It’s All About the Apps

To actually refer to my cell phone as a phone is a bit of a misnomer, since that feature is used the least. What should our smartphone actually be referred to as? The first thing that comes to mind is our Tech Blankie.

To drive this home, I will pull from my distant past, yesterday at lunch. I am heading to a Thai restaurant with my boss and two gentlemen we just had a productive meeting with. Once we sat down my boss, and one the other guys, we will call Colby, instantly pull out their Widgets to check email, texts, Facebook, etc.; you know the routine.  And I have to admit, I went for my phone briefly too. But I quickly saw the humor in the scenario and made a joke referencing the situation. The ironic thing was the youngest of us, let’s say he was a “Millennial’, was the only one who did not go to the Blankie.

Yes, I know Tech-Blankie is a horrible name, but it most likely helped drive my point across, and hopefully brought a quick smile to your face, because you know this happens with you too. So let’s not get hung up with the name, let’s look at how we use our smartphone, kind of like an old Swiss Army knife.

I have four different email accounts I check pretty much the second I either hear the ding or feel the vibration. I also rely on texting and FB messenger more than the traditional voice portion of the phone. Brag-alert, I have 85 Gb of music at my disposal, which I have been accumulating for decades. Another 25G of photos and a few Gigs of video.

What about the Apps? It’s all about the Apps! I believe I have 5 pages of App’s to scroll through, often deleting if I find I hardly ever use. I am a bit of a Social Media honk, so I am often on Facebook or LinkedIn from my phone and have been dabbling with Twitter for a few months.

I keep up with the local news and weather from Fox17 or WoodTV apps, not cable or the local press. I use Google Apps to get me everywhere, since my internal GPS has been faulty for years. I use my flashlight function to navigate down unlit stairways at friends’ homes (thanks Joe). I use a calculator App when I run out of fingers, or do not have time to put into Excel SS. I became a Uber user recently too, after seeing how comfortable Alex Dade, our Mitel PAM, was utilizing the service when we were at the MACUL conference at Cobo Center in March.

I often watching sporting events from my phone too, ranging from live games to just highlights. When I go to my local watering hole I use my phone as the playmaker box to play Trivia or Poker. If a song is playing in the background I use SoundHound to help me determine the artist and song. I used to use CardCrunch to scan in business cards, but am looking for a better, yet still free version. I have looked at SamCard and a few others, but would love to get a suggestion from someone that has the 411.

One of the great work related Apps I utilize on a daily basis is Mitel Communicator. Communicator is an easy way to communicate efficiently with my coworkers, business partners and customers.  If you are mobile at all in your work environment, you could potentially benefit greatly from Mitel Communicator.

Please share some of your favorite Apps. Or better yet, share a pic of a group hanging together, but actually glued to their devices.