A disturbing number of baby boomers have yet to get past the fear of using a cell phone for things other than making calls. For example, texting is here and the kids were right, you can contact six people in the same amount of time it takes for one phone call. By the time you get past “hi, how are you? I’m fine, you’re fine? how are the kids? did you see the game? well I’m sorry to bother you but…” You can send out a half dozen text messages – “game at 8:30, my place, bring beer.”
So here is a very quick update on phone technology for the less savvy or the technophobes among us. The world is about being connected these days. The time when you can snooze in the afternoon without answering email or text messages is gone. Also gone are the days when you could escape being connected while in a car. Now it’s almost mandatory to talk on the phone while driving, though we’ve not heard such good reports about texting and driving lately.
For anyone still amazed that you can have a phone with no wires on it, sit down because now there is something called a “smartphone.” Notice it uses two words mushed into one. That’s always a sure sign it’s a high technology item. These phones do a lot more than just make calls. In fact, the newest ones do pretty much everything a personal secretary would have done for you in the past, before secretaries became extinct that is.
The phones use something called an “app,” which is short for “application” just like a regular computer. These little programs are truly amazing and can be used for maps and directions, taking notes, tracking calories, games and a host of other things. But despite the fact there are approximately 30,000 apps out there (according to Apple anyway), we found the list sorely lacking in apps for baby boomers. So we have taken it on ourselves to suggest several apps that we believe would make all our lives easier. If you have more ideas we encourage you to write to us and we’ll include them in a future article.
Key Finder: This would locate where you left the car keys. Of course if you have a tendency to also lose the phone it really wouldn’t help that much.
No Doze: This little app would sense when you get drowsy and start to slump over. It would have an annoying little beep to wake you up but could be set to vibrate for use at work or in church. A special extra would be to wake you up when a phone call is over.
What’s His/Her Name?: If you’re like us you can remember a face but the names start to evade us after a while. With this app, snap a picture of the person you’re with and it will come back with their name. They use something similar in stores now to identify prices of goods. An option would be to be able to speak a description and have the phone come back with a list of names that fit.
This Time Tomorrow: We know they have apps that let you schedule items on a calendar, but that is too clunky and takes too much effort. This app would listen to all the promises you make and schedule them. If you happen to say at work, for example, “I’ll send you that file,” then the app will remind you the next day. You would be able to override the program if your promise is pure bull – something we believe politicians would find very handy.
Modern Music Detector: We know you can all identify James Taylor from the Doors from Led Zeppelin, but can you tell the difference between Neon Trees, The Band Perry and Maroon 5? Granted, you may not want to know, but in order to stay hip in the modern world you need to be able to speak to people under 50 about their music. This app would hear a group name being discussed and tell you when to nod, shrug your shoulders or make a face. An option would be the ability to sort music into categories such as rock, pop, hip hop and pure crap.
Photo Director: It’s great that you can stuff 10,000 or so photos onto a cell phone camera these days, but getting them off and onto a computer is pure hell. This app would automatically scan the pictures for bad ones and delete them. If you take a lot of bad pictures, you never need to worry about filling up the memory. An option would be the ability to intercept and block pictures others are taking of you. This would probably be very popular with the Hollywood set.
Note: Pew Research reports that 8 of 10 adults now have a cell phone, and 43% of them have phones with apps – the statistical equivalent of saying that 35% of the entire US adult population have apps on their phones. However, less than a quarter of all adults actually use apps and one in ten users aren’t even sure if their phones have apps at all. Top uses of a cell phone, other than for making calls, are (in order) take pictures, text messages, access the internet, play games, email, record video, play music, get instant messages and use an app.
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