Just over a month ago I asked you all for input on my first ever – gulp – smartphone. I took all thirteen of your comments to heart and finally decided on:
Samsung Captivate (TM) Glide. Click image for details.
At first, I loved it. So many new things to play with! That and, you know, it’s so shiny!
But several weeks and a family vacation later, I find I don’t really love it.
1. The battery life is super short. Somehow, in all my review reading (here and here and, obviously, here) and question asking, I missed the part about having to charge this sucker daily. Perhaps it didn’t come up because, as I’ve been assured, this is a common flaw among smartphones and was discussed more when everybody else upgraded a few years ago. I really miss the days when I could wait almost a week before plugging my phone in. Now, I think I may need to buy a docking station so I always know where my phone is when I’m at home and it gets charged at the frequency it requires.
2. It didn’t come with a manual. Yes, I appreciate the amount of paper this saves, and I understand that people with a smartphone are savvy enough to download the manual on their computer. However, when I am at the computer I don’t really need my phone so I never think to download the manual. It’s also one more step for me to remember. I thought my phone was supposed to help me cut down on the many things cluttering my brain, not add more. I guess I could put a reminder on my phone but I’m not sure how yet. If only I had a manual…
3. I have yet to discover a way to exit applications when I’m done with them. this might actually be something addressed in the manual I don’t have (which I’m downloading now because I’m at my computer and thinking about my phone). When I am done searching the net or updating my Facebook page I want to push a button and close the app. I’m sure sometimes it is good to know you can switch screens or apps and still come back to the exact place you left off, but if closing apps extends my battery life I want an instant close option. Am I asking for too much here?
None of this is to say I don’t like my phone very, very much.
1. The time I spend lost while driving has decreased considerably. I’d say pre-Captivate I got lost about 50% of the time. True story. It’s a little sad. But who cares because now I have a phone that will read the directions to me and my seven-year-old no longer asks me if I know where I’m going.
2. Instagram! Funnest. App. Ever. Look at my rockin’ photo of this huge beetle!
Yeah, that's a 16oz cup there.
3. The screen! Excuse me, I mean the “4-inch Super AMOLED multi-touch display.” I can move stuff on the screen, I can see stuff on the screen, I can do this nifty trick with my thumb and forefinger so I can zoom in and out of webpages and when taking photos. That screen is awesome sauce drizzled on deep fried ice cream! Bonus, the phone is still small enough for me to avoid looking like I’m holding a Nintendo Game Boy up to my ear. (Yes, I’m that old.)
Overall I think the key is getting used to having a Smartphone.
Similar to my first trip with a laptop, I’m not yet exploiting all the potential my Captivate offers NPJ Designs or Janice the wife and mother. I’m simply not used to it. But, like I tell my daughter, practice makes progress. I’m still open to any suggestions you have for learning the ins and out of my phone.
How do you use your Smartphone and what tips can you offer?
