Are You Smarter Than Your Smartphone

Now that our carrier has an affordable calling plan to Canada, Dave and I are becoming untethered.

And that is not the same as unhinged although I'm sure someone besides me wants to make that comment. HA! Beat ya to it. A good defense is a good offense. ;)

We only kept the landline because of the unlimited long distance to Canada while the cell phone plans were too expensive. We Skype more than we call these days but still need a way to reach that part of our family in a hurry or emergency and vice versa. So with that obstacle gone and the fact that our land line phones need to be replaced, the timing was right to make the change. Among the many benefits two stand out -

• Being able to free up surfaces around the house. 3 of the four phones in our house are on a tabletop of some sort. The 4th, a kitchen wall phone, may have to stay up until I find something to hide the likely different shade/fade of paint behind it.

• And obviously most important is a savings of $40 per month on our phone bill. Not all of which was just removing the land line.

Since upgrading the phones was part of the deal and since my phone will be 'on' more often now I decided it was time to get a smartphone for myself. The staff at the Verizon store was very kind not to snicker at my 'old' phone which is of the type they probably haven't seen in a very long time. Heck, some of the staff are so young they probably don't recall ever selling one like it. Old or not, it still has use. I'll likely donate it to a domestic abuse or similar program.

So now I am the proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S3. My original plan was to go into the store with "Give me the most basic smartphone you have". But Dave wanted the S3, the price was right with the new plan and I was able to do a quick bit of research and learned enough to say "yeah, ok, that works for me."

I admit to being a bit panicky last night. I know it has lots of secrets and capability. Would I be able to learn it all and handle it? I may be a self proclaimed Dork but on something as basic as a phone one wants to maintain some level of dignity. I resolved the panic by - finally - reminding myself it's just a phone with bells and whistles that I've lived without this long and I do NOT have to have complete command of this toy in one night. :) I can turn it on, turn it off, make a call and text. I did learn a few other things last night but those 4 were really all I needed to start.

I've resolved, however, to learn at least one new thing about it every day for the next little while. I'll likely have time to learn more than one thing on most days but at least one before I go to sleep is reasonable even on a busy day.

After work I'll be going out to purchase some kind of protective cover. It's a very nice phone, very light but also very thin and slippery. A protective cover is like an insurance policy. If I have one I'll never drop it :) I've done an informal poll on FB (thank you if you contributed to that) and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm looking for now.  I'd love to hear your comments about your experience with your smartphone.

• What does it do that blows you away or has you saying "Really? Do I need that?".
• What apps besides the basic ones (phone, messaging, email and internet) do you absolutely love or hate

Until I 'see' you next, keep smiling and keep moving.....