What is the use of a smartphone?

‘Smart phones’ allow their users to multi-task, thus accomplishing two very important things at the same time. Like driving a car while asking your friends “what’s up ?” and then crashing into other vehicles….or running over small children…

To isolate the user from have to interact with real people.

Oh, and what @OneBadApple said to distract drivers and make them even more dangerous on the road.

As I’m sure many of you do, I remember life before cell phones, and It was just fine and nowhere as primitive as younger people may think.

You could travel long distances without ever once feeling compelled to make a call. All you needed in the grocery store was ta paper list—no need to call home to block the aisle with your basket while yelling into the phone to ask which brand or size or cut of meat to buy.
Libraries and book stores were quiet places to browse and relax and learn and listen.

Sure, people talked while watching movies, but they didn’t talk into their phones. and you didn’t have to be asked by a cartoon character on the screen to shut them off.
Drivers might have been distracted by a million things but tapping on a tiny keyboard and staring at a tiny glowing screen while dodging other cars wasn’t one of them—and pedestrians didn’t text while walking; they talked to the people walking with them, including their kids. You didn’t have to download an app to have fun because there recreational pastimes like miniature golf, bowling, TV game shows and board games were popular.

And guess what? If you couldn’t make, take or return an “important” phone call for a few hours or even a day, your company didn’t go out of business, your spouse or S/O didn’t tweet your name in vain to the world, and somehow the world just kept on turning.

Sure I have a smartphones and I use it a lot. Could I live without it? The answer is… I used to, very nicely. Really.

The point of multi-functional technology is to use it as best suits your own needs. The other benefit is that one device serves multiple purposes, whereas we needed multiple devices a decade ago – or just didn’t have portable options for email and chat.

Also, I often have to look twice, as the iPod Touch devices are almost identical to iPhones – so they may not be ‘smartphones’ that you’re seeing. Additionally, some people will hand-down their technology when they upgrade, so some of the devices you’re seeing may not be actively connected to a cell/mobile service and are now used only for entertainment rather than communication.

I’m a year into smartphone use.

I have an unlimited data plan for $35 a month through Virgin Mobile. I don’t have a $500, top of the line phone, but mine serves me well.

We don’t have cable or internet at my house, so I pay $15 extra – total $50 – to turn my phone into a WiFi hotspot so I can use my laptop at home. Saves me riding my bike three miles to the closest library or McDonald’s.

It helps my husband, who works construction and plays in a band. I use the maps software to plan his driving routes.

I use it to stay in contact with my friends, who are all pretty far-flung. None of us particularly like talking on the phone, so my cheapo 300 minute plan works fine.

I have a library app I’m using to catalogue my book collection. Whereas I used to have to manually enter each of my books in an Excel spreadsheet, with this app I can simply scan the barcode of each book, and the app spits out a filled-in spreadsheet. Badabing!

As a very proud mama, I can’t overstate how nice it is to have a ½ inch thick HD video camera in your pocket.

And, y’know, stuff.

I don’t play a whole lot of cell phone games, but I can certainly understand why other people do. Something to do to pass the time on the Subway. Used to have to carry around crossword puzzle books, and now you can play Scrabble with someone in Korea completely free. It’s pretty cool.

Seek just gave the “responsible user” perspective relative to these devices. I am by no means a ‘technology hater’, and in fact wouldn’t be here right now if I was.

In May, we drove all around the country to visit many of the places which for years we’d only just talked about visiting. After about 5 hours of driving each day, I still felt alert and safe, but would zone-out in a ‘bored zombie’ kind of way (especially in Nebraska – ha ha).

Right about that time our daughter in Brooklyn would send a photo of our smiling grandson to my wife’s phone. For safety reasons I’d only take a quick peek at it, but that photo would always wake me up and energize me for the final two hours of that day’s driving.

So yeah, smart-phone technology can really be a good friend when used properly by people who are not irresponsible idiots…

I got a smartphone a year ago and I love it. I can check my emails, I can take a photo and post it directly to Flickr. I can read a newspaper without those big awkward pages that leave ink on your fingers. I can take notes, check my calendar, leave a message to my friends on Facebook to let them know whether or not I’m meeting them in the pub after work, and I have enough Sudoku puzzles to keep me entertained for years.

I mostly use my iPhone for work, but here are some apps that come in handy for me:

“Shazam” – If you’re out somewhere and you hear a song you like but you have no idea what song it is or who sings it, you just push a button, the phone listens to the song, then shows you not only who the artist is, but the name of the album, the lyrics, etc. I’ve found this to be helpful for even obscure music.

“Publix” – this way, my shopping list is right on my phone and I don’t have to write an actual list. I know, lazy much?? But it does help keep me from forgetting things once I’m in the store. Plus I can use their circular to know what’s on sale before I get there.

“Scout” – or Siri herself can always give me directions to get where I need to go, if it’s unfamiliar territory.

“CLC Lodging” – this app will tell me the nearest hotel that will accept my CLC (corporate) card for overnight stays.

“Walgreens” – I can reorder my prescriptions or send them my photos directly from my phone for printing. It costs .15 per print and I just have to show up and get them.

“Google Drive” – Yeah, work related.

Of course, I have the ubiquitous “Words With Friends” and I usually have 5 or so games going at a time. It’s pretty much scrabble. Other than that, I really don’t play games on the phone. Not even Angry Birds!

You can look at porn when you’re sat on the toilet.

I use my smartphone to sync notes with my home computer and coursework with my tablet. I take photos and videos. I read school textbooks on it. I communicate with it.

Do I need to have a high-end phone like the one I have now? Maybe not. It’s a convenience thing. I used to carry around textbooks and a digital camera and notebooks and a dumbphone. Now I just carry one lightweight device. On a lower end device, the screen might be smaller, the operating system laggier and the battery life could be worse. I guess what you’re paying for when you get an expensive smartphone is one that can perform all of those different tasks reasonably well.

It may be yes as well as no. There are many features in a smartphone but if you don’t have idea & don’t know how to use their applications so it is wastage of money.

As little as 15 yrs. ago who would have imagined that you could carry around a computer that fits in your pocket?

That’s only one of the devices which my iPhone substitutes for. It’s also an excellent camera which is always with me.

What initially sold me on getting one was wheni read an article in Consumer Reports evaluating the pros and cons of GPS systems for driving. And among them was listed the iPhone. Imagine my surprise.

So, I did further research and realized that $200.00 was a darn good bargain for a device that’s could replace a dedicated GPS unit, a camera, and the portability of a laptop computer. And all of this was in addition to being a music player (every iPhone is also an iPod ) and a telephone.

So that’s five appliances in one for a couple hundred bucks. (and some people use it as a gaming unit as well)

To me, smartphones are pretty amazing technology with a multitude of uses.

PS: I also rely on mine as a nightstand alarm clock and haven’t needed to wear a wristwatch in years. If I need an egg timer in the kitchen, I’ve got one right in my pocket. I can also have recipes at my fingertips and convert from metric measurements if necessary. I’m never without a flashlight as well as a strobe light if stranded in an auto emergency.

With all the FREE Apps out there, this is just scratching the surface of practical uses.