7 ms·

I have a love/hate relationship with my smartphone, but I'm still amazed at some of the things I can do with it. Adding to your list: When my car's GPS took me

by qjz 15y ago

I have a love/hate relationship with my smartphone, but I'm still amazed at some of the things I can do with it. Adding to your list: When my car's GPS took me miles down a road that was washed out on a trip hundreds of miles from my home, Google Navigation on my smartphone suggested a different route that got me safely to my destination. It's a flexible and reliable alarm and kitchen timer. I can read novels comfortably in bed on my smartphone (none of my several laptops are very ergonomic for this purpose). I can map my bike rides and get stats on min/max/average speed, elevation, etc. (all the while using it as a music player). It lets me easily maintain multiple shopping lists. I can tune my guitar with it. It functions as a real flashlight (my phone has a very bright LED). My smartphone is no replacement for a computer, but it's better at these tasks than any computer I own.

delackner 15y ago
Oddly, with the conceit of an offline GPS app (map data in the phone) every item you listed would work without a mobile data connection. The killer network-enabled app is still on the drawing-board. (I don't feel like being able to instagram a photo and have your friends "like" a black-n-white photo of your dinner WHILE YOU ARE STILL EATING IT! is it).
- jessedhillon 15y ago
  Spotify: 90% of the songs I can think of, including Hindi songs, anywhere you have a data connection.
bambax 15y ago
> I can read novels comfortably in bed on my smartphone Really? I tried with an iPod Touch and an iPad, and really hated both. Then I bought a Kindle and found it extraordinary. The Kindle is the best device I've ever owned.
- josephb 15y ago
  If you are a reader, Kindle all the way.
- idiopathic 15y ago
  I bought the Kindle when it first out and loved it but never carried it with me, and found it difficult to read at night - so as soon as reader version came out for my Android, I used that and never looked back. Reading in bed with a smartphone is great because the light does not bother my partner, and after two minutes of my falling asleep, the phone switches off its screen as well. Any bed lamp I use keeps me awake rather than allowing me to fall asleep. (I know I am the exception as I have been reading on Palm Pilot screens since the late 90s - it was the only way to make sure I could get enough reading time in medical school.)
  - bambax 15y ago
    My Kindle case has a lamp that is very effective and yet not too bright. It's perfect for reading in bed. (And you can't use a smartphone to read on the beach or any place under direct sunlight...)
    - gbog 15y ago
      > use a smartphone to read on the beach Not only that. To the GP: I read also on my phone (Nexus one) but I feel the backlight is not very gentle for my eyes, even when using FBreader in night mode. Also, characters are too small. To me, a (real B&W e-ink) Kindle is better, or a paper book.
    - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
      Actually, if you get a phone with the AMOLED screens, you can read in direct sunlight. I have a Nexus S, and I do that every single day. I take it out of my pocket the moment I step outside, the screen automatically jumps to full brightness, and I have no problems at all using the phone to read emails, set up GPS while I'm walking to my car, or compose text messages. I can even do this with my sunglasses on.
- rbrcurtis 15y ago
  reading on an an LCD really is a love it or hate it sort of thing; I love it, many people I know, who are more attached to paper books, hate it.
- wazoox 15y ago
  I have both an eInk Sony reader and a B&N NookColor, and both are pretty good for reading. I prefer the eInk for casual reading, but the Nook is great for PDFs and papers, and reading in bed without light :)
gbog 15y ago
> my car's GPS took me [away] Why not using your phone navigation then? Here in China, without turn-by-turn GPS, I would be lost in nowhere, and the Chinese things they sell as GPS don't count. > My smartphone is no replacement for a computer Mine is, in many cases. Before, I was in the habit of turning on my laptop to check some pages or feeds after dinner, now I do this confortably installed in the sofa, on my phone. I just miss, obviously, the content production abilities of a computer. Hope they'll find quickly a way to input text conveniently in a phone-sized thing. (I won't bet on the voice for that, maybe just a good hand writting detector could work as well)
- rbrcurtis 15y ago
  Text input in horizontal mode is pretty comfortable, IMO, but then the screen you are inputting into usually isnt visible. I'd like to see a phone with a popup screen for horizontal mode. :P edit: oh yeah, they make slide out keyboards for this exact reason. totally forgot about those.

by qjz 15y ago

delackner 15y ago

Oddly, with the conceit of an offline GPS app (map data in the phone) every item you listed would work without a mobile data connection. The killer network-enabled app is still on the drawing-board. (I don't feel like being able to instagram a photo and have your friends "like" a black-n-white photo of your dinner WHILE YOU ARE STILL EATING IT! is it).

jessedhillon 15y ago
Spotify: 90% of the songs I can think of, including Hindi songs, anywhere you have a data connection.

bambax 15y ago

> I can read novels comfortably in bed on my smartphone Really? I tried with an iPod Touch and an iPad, and really hated both. Then I bought a Kindle and found it extraordinary. The Kindle is the best device I've ever owned.

josephb 15y ago
If you are a reader, Kindle all the way.
idiopathic 15y ago
I bought the Kindle when it first out and loved it but never carried it with me, and found it difficult to read at night - so as soon as reader version came out for my Android, I used that and never looked back. Reading in bed with a smartphone is great because the light does not bother my partner, and after two minutes of my falling asleep, the phone switches off its screen as well. Any bed lamp I use keeps me awake rather than allowing me to fall asleep. (I know I am the exception as I have been reading on Palm Pilot screens since the late 90s - it was the only way to make sure I could get enough reading time in medical school.)
- bambax 15y ago
  My Kindle case has a lamp that is very effective and yet not too bright. It's perfect for reading in bed. (And you can't use a smartphone to read on the beach or any place under direct sunlight...)
  - gbog 15y ago
    > use a smartphone to read on the beach Not only that. To the GP: I read also on my phone (Nexus one) but I feel the backlight is not very gentle for my eyes, even when using FBreader in night mode. Also, characters are too small. To me, a (real B&W e-ink) Kindle is better, or a paper book.
  - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
    Actually, if you get a phone with the AMOLED screens, you can read in direct sunlight. I have a Nexus S, and I do that every single day. I take it out of my pocket the moment I step outside, the screen automatically jumps to full brightness, and I have no problems at all using the phone to read emails, set up GPS while I'm walking to my car, or compose text messages. I can even do this with my sunglasses on.
rbrcurtis 15y ago
reading on an an LCD really is a love it or hate it sort of thing; I love it, many people I know, who are more attached to paper books, hate it.
wazoox 15y ago
I have both an eInk Sony reader and a B&N NookColor, and both are pretty good for reading. I prefer the eInk for casual reading, but the Nook is great for PDFs and papers, and reading in bed without light :)

gbog 15y ago

> my car's GPS took me [away] Why not using your phone navigation then? Here in China, without turn-by-turn GPS, I would be lost in nowhere, and the Chinese things they sell as GPS don't count. > My smartphone is no replacement for a computer Mine is, in many cases. Before, I was in the habit of turning on my laptop to check some pages or feeds after dinner, now I do this confortably installed in the sofa, on my phone. I just miss, obviously, the content production abilities of a computer. Hope they'll find quickly a way to input text conveniently in a phone-sized thing. (I won't bet on the voice for that, maybe just a good hand writting detector could work as well)

rbrcurtis 15y ago
Text input in horizontal mode is pretty comfortable, IMO, but then the screen you are inputting into usually isnt visible. I'd like to see a phone with a popup screen for horizontal mode. :P edit: oh yeah, they make slide out keyboards for this exact reason. totally forgot about those.