I had gotten used to my plain cell phone with the big buttons and no extras, not even a camera. I thought that phone served my needs in retirement perfectly. That was before about a month ago at the Verizon kiosk at Costco when I picked up the latest Android phone, the “Charge” by Samsung with 4G. I now see the advantages of having a smartphone. So do a lot of other boomers who are buying smartphones in large numbers.
With only a month of experience of using my Droid, here are some of the applications (Apps) I like the best. There are many more to be discovered and many will be developed.
1. GPS – Believe it or not I did not have a GPS device before. This is my favorite feature. I was thinking GPS was only useful for trips, but I use it all the time. I used it to locate a restaurant, a friend’s office, a utility company office, a house in a far off neighborhood and more.
2. Car Locator – A GPS related App helps you find your way back to your car. Can be used to find your way back on a hike, to the cruise ship and many more uses.
3. Gas Buddy – Again I thought this was for trips, but it is useful even in your own neighborhood, showing you the price at your local stations. On the road, it is even more helpful.
4. Internet Access – Now I don’t need to purchase the local Internet access when staying at that condo at the beach. I will have Internet access when visiting the mother in law for long visits, waiting around for appointments, getting there early when meeting someone.
My smartphone helps me stay connected to my business.
5. Travel Apps. I think the travel apps will have the helpful and enjoyable app features for me. Some Apps I have discovered are: Tripadvisor , Google Maps, Places, ShipMate will track your cruise day by day
6. Bar code scanner with Google Market let’s you check prices on anything with a bar code anywhere. Easy to use.
7. Slacker Radio and Pandora are great music apps. No more paying for this stuff. Available and easy.
More useful apps I have heard of are: Eye Reader to magnify and illumine small print, Instant Heart Rate and Epocrates app is a resource for drug information. Smartphone apps help empower Boomers to better manage health situations. There are thousands of apps that empower Boomers to take control of their health. As Boomers use smartphones for life-management tools sales are expected to soar.
I found my smartphone easy to use and now understand it’s features and how it will help me in my daily life. I think Boomers will continue to discover the benefits of smartphones and find them useful like I did. As we get older using technology will make life easier and more manageable.
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These application can fulfill all the needs of traveling. The main application is the GPS system. It is necessary for travel because it can find the right location so it is the best way to make mistakes or loss of time while traveling somewhere.