Look! It’s my new phone!
Yes, I know. It’s not like I needed a smartphone. Being a SAHM and a part-time freelance writer doesn’t exactly merit the purchase. But I’ve been drooling after Adam’s Droid for months now, and when my old phone starting turning itself off at inopportune times, I decided to go for it. The thought You could just buy a new battery started to run through my mind a few times, but I always cut it off at You could just by yelling “NONONONO!” at the top of my lungs and that was that. It was, as I like to call it, the Mature Approach to Phone Purchasing.
And I do adore my smartphone. The only problem is that I fear it’s a little too…smart. There are all these screens? And apps? With complicated unlock patterns? Don’t even get me started on the touch-screen typing.
My old phone had a fold-out keyboard and I texted with the best of ‘em. Now I’m lucky to get a sentence out in five minutes. I’m not sure how I manage to type “gzt4s hhfx?” when what I really want to type is “meet me there!” but I do. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I will improve with time, but I also told myself that in high school about geometry and I still can’t tell you the difference between a quadrilateral and, you know, anything else.
I also find the apps a little daunting. There are so very many of them, but with scarce redeemable qualities. For example, I downloaded a scale app, only to discover that you can weigh very few things on a smartphone without breaking it and needing a replacement, leading me to believe that the Droid manufacturer is completely and totally behind THAT one.
A Littlest Pet Shop lizard thingie weighs approximately 26 grams. FYI.
I also downloaded the flashlight app, smitten as I was with one review that detailed how the flashlight had saved this guy’s life when he needed to change a tire on a dark, foreboding road. Then I realized that I don’t know how to change a tire. But I’m too lazy to figure out how to remove the app, so I’m just going to rely on it to illuminate my automobile club card when I call for a tow truck. NEVER SCOFF AT MY PREPAREDNESS. I AM LIKE A BOY SCOUT, BUT OLDER. ALSO, A GIRL.
The best news? The Droid is an excellent Child Distraction Device. I’ve already whipped it out a few times in restaurants, where Aura happily paints and draws on the phone while Adam and I enjoy a minutes of conversation that do not revolve around bunnies or Team Umizoomi. I’m not even remotely ashamed when I see someone (usually of the 75-years-and-older persuasion) leveling a dirty look in my direction. Puh-lease. Aura and I spend almost every single waking hour together and I sincerely believe that most nights she is sick of talking to me by 5:00 p.m. With the Droid in one hand and a chicken nugget in the other, she is, for those few booth-ensconced minutes, as mirthful as one little girl can be.
At least as long as she’s playing an age-appropriate game. There was that one instance when I didn’t read an app description as thoughtfully as I should have. Turns out Dress Up This Princess! is not quite as G-rated as one might predict. On the bright side, Aura can now tell you how to best match tassled pasties with g-strings, so there is that.
When the computers take over Aura’s got a better chance of survival than those old folks who don’t know how to speak to the tech. You’re preparing her for the revolution.
Wow, that scale app is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time! I am kind of blown away and wonder how I survived 31.8 years without one.
Sweet phone – you’re so with it! I LOVE that your clock is the old fashioned flippy number kind! I have also downloaded kid games on to mine for when we’re out and boredom sets in – either their’s or mine.
I just checked and found that I cannot download a scale for my iPhone. Now I have a sad over it. What else would I weigh all my most tiny items on?
My husband has that exact same phone and loves it. I’m still trying to figure out how to get the keyboard to work on it. He has it on some sensitivity setting that requires me to basically punch the screen if I want it to do anything.
I have learned a very serious lesson. I should NOT step on my phone to weigh myself? Whew. Glad that’s cleared up.
Also, is it wrong that Haley’s favorite app is the drunk guy that you need to keep standing up and walking in a straight line? all while, he burps, farts and swigs from the brown paper bag?
Look at that- next time some grumpy patron gives you the evil eye over Aura playing with the phone you can say “Puhleeez, do you want to hear my 2 cents on the matter? Here I’ll even weigh the pennies for you” or “Come on people take our decision to allow Aura to play on the phone with a grain of salt! Hey, did you know a grain of salt weights exactly…”
I predict all kinds of fun in your future with that app.