That said, smartphones are wonderful technology and I also subscribe to podcasts, listen to music, read books and take pictures with it. The apps I have are fantastic, such as approving and submitting expenses for work, booking hotel rooms on the fly, finding a restaurant and getting GPS instructions to get there, etc.
A few weeks back, I found myself unexpectedly in a hospital emergency room where I had to wait for several hours. Normally in these captive situations, I'm stuck trying to entertain myself with the crappy magazines on the tables or the dreck they are showing on the TV set. But I whipped out my phone and was able to keep up with the emails at work and also get a few chapters read on the Lincoln biography I was reading at the time. Those few hours flew right by.
I am lucky...my wife is completely not a phone talking person either, and she never calls just to engage in idle conversation. When she does, it is straight to the point, and vice versa.
I fully admit to preferring texting. The person receiving the text can determine if they want to answer at that time or not, so I don’t feel like I am invading someone’s space, which you never know if you are when you call someone. It might not be a good time for them.
LOL, of course, I am a stickler, and I cannot engage in the “hw r u?” stuff. For me, I have to spell it out exactly as I would say it...”Hey John, how are you? Do you have a minute to answer a question for me?” etc.
The other thing I really, REALLY like is the timers and alarms. Thank God for them. I use all of them, timers, alarms, and reminders.
I love putting some wild rice on the stove and saying “Set timer for 25 minutes” and I forget about it, knowing I won’t burn it.
For traveling or meeting someone, I use Glympse and send them a text with a URL they click on and can see a map of where I am, as well as my calculated arrival time at their location. It is a great way to keep people up to date with my progress, and they don’t have to pace back and forth wondering where I am.