Cloudship

Smart phones are capable of a lot of things these days. I have been observing how people use their phones lately - both business use and personal. I have noticed that there are a few different types of users, but it seems few people make full use of all the features.

On the one hand you have the personal users, who use mostly chat and facebook and the camera. And several games. Otherwise they rarely use apps.

A subset of that group loves customizing their screens and lock screens. But even then, they usually only focus on the messaging and maybe weather updates.

Business users seem to either be about emails and phone calls, OR about news feeds and various travel or productivity apps. Any changes to the interface throw them for a loop.

But there is also a smaller subset that gets into the phone as browsing platform. We have students who try to take entire online classes through their phone. Not quite successfully, but they try.

How do you use your phone? What groups am I missing?

edweird

These are in addition to what you listed.

If I'm not in front of my PC and the stock market is open(extended hours too) then I'm using my smartphone and/or tablet for day trading.

I also use my smartphone for monitoring the charging on my plug in hybrid automobile, finding a charging station, and remote starting my car so that it's cool (it gets hot in FL) when I reach it.

Both my smart watch and my smartphone are logging my activity during the day. (steps, distance, minutes)

ajGoes

Let's see...

• Browser
• View/manage remote computers via VNC or RDP
• Email (corporate & private)
• ftp uploads & downloads
• Take pictures
• Request Rx refills
• Manage airline, hotel and rental car reservations
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Read Kindle books
• Listen to podcasts
• Listen to music
• Listen to streaming radio
• Navigate

I'll quit there. I've probably covered more than half of the ways I use the phone. Oh yeah, I left out:

• Texting (SMS, Skype, Google Hangouts)
• Phone calls

Shoot, I can't leave this alone without also mentioning that I tune my piano with a truly amazing piece of software, TuneLab.

Dodge DeBoulet

In addition to many of the tasks listed above, I use mine to open/close my garage door, select streaming video through Hulu, Netflix and Amazon for viewing via my Chromecast and Xbox, and access various features of my car through the BMW Remote app.

heraclitus

I've never really gotten into most of the capabilities of my smartphones.

Frequently used functions:
-Phone
-SMS
-E-mail
-News (there are about 3 few news apps I frequently use, others less often)
-Yik Yak (I read that NYT story about it, downloaded it, and now check it every day for kicks, even though I am probably double the age of the average user around here )
-Weather
-Browser (but not for regular browsing... usually only if I need to look something up on the go)
-Streaming my mp3s to the car stereo

Occasionally used functions:
-Watching Netflix
-Currency converter app
-Booking travel
-Kid games for the toddler
-Camera
-Maps (very important when travelling)
-Streaming online radio to my iPod dock when working outside
-Streaming youtube videos to my TV, but I often find it unreliable and a PITA

No facebook/twitter, no games, no podcasts.

pseudoswede

I use my phone as my golf GPS. Technically, phones are illegal in tournament play, but no one at my level has been penalized or DQ'd. I can't financially justify paying $250-350 for a laser rangefinder (since I don't play golf that often) when my app does almost everything I need it to when it comes to checking distances.

milepig

Most have been mentioned.

Tons of shopping, mostly on the Amazon app. Some product comes to my attention - reading a book review, seeing someone with a really cool shoulder bag, whatever. I'm on my phone ordering one.

The Tivo app to watch cable - it does everything the remote does except turn on the set, and it has a program guide that's far superior to the one on the Tivo box.

XE Currency app - I love how before a complicated trip I can put all the currencies on the main screen and check rates on the fly.

Passbook boarding passes!!

Passbook Starbucks account - just scan and go.

Online banking.

Metronome - far superior to any actual metronome I've every owned.

Order wine - I'm in a restaurant and am served a wine I like. Click, click, a case is on its way.

Before grocery shopping I'll text myself the list.

pseudoswede

May I recommend Our Groceries?

nkedel

My biggest work uses are pretty much the "Blackberry" use cases, and I do all of these heavily on my work phone (which is Android, but I wish we still had Blackberries as an option) ... except for the last two all in a frequency of "a lot":
* Reading work emails, perhaps to send a quick reply but long replies come off my laptop
* An internal tool at work which is basically like mailing lists, but not over email
* Text (and IM, which is pretty much text, just over a data network rather than the carrier's) for work use
* Work calendar
* Secondarily, as a lightweight web browser, for quick reference type stuff
* Very rarely, as a phone

Personal use on (very roughly in order of intensity of use.)
1) IM (and text)
2) Reading eBooks
3) Music player
4) Lightweight web browsing (including Facebook and other web-pages-as-apps) when I don't have time to read a real book, or for quick reference stuff
5) My main personal phone, although still probably average all of about one call a day
6) My main alarm clock
7) Light use of a non-work calendar (mostly reminders for Dr's appointments and stuff at my kids' school)
8) As a camera
9) GPS/maps
10) A little bit of Android development

(Plus, on the road, the Tripit app)

Used to do a fair amount of lightweight gaming back when I had a Windows Mobile phone, but found the move -- back in 2010, ages ago -- from Windows to Android I lost all the games I liked and never found new ones.

DenverBrian

Remember the Milk is often noted here as well, though I don't know how well it syncs across devices like Our Groceries.

robroy90

All of the above, plus some modifications:

Groceries: Do yourself a favor and check out hiku @ hiku.us - love their system

Navigation in the car with full touchscreen emulation of my phone screen (Note 4) connected to a Pioneer AVIC-8000NEX head unit. Check out AppRadioUnchained:
Remote for my (Vera) home automation system

Podcast episodes I subscribe to

CMK10

I love having the internet at my fingertips. I keep up with Facebook and Facebook chat, use Wikipedia, my browser and some travel apps. I also play a free online poker game as well as Words with Friends. Plus texting and the phone. Pretty normal stuff I'd guess.

prmetime

Almost all of the above plus:

Synching with fitbit and myfitnesspal for health monitoring
Blood glucose recording
Scanning documents to email
Watching videos
Monitoring rewards points
Identifying mystery plants /music
Maintaining wine library info/recording wishlist

I wonder what I don't use it for???

milepig

You can, but it takes me less time to just enter the items into a text message when I'm reviewing the recipe.

MaxBuck

Actually, I used to believe that to be the case, but the USGA seems to disagree, so long as non-conforming apps are not loaded onto the smartphone:

My phone is my:

• calculator
• camera
• e-book reader
• notebook
• CAD drawing reader (also allowing drawing revisions)
• compass
• navigation device
• auto business mileage logbook
• finder of cheap fuel (Gas Buddy)
• do-list reminder (Google Keep)
• appointment minder
• newspaper (USA Today and local paper apps)
• music player
• podcast player
• satellite radio (SiriusXM app)
• audiobook device (OverDrive Media Console app)
• maker of golf tee times (ForeTees app)
• web browser
• golf gps, as above
• golf-score posting device (GHIN app)
• magnifying glass (Magnifier app)
• mobile hotspot for internet access for laptop
• pedometer
• shopping list
• TV remote control
• voice recorder
• Sudoku game pad

Bottom line: it's both a tool and a toy that I could hardly do without.