate by text message as well and that is all on my phone.
4. I have an application that uses my phone’s GPS function to measure the speed, distance, and time of my morning walks. It has allowed me to avoid replacing my step counter since the last one died.
5. I never set my alarm clock anymore because the alarm function of my phone offers much more flexibility and works just as well. I have 2 permanent alarms. One for daily use and a slightly different one for Sundays. I’ve also got one set up without a recurrence feature for those occasional times when I need to get up earlier for some reason. The clock also has a stopwatch function and a countdown/timer capability.
6. I check my weather app every day when I get up to help me decide on appropriate clothing. It also has a weather advisory feature that beeps to tell me if there are storm warnings posted.
7. Of course, I can get online with it to check my Facebook or search for locations when traveling. I am not fanatical about it, but it comes in handy sometimes.
8. Using the calculator on my old phone was such a pain that I seldom even tried. The calculator function of this one is simple. Besides which I have a scientific calculator app that can do almost anything in the way of math.
9. The Tasks function, Memo Pad, and Voice Note Recorder all have information that it would be very difficult and sometimes impossible to replace. In addition to these default apps, I also have a downloaded one for Notes that has all the functions of a calendar and alarm clock combined.
10. Almost all cell phones include cameras now. Mine is a 5 mp which is a mid-range quality. It also has a zoom, but the quality there is not very sharp. I’ve got several editing apps that do various things and it comes in handy when shopping or traveling to make quick snapshots for later reference.
11. The 8G storage card allows me to store 53 albums (it’s nowhere near full yet) and the phone keeps them organized by genre, album, artist or playlists. I don’t even own a portable CD player or mp3 device anymore.
12. In addition to the GPS tracking app, I have a mobile version of the Livestrong website where I keep a food diary. It enables me to record what I’ve eaten out before I forget it and so keep a more accurate track of my food intake.

And there’s still more. I didn’t even touch on the barcode scanner to check prices or the handy flashlight function. I think we need a whole new name for “smart” phones. Maybe Life Recorders or Data Books. For someone born about the same time as the first commercially usable computer, that took up a whole room, fitting all these functions into my pants pocket is truly amazing.