Verizon and JuiceBoxJungle sponsored me to write this post about parenthood and smart phones.
This is my cell phone. I'm not joking, it really is mine and I still have it! Okay, I no longer use it--my kids play with it and friends ask about it when they come over for playdates. But I really am behind in the techie/cell phone world. I use discarded cell phones from my brother and dad when they upgrade, which is the only time I get an upgrade. I don't have a smart phone, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use it. The only features I use on my cell phone are voice dialing and speakerphone. My current phone can take pictures, but I don't use it because I don't have a clue as to how to get them off of there. I've never sent a text message and honestly don't understand how people can type on such small keys!
Cell phones have come a long way, and I know a lot of people who have smart phones. A lot of them probably would have a hard time adjusting to life without them now, especially since they can access their calendar and email and everything (I don't even know what all!). I even know some people who blog from their cell phones, pictures and all! It blows my mind! So would a smart phone help me?
I honestly don't know when I would use it. I like having a cell phone to talk to our families and friends long-distance, and for babysitters to be able to get a hold of us, or for emergencies in the car. I'm not on Twitter and I don't think I'm spontaneous enought to blog from a cell phone. Would it help me to be more organized (and less cluttered)? Probably not. So would it be worth the extra monthly expense? Not for me.
But what about you? Has your smart phone become an extension of your hand and changed your life? In what ways? How do you use it to simplify your life or help with your "mommy brain"? Does it help you remember appointments, keep track of your finances, or entertain your kids in a pinch? What is your favorite cell phone feature? I'm just curious! :-)
Print Your Coupons Here!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Life and Cell Phones
| Posted by Jessica-MomForHim at 2:40 PM | Labels: JuiceBoxJungle |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
10 comments:
No smart phone here... I do twitter at times, but not from my phone. I have no idea how.
I do text, all the time, but I only learned from my children. It is a great way to communicate.
I don't have a smart phone, but my favorite feature about my phone is texting. I like it because when my husband is at work he usually is in meetings and can't answer his phone, but can usually respond to a text.
Other than that, I would prefer to not even really have a cell phone.
And I'm commenting via my iPhone :)
I love my smart phone. I rarely use our computer. Daily features I use: feed reader, email, calendar, phone, and the Internet, facebook, Twitter, and a few Gluten Free apps that allow me to quickly look up a particular food item.
Apps/features I use weekly, if not more often: Logos Bible study (translations, commentaries, dictionaries ... any Bible resource imaginable), Grocery IQ (keep an on going list, email, collaborate on a list, print a list, search out coupons online), Blogger (blog from my phone), calculator, restaraunt finder, bathroom finder, maps/gps feature, voice dialing, and a few cake decorating ones.
I find I spend far less time 'online' or at the computer when I regularly use my smart phone. I also find it's a temptation because it is so easy to pick up & get lost in rather then spending time with or playing with my kids if I have free time. It's made me purposeful in aligning my priorities! Oh yeah - texting is something I do often, too.
I'll let you play with mine at retreat if you want to try it out!
Forgot a few things :)
I have a few educational game apps for my kids to play.
I keep a lot of photos on it, take lots of pictures with it, and upload the pictures to flickr or email them to family.
I also have all of our CDs & iTunes music on here & plug it in in my car or with headphones or just on it's own speaker if I'm ever in the mood for music. (which is 90% of my day)
I also use a 'chat/im' feature & chat with family/friends who are also online.
Promise this is my last comment :) feel free to copy & paste together! There's not an app for keeping my brain organized while sitting up at 1am with a daughter miserably in pain with an ear infection!
Favorite feature is my calendar. Jacob, all 3 kids (even Connor at 8.5 months), & I all have 'accounts.' every activity is scheduled & automatically updates on Jacob & my calendars - we're always I touch & know what's going on in each orher's day. You have to think we're saving a few trees! We hardly ever handwrite notes - email, chat, text, calendar are secondary to spoken communication in our house!
If it weren't for my techy hubby I'd be in your shoes. I've totally fallen head over heals with my phone & would be lost without it! I can even pre order my Starbucks drink from my iPhone!
I'm with you. I carry my cell phone but it is almost never on. It doesn't even have voice mail. I don't even text.
Yes, Lisa, it was you I was thinking about who blogs from her phone! ;-) I knew you would be lost without it! It's just hard to wrap my dinosaur-mind around!
i just upgraded to a verizon droid. so far i love it. i am still learning all the things that it can do. i text, facebook, online, email it is really great.
I'm totally lost with technology, too. I think I would like a Smart Phone if I could figure out how to use it. We don't even have an ipod or really a computer that's worth anything (ours is quickly dying). We had cell phones rather than home phones before we moved, but now the cell phone service is so awful, we've switched back to a land line with get this, an answering machine!
This past weekend, we went to Dallas and realized the store we were going to had closed. We had to find a kind person willing to search for things on the internet for us and then willing to call around for us because we didn't even have a phone of our own (and there aren't pay phones to be found any more). I think we'll likely get an ipod (for free, from credit card "points") and at least use that for wireless capabilities and then get a phone to use in emergencies (ie when I go into labor). As for texting, I really don't get it at all. My sister's phone has a keyboard, which is nice, but I'd prefer talking to people.
I use an iPod touch as I already have a cell phone which I have an old rate of $40/month, only use on occasion or emergency. Wouldnt be without it when kids are in school. I love my itouch, I have my calendar at hand at all times and have installed several apps for myself and the kids.
It is a wifi connection, so when I'm at home or somewhere that has free Internet connection. I have a text app that I use too. I also have loaded movies, music, games and pictures.
Not only is it useful, it is fun to use.
Good luck with your decision.
Have A Great Day, Beth
Post a Comment