Why on earth did I hold out for an iPhone 4G?
I recently ditched my Samsung Net10 phone. It just couldn’t keep up with where I wanted to go with my business and social life. Seriously. When I traveled (which I have done a lot of recently) I would tote along my phone, Netbook, GPS, digital voice recorder, HD Flip Cam and my iPod. I’m not saying I was living in the days of horse and buggies, but I did bring a bunch of stuff around with me.
What now? I spent the last 10 hours, 3 minutes (according to my iPhone) getting to know it as well as discover a myriad of applications that will “simplify” my life.
I get geeked-out about this kind of stuff, because I hate wasting time. If I am stuck somewhere and I need information or I just have “downtime” I enjoy being productive to some extent. I love the idea of productivity and efficiency. I never liked doing things the long way. Because shortcuts are not shortcuts, they are actually a better way to do things. The long way to do things now was once considered a shortcut years before. The iPhone is what I consider the Swiss Army Knife of productivity.
That being said, here is a list of apps that I downloaded recently and a brief explanation of why I chose them.
Facebook, Twitter– to keep up on my social networking info.
WordPress for iPhone – I now run four blogs (two for myself). Several times, I will get a call saying, Matthew would you put a post about “x” up or change this little thing. The technology isn’t exactly where I’d like to see it, but it is simple and streamlined.
Skype – I take advantage of Skype’s free and low cost calling features. I also use Skype for my customer service phone numbers.
Voice Memos – Great voice recorder. I will be using this for interviews.
UStream – Yes, live video coming soon from my iPhone. I have tested it out and it is quite choppy yet, but I will keep that in mind when I shoot.
ShoutOUT – Speech to Text. I have been waiting for this!!! I have used it to send text messages, we’ll see how far I take it.
Evernote – A way for me to capture things. Quick text notes, photos, voice memos – all searchable. I guess text within photos is searchable too!
Expedia – Book reservations and check reservations from a simple app. The last time I was in San Francisco I packed my itinerary away somewhere and almost didn’t make it to my plane! I had no clue as to what airline I was flying – thus I didn’t know what terminal to go to. It was a mess, but fortunately I was able to get a hold of Fiona and she remembered which airline I was on. It could have been bad.
Google – Yep, access to my google account quickly as well as all of their online tools and applications.
Fandango – I like the idea of getting movies and show times for theaters in my area (wherever I am at the moment) whenever I want.
LoopNet & Zillow.com – Two great tools for researching real estate and finding deals and property values.
Craigslist & eBay – quick apps that are much more streamlined than using their standard website on iPhone.
PS Mobile – PhotoShop Image editing on the fly.
iStockphoto – cheap, royalty-free photos for any occasion. Great for classing-up your blog posts.
iMovie – Great for editing movies (at the minimum the head and tail of the videos) before posting to YouTube channel or other.
Camera – Shoot HD video and upload to accounts online. Take photos of family, events, blogs and training. Photograph legal documents and file online.
Gmail – staying connected when I need to be.
One thing I keep in mind. As I see a few friends hide behind there smart phones at get-togethers or even in their own home; I need to realize that this technology can also close people off.
At the same time we are texting, tweeting, FaceBooking or skyping friends, colleagues, acquaintances or people we don’t even like located at the far corners of the world; we sometimes neglect the interpersonal relationships with those who are only a few steps away.
I remember to turn off the phone when it’s family time. Take out the earbuds and tunr off the ringer.
So if you don’t reach me after business hours, it may be that I’m just ignoring you.
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