I have been thinking about smartphones quite a lot lately. I own an Iphone 3gs, which is starting to slow down- not too much, but just enough that I know in a few months time it will become quite frustrating, and when my contract runs out in November I will definitely be looking for a replacement.
I love my phone, I really do, but the one thing I would improve (beside a better, longer-lasting battery), is a bigger screen size. I sat next to someone at a meeting last week who had a Samsung Galaxy S2. There was some silly debating going around the table about iphone vs. S2, but even though I love my iphone, the one thing that struck me was the gigantic and beautiful screen size of the S2, 4.3 inches vs. the iphone's 3.5 inches. I read lots of good reviews about the S2- it sounds like a brilliant phone. I think I could even switch from iOS to Android!!
I was walking around town, with all of this floating around my head, when I saw a big poster advertising the Samsung Galaxy Note. It's, in a word, GIGANTIC!!! It's marketed as half tablet, half phone. It certainly is a bigger device than my iphone, at 5.3 inches!! I googled this too, and it also seems great. And the TV adverts make it seem fantastic- you can use the stylus to snip things off websites and email to people or save as notes- brilliant for my chaotic mind! It even looks like it has a good calendar!! I would like an ipad eventually, but I don't want to carry it around with me, and I know I couldn't just whip it out to check something like I could with my little phone. And I don't want to carry 2 expensive devices around with me. The half phone, half tablet seems like a perfect solution!
But I think my brain is just going googoo over the prospect of getting a new gadget (read: toy!). I know that at first I would be in love with it, and may even forsake my filofax for it for a few weeks!! But eventually the novelty would wear off, and in a year and a half I would be looking for something new...
So I'm starting to think 'What do I need from my phone?' I love my filofaxes, and there are things that I could use my phone for but I don't, because I love writing in my filofaxes. So I made a table to see what I really need my phone for, and what type of phone I need. Do I really need one with all the bells and whistles?
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What do I use my phone for that I don't use
my filofax for?
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What do I use my filofax for that I don't
use my phone for?
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Calling people
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Calendar
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Texting people
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To-dos
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Taking photos
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Lists
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Checking my emails
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Reference information
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Surfing the internet
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Notes
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Contacts- majority
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Uni work organisation inc. dodo
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Apps, calculator, weather etc
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Important contacts
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Vital (uni blackboard system) when out and about
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The blue things are things that all phones can do. The yellow things are things that I need a better-than-standard phone for- i.e. a smartphone.
But do I really NEED a really fancy smartphone? Pretty much any smartphone can have apps nowadays, but I really want one with an OK camera (5mp would be good), and speed for internet access (mostly wifi) is essential. So do I need the all-singing, all-dancing Samsung Galaxy Note? Probably not. I use my filofax for a lot of things I could actually do on my phone, and probably other people actually do use their phones to organise their uni work etc. But I need to do it on paper, it works for me. So I don't need my phone to be fantastic for that. But some of the things the Note can do are just... COOL!!! But my sensible head switches on, and I ask myself 'Do I need to be able to snip a picture from a website and send it as an email to myself to remember to tell mum about it?' NO!! Just write it in my to-dos in my filofax!! 'Tell mum about the pretty picture on cutewebsite.com (or whatever)!'
So if I'm struggling with my organisation system (which I think I am), the solution is not going to be found by buying a VERY expensive phone, but by improving the way I use my filofax! That's something I've got to sort out over the next few months, definitely! Although I still may drool over the big glossy screens of the Samsung S2 and Note!!
I think a Samsung Galaxy S2 would suit you better than a note. I used the S2 and the Note for 2 months each and im a demonstrator for Samsung so its basically my job to know these products inside and out... For the purpose u need it for, definitely go for the S2, both products are identical apart from screen size, processor and a few niggly little things that I dont think would make a huge difference to you. The calenders are the same on both devices but as an avid Filofax lover myself I can assure you, no device will match that of Filofax; digital systems for that kind of thing will always be annoying. Plus point on the Note size: you can view pages in the browser effortlessly. Not such a good point: Its too big too fit into most female items of clothing pockets, therefore it must stay in your bag or you must hold it, if you are like me and choose to hold it most of the time you are likely to put it down and forget to pick it up - annoying! I love both devices so much but as great as the Note is, the S2 is the one to go for! (Its also thinner and lighter than the iPhone!)
ReplyDeleteI have an iphone 4 and while I love it, it doesn't replace what I do on paper. Maybe it's just the way I think but I need to write things to absorb them - I think some people process info in one way and others in another. When my son was in school he learned best if he read things out loud, not silently and not hearing someone else read. I think brains are just unique.
ReplyDeleteKate, are you talking about the Galaxy S II smartphone, or a tablet? I switched in January from a BlackBerry to the Galaxy S II smartphone and I absolutely love it. The screen is amazing, the camera (8MP) is phenomenal. Takes great videos as well. Like you, I do most everything paper-wise, but my contacts are on my phone. I rarely actually -talk- on the phone, but when I do, it's clear and excellent quality. I text, email and look things up on the phone. I highly recommend it. Now, I don't have any iPhone experience for which to compare, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's the phone I'm thinking about :) I can't wait to get something new in Oct/Nov, but my Filofaxes will always be my old friends!
DeleteI have a very old dinosaur of a mobile phone. I only ever use it for school outings as an emergency phone and when travelling. Pay as you go,...... no internet, phone, camera or anything else. Everything goes in my Filofax and at home laptop or PC. So much cheaper!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe only downside to samsung galaxy s2 is the battery life is not that good otherwise a very good phone
ReplyDelete