Here I Am, In the Future

Here I Am, In the Future

Beware. This post is going to sound like an advertisement for Apple.

A couple weeks ago, I got an iPhone4. I'd been drooling other people's iPhones for a very long time, and the fact that my old cell phone (not a smartphone) began to show some weirdness seemed like a good excuse to buy one. I've had it only a few weeks and I'm already willing to say it's one of the best purchases I've made in a long, long time.

Just about every day, some new capability or application of the phone makes me just amazed at how great it is. Today's was the SoundHound app, which allows you to sing or hum a song (or just your phone listen while a song plays) and then it will tell you the name of the song, give you the lyrics, and a link to buy it on iTunes. Yesterday was Google's new app that allows you to take a photo of something and then search the Internet for that thing. I don't think I've even fully let the implications of that one sink in yet. I haven't yet delved into my newest app, called Star Walk, which allows you to hold the phone up to any position in the night sky to learn the names of the stars and constellations (and it appears to do so much more than just that amazing thing).

Of course, just having constant access to Google to get at information is wonderful too. No more, "I'm going to have to remember to look that up when I get home tonight."

And that's not even getting into the games. The fact that if I'm sitting waiting for my food to come in a restaurant, or I'm in a long line at the bank, or just sitting around and find myself with 3 minutes of downtime, I can pull my phone out of my pocket and play a fun little game, well, that's incredible. And the games are surprisingly good. One game I'm enjoying is Words with Friends that allows me to play Scrabble (basically) with any friend I have with an iPhone. And we take turns whenever we have a spare moment. Sure, the game ends up lasting weeks, but it's still very fun.

Similarly, with the Kindle reader, I basically have a stack of books with me at all times, ready to pull out and read if I've got a few minutes. Like many others, I find myself reading more with such a device, not less. But then, most of you probably don't need to be reminded that I've long been a proponent of e-books. Frankly, I think e-readers and e-books are going to save reading. But that's another blog post.

It's amazing to me what a leap into the future I made by purchasing the smartphone. It's amazing how quickly I've become reliant upon it.

It even makes phone calls, apparently.