Mobile Device Tips
I have a Samsung Galaxy SIII and use it all the time - although not so much as a phone! We're members of the fast shrinking group of fogies who still have a land line. We've had it for more years than I'm willing to admit to here, and it's the number everyone has. It's such a pain to change your phone number that we just keep using it. I also don't carry my phone on me all the time. If I did that at home, I'd end up walking off without it. And since I have a long drive to work through some somewhat isolated areas (and it's dang cold here right now - it would be dangerous to get stranded and not be able to call for help), I want a phone with me. So since the smart phone lives in my purse at home, I often don't hear it, whereas I always hear the land line. I also don't want to have my phone with me at the reference desk. For one thing, I don't think it looks good to the public. For another, with the way our desks are set up, when I get up to help someone, it would be far too simple for someone to walk off with it. Our patrons are pretty darn honest, but it only takes one.
So what do I use the phone for? Well, I do use it for calls. I text, check email, and use the internet. Sometimes I use it for a camera, although I prefer a regular camera as it's faster. When I turn the camera on, it's ready to go, instead of me having to open the cover, draw my password pattern and pick the camera function. I also know the buttons on my camera - there aren't many - and I don't know them all on my phone. Since I need reading glasses to see all the icons and often don't have them on while out and about, I can't do anything but the most basic shots with the phone. I know there's more I can do, and intend to explore some of those in one of the other "things." It takes amazingly good pictures, and it's sure nice to just be able to send one to someone, instead of having to upload from the SD card and then go into email and so on. And it's nice to always be able to pull out that special picture!
I haven't gotten into Facebook on my phone. That's deliberate. I'm not on social media all that much and, frankly, don't want it to suck up huge amounts of my time. Maybe I'll change my mind sometime. I'm on Facebook as often as I want to be, and choose to not have it be all the time.
Given all that, what tips did I try?
Well, I added words to my personal dictionary. Since we have some names and nicknames in our family that aren't in standard dictionaries, adding words means I won't have to key them all in every time. I tried changing my font, but the one I liked is just too hard for me to read without those glasses. I can read the default font, and also Sansung Sans, so I'm giving the latter a try for a while. It's good to know it can be done! I learned how to turn off the sound and/or vibration when using keys, but I'm going to leave them on. I don't use my phone in places that are really quiet, and I find the noise or feel helps me know what I'm doing. For example, if I'm swiping a word into a message and don't feel the vibration, I know I've goofed somehow and the word isn't registering. That's another thing I love about this phone - the Swype keyboard! I could manage texting when I had actual keys on my previous phone, but I'm just clumsy with using thumbs to type, even when I turn the phone sideways to make the display larger. So "writing" the word by running my finger over the keyboard is fantastic! Much faster for me, and far more accurate. I tried using a stylus, but wasn't a big fan. It wasn't any easier than using Swype, plus it was another thing to haul around. I thought I might use it for notes, but writing with it wasn't all that much better than writing with a fingertip, and both were sloppy. So I often just send myself a message to remind me of something. I've recently added Evernote to both my home computer and phone. Evernote lets you create checklists, keep notes, photos, websites, documents all organized into notebooks. It automatically syncs them, too, so you always have access to all your items. I'm planning a trip, and am making lists of what I need to pack and things that need to be done, as well as keeping keeping all my relevant emails handy (flight schedules, reservations and such). It's a great way to be organized on the go. I also download documents to my phone for use offline. Since I think we'll be offline for much of our trip, already having what we need on the phone will be extremely useful.
The last thing I've tried is searching via voice. For the most part, it works pretty well. But it's not foolproof! My husband wanted to know how many calories there are in a game hen. So he asked for "calories in a game hen." It came back with "calories in a gay man"! Certainly interesting, but not what we wanted. The phone didn't get it right, no matter how clearly he spoke, until he added "Cornish" to the description of the hen. Then the right numbers popped right up.
One thing I plan to add to my phone that I haven't yet is an app to lock apps. I don't know if that falls into this category, but I'm putting it here anyway. I read about it this last week. I use an unlock pattern on my phone, but if anyone gets past that, it's open territory. There's an app you can install that lets you add a second unlock pattern to an app, like your email. I'm also planning to add something that will let me disable my phone remotely should it ever be lost or stolen. I think that's smart for everyone.
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