Each Christmas season, the movie “A Christmas Story” is played for everyone to enjoy. Most of us remember the days when a Daisy “Red Ryder” BB gun or American Flyer was the gift to have under the tree. This year every kid age 6 or older was more likely to have been looking for a smart phone. Over the 2011 Christmas weekend, 3.7 million Android phones were registered, and 108 million iPhones were sold in 2011 throughout the world.
Not that long ago, traveling may have required the use of a cell phone, a 2-way pager, and possibly a Walkman to keep up with a music collection, not to mention all the different charging devices to manage, and then finding an electrical outlet in the house or hotel room. Today, with a smart phone there is only one device, one charger, and one outlet needed to accomplish all the functions of those three older ones.
In fact, the smart phone is all that and so much more. A smart phone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary “feature” phone. What does all that mean? How can a smart phone be used?
Have you ever been on a trip, left the hotel, and found yourself wondering later in the day how to return to the hotel? Well, all you have to do is go to the smart phone and put the hotel address in, and its navigation system will lead you back there.
These devices have a seeming unlimited number of capabilities. Each function on the phone is a separate application (or “app” for short reference). All feature phones come supplied with basic applications such as the capability to place and receive calls and store contacts (people you want to call). Smart phones may also include digital camera and video functions, media players, GPS navigation, wireless internet connection and network connectivity capability through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology. Pricing varies depending upon the features and application capabilities, but you can expect to pay between $100 and $300 for today’s most popular models.
What else might you want to do with that new smart phone you received for Christmas? Were you ever shopping in a store for an item and wondered if another store close by has the same product for a better price? There is an app for that. All you have to do is scan the bar code and the smart phone will tell you which stores carry the product and the price at each store. How about being with the grandchildren and wanting to go to a local theater to catch a movie? I wonder what “G movie” is playing and what time the movie starts. Well, there is an app for that too. In fact, there is an app for almost anything and everything you can imagine; more than 300,000 applications for the Android and nearly one million apps for the iPhone.
So why else might you want a smart phone? I hear some people say that if they call their children or grandchildren, it takes a long time to receive a return call. If they text them, however, there is almost always an immediate response. We live in a connected world, and the best way to communicate with the people we care about is to keep up with the world we live in, today and tomorrow. That requires us to constantly learn new things to stay connected, and it also helps our brain to stay active.
If you would like more information about smart phones, you could consult your grandkids, or just come into the computer lab in Prairie Lodge during open hours and ask.
