I’ve noticed that having an Android in my pocket makes me more likely to take public transit around town as opposed to driving. Yeah, it takes a little longer, but it’s not downtime; I can be catching up on email and admin work and so on. A huge amount of most people’s workload is manageable given anything with a decent email client and browser.
For now, I can’t really use the phone for anything creative: Writing, or coding, or photography. I wonder when and if that might change?
Contributions
November 26, 2009
· Technology (90 fragments)
· · Mobile (86 more)
· The World (151 fragments)
· · Environment (11 more)
· Technology (90 fragments)
· · Mobile (86 more)
· The World (151 fragments)
· · Environment (11 more)
Comment feed for ongoing:
From: Henrik Brameus (Nov 26 2009, at 10:18)
And I thought that you were going to talk about the ability to plan your trips with Google Maps. At least in Seattle, that works so well. The phone knows where I am, I tell it where I want to go and in return I get the fastest public transit route. I think that is fantastic.
[link]
From: J David Eisenberg (Nov 26 2009, at 10:31)
I also read stuff on my android phone when standing in line at the grocery store. Just a thought: if there's voice dial, could voice recognition software make coding possible? Unless, of course, "um" is a reserved word in your programming language.
[link]
From: DGentry (Nov 26 2009, at 11:02)
Yes, I think a handheld device is the right form factor for this sort of impromptu use. You don't feel quite so self-conscious as with a laptop+datacard. Its reasonable to pull the phone out for 30 seconds of use, where pulling a laptop out of a bag is more onerous.
[link]
From: Mike P (Nov 26 2009, at 11:06)
Unfortunately (at least here in Toronto) there isn't a 3G signal available in the subway system.
That would be a huge win for commuters.
[link]
From: Greg Bodnar (Nov 26 2009, at 11:21)
I find my Android-based phone to be a godsend for my commute. I have 30-40 minutes on the bus before I get to work, none of which is dead time. Between email, news and podcasts, I get a start on my morning when I start the trip, rather than when I get to work.
[link]
From: Kyle Cordes (Nov 26 2009, at 13:33)
I've observed in myself, that time spent using a smartphone (of any flavor) consists mostly of consuming content, with much less producing (as a percentage of total use) compared to a PC.
I think the solution is readily at hand though: get a very small "netbook" PC, and pull that out instead of the phone. It's small enough to be nearly as convenient (and much less onerous or obvious than a full sized PC), yet usable for writing.
[link]
From: Eric H (Nov 26 2009, at 15:26)
I second what Henrik and Greg said. (I'm in Seattle too)
[link]
From: Michael Kozakewich (Dec 09 2009, at 13:53)
Even my Nintendo DS does a good job at that. Not the internet, but other productivity things. I can look at maps or study while on the go.
[link]