How I’m Getting a Smartphone, While Avoiding Crazy Habits

September 1 by | 30 comments | Featured, Productivity | Tags: , , , ,

What makes a smartphone “smart?”

This may sound like a dumb question, but I have actually been asking it ever since I made a commitment to upgrade my time management system with the purchase of a shiny, new 2011 smartphone in January.

Setting aside the question of the costs (which I understand can top US$2,000 per year when internet charges are included,) I am focused on discovering whether or not I can boost my productivity with an intelligent choice. In doing so, I realize that I could end up deciding to maintain the status quo: a cheap Nokia cellphone and an old Palm PDA.

Important: this is a productivity effort on my part, not a shopper’s comparison.

I have never owned a smartphone, and after seeing some of the ways in which they have been used and abused by their owners, I am wary. I don’t want to become another smartphone addict who can’t stop themselves from using bad habits daily. Instead, I have delayed purchasing a smartphone, and I have decided to ignore the advertisements in order to make a decision.

So far, what I’ve gleaned about these devices has been interesting.

One of the main lessons I have learned is that smartphones aren’t all that smart when it comes to enhancing an individual’s productivity. To understand why this is the case, let’s first define what I DON’T mean by using the word “productivity.”

Convenience, not Productivity

Many of the most recent smartphone innovations have more to do with convenience than productivity. For example, if I’m traveling on the road and need to take a picture, a smartphone could take the place of a forgotten camera. Smartphones have been continuously redesigned to replace electronic tools such as:

- a camera
- a DVD / video player
- an mp3 player
- a camcorder
- a voice recorder
- simple browser
- an instant messaging system
- an email and text messaging system
- a GPS device
- a cell phone
- a radio
- a gaming device
- a laptop

It appears that smartphone manufacturers have focused their attention on cramming as many electronic tools as they can into as small a case as possible, which is has been an amazing thing to watch as a non-user. Even though the miniaturized, smartphone versions of these devices are usually not quite as robust as the original, it must be fun to be able to pull out a smartphone that does the trick every time, rather than having to lug a knapsack full of the technological gadgets listed. Friends and family should be impressed as I switch from one device to another as I sit on the beach.

When a smartphone replaces a knapsack-of-gadgets, that must be a good thing. But is using fewer muscles and taking up less space the same as being more productive? Isn’t that really about a little added convenience?

Convenience is not really what I’m after… I am more interested in being productive in the meat and potatoes kind of way: getting more done, making fewer mistakes, doing stuff cheaper, and pleasing those who are the recipients of my work. “Convenience” seems to be a lesser matter.

Entertainment, not Productivity

I imagine that with smartphone access to ebooks, music, pictures and videos that I’d always have a source of content to prevent me from ever getting bored. I’d always be able to escape some mind-numbing task, and disappear into something interesting and more captivating.

Of course, you may not like it if you happen to be giving a presentation at the very moment at which I decide that I’m bored, and I turn to my device t osearch for something more interesting. Yet this is exactly what’s happening around the world as smartphone users drift to better quality entertainment in the middle of meetings, conversations, weddings, dinner dates… heck, I’ve even heard that people reach for them while they are lying in bed, or sitting on the toilet.

A more entertained life has its advantages. The most recent research shows that jumping from one text to another floods parts of the brain with dopamine. (link here: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7397649) As welcoming as that sounds, it has little to do with productivity, unfortunately.

Information, not Productivity

If I were to leave for a business trip I imagine that while I’m in the taxi to the airport, I could check to see if my flight were on time. I could also see the news as it develops in the moment, plus watch stock prices, bond yields and currency fluctuations as they happen in the minute. A storm happening 3,000 miles away would be information that would be at my fingertips.

It’s obvious that I’d be better informed, and I imagine that I could save some time with the information that I could use to decide to change my travel plans. But would that translate into greater productivity for me? Maybe a little, but it wouldn’t replace the information I could get from a phone call or laptop.

Converting Down Time, not Productivity

At the same time, a smartphone does seem to facilitate a particular thought that runs as follows:
“Here I am sitting in the doctor’s office with nothing to do. I wish I could be doing something else instead, such as
sending email / watching a movie / reading an ebook / surfing the internet / creating a video / purchasing a nick-nack on ebay, etc.”

Smartphones make it easy for us to switch tasks from something that we don’t want to be doing to an electronic activity that we’d prefer to be doing.

Surely, that must be a good thing!?

Maybe not for me. I have a neat habit of taking naps in doctor’s offices, or anyplace where I’m seated and waiting. I also like to meditate in quiet moments, and I just love the serendipity of finding an old magazine with an interesting article.

Would I be less productive if I engaged in any of these activities instead of using my smartphone to IM a friend at work? Probably not.

At the same time, I have been known to travel with my mp3 player and Palm PDA to locations in which I know I’ll be waiting for some time. Combining these devices into my cellphone, which I have with me all the time, would give me more choices around converting my down time. I could still take a nap, but I’d do it with my smartphone in my hand, knowing that I could be doing something electronic when I wake up.

That’s a little more productivity… perhaps.

Sex-Appeal, not Productivity

In airport terminals all over the world for the past few weeks, people have been looking over the shoulders of those who possess the latest and sleekest gadget – the Apple iPad. I actually borrowed one the other day for a few minutes and it felt like an amazingly beautiful creation. Undeniably sexy. Used anywhere in public, it could hardly fail to attract attention with its design and functionality.

Gaining other people’s attention and admiration, as ego-boosting as it might be, is not an increase in productivity, however.

Real Productivity

The cases mentioned so far address the hype that has been used in smartphone ads. What I have noticed is a very different vibe around these devices than the vibe that existed around other time management tools that I introduced in my daily life in past years.

1991

As a new employee at AT&T Bell Labs, I remember seeing the first DayRunners and DayTimers and thinking that I needed to get one of those. I ended up with the former, and there was no mistaking the fact that the system of folder, little pages and inserts was for a single purpose: productivity enhancement. They were not for entertainment, communication or replacing anything in the knapsack-of-gadgets in a cool and sexy way.

Back then, having a planner showed that you were serious about being productive. (Or so we thought.)

1997

When the Palm Pilot was made available in the mid-1990′s, I remember being relieved. Not only could I manage my most important information more securely (with multiple electronic backups,) but I could also carry that information with me wherever I went.

As other software programs were released for the Palm, I saw them as interesting toys, but hardly the reason why the Palm existed in the first place. Like the DayRunner, the Palm was all about productivity.

2010

Now, I am attempting to make the next upgrade, but as you may have noticed, I am struggling to see what, if anything, a smartphone will add to my productivity.

When I adopted the DayRunner and Palm Pilot, it was clear to me that the new habits I needed to adopt to make these devices work would help me to be more productive. In the case of the DayRunner I learned to:
- bring my diary with me everywhere
- have backup refills
- browse OfficeMax for improvements
- check my calendar before making new appointments

With the Palm, I learned that I needed to:
- synche it with Outlook and the Palm Desktop every 1-2 days
- keep it well charged
- travel with a charger at all times
- always look for new software or hardware upgrades

These habits were new ones, but they were worth the investment of time and energy because of the overall productivity gains. Looking back I can see that any upgrade to my time management system requires that a user develop some new habits in order to realize the necessary improvements.

When I review each of these habit changes, however, I now realize that I was making upgrades to what I call the Fundamentals of Time Management: Capturing, Emptying, Tossing, Acting Now, Storing, Scheduling, Listing, Switching, Interrupting, Warning and Reviewing. Each of them is a physical action that is profoundly affected by the choice of tools that are used.

For example, the DayRunner changed the way I did my Capturing, as I now almost always had a pad of paper with me. I also was able to upgrade the method I used to Store addresses and phone numbers, keeping the same pages for years at a time.

When I bought the Palm, it also affected the way I did my Storing, as I could now backup all my information in several places and never have to worry about ever losing it. Also, having an electronic Schedule meant that I could do away with Task lists, Todo lists and Next Action Lists and make plans for time slots occurring days, weeks and months in the future, something that was too hard to attempt with pencil and paper.

These two upgrades made sense to me in a practical way — they changed how I executed the 11 Fundamentals. Meat and potatoes productivity.

Now, in 2010, the more closely I look at modern smartphones the more confused I get, because I can’t clearly see the productivity advantage. I don’t want to waste my time and money on fluff.

As I mentioned before, what really scares me is the fact that I might pick up some of the bad habits I have seen. According to the New York Times, the devices enable digital distractions, a modern-day addiction that is just as hard to break as any other.

One company I know well even banned smartphones from the boardroom because its directors and executives could not control the addictive habits that they have developed. And I’m sure I’m not alone in having friends who continually interrupt meals, movies, conversations, meetings, play dates with kids, sporting events, etc. to pick up their smartphones in anticipation of a ring, beep or buzz.

I am desperate to avoid falling into this trap, partly due to the etiquette and health risks, but also because they are so unproductive – the very opposite of what I am trying to accomplish with an upgrade. I don’t want to be distracted to the point where I don’t know what I’m doing.

It’s not that I think that smartphones will always be useless. Far from it. I believe that the combination of several devices into one could be potent, but they will only become so when the capabilities of one device are combined with another to impact one of the 11 Fundamentals in a new and innovative way.

For example, the calendar could be used to block certain kinds of interruptions, until I am ready to work on them during designated times for “Emptying.”

If I could challenge smartphone manufacturers I would say:
“Imagine a knapsack filled with all the gadgets now being squeezed into smartphones: a laptop, camera, mp3 player, radio, etc. Apart from the obvious convenience of a smaller size, how is the smartphone better?”

If I can’t clearly answer that question by Christmas, then I’ll be sticking with the cellphone/PDA combination that I use today. I’ll be tracking my progress in making the decision on my website and I welcome your reactions, questions and ideas in the comments below.

I'm an advocate of Time Management 2.0 - the idea that we all need unique methods to be personally productive, and need to keep upgrading them throughout our professional careers to maintain our peace of mind.

  • http://2time-sys.com Francis /2Time website

    I have gotten some interesting suggestions so far by going public — if you have one, pls let me know.

  • http://www.techhustler.com Craig S

    HUGE flaws here.

    How are you defining productivity? “Doing stuff cheaper” isn’t a fundamental measure how how much you produce or get done. The bottom line is, does a smartphone allow me to do more in less time than the alternatives? Indubitably, yes.

    Information is a key to productivity, as you need that raw material in order to produce. This information also needs to be convenient, so you don’t waste time finding it… This is one of the most important things about your combo device; it cuts out the time, energy, cost and capacity overhead that comes with switching between devices (digging through a knapsack). You have to know if a flight is late: How is it going to be better to unpack your laptop, boot it up, and search for that information? How quick and easy do you think a phone call is? How about you just hold a button on your phone, say “Delta 95″, see the flight information appear before you and continue on to getting something done? That’s what I understand productivity to be.

    Or how about downtime? If you don’t actually need a nap, but you take one because you have no other option, compare that to if you were to use that time to create your next blog post. If this isn’t productivity then I must be confused about what that word means.

    You say your fear is addiction or distraction. If that’s the case, just apply the same discipline you do in everything else. You can just as easily doodle in your planner or notepad… you can easily play games on your Palm Pilot or old Nokia phone. You can play with a hammer like a toy, but that doesn’t make it any less of a useful tool.

    I’d like to see you point out what exactly outweighs the benefits of a convergence device, or why a smartphone makes you less productive than older/mltiple gadgets.

  • Adam Skinner

    I recently picked up a smartphone (Droid X). For me, it’s been a real productivity enhancer, but then again I’ve never been too on the ball with that stuff, so ymmv.

    For example, today I remembered that I needed to get some cat food, so I put a todo in with Astrid and told it to remind me at 5pm (when I would be getting into my car). Even though only a couple hours had passed by the time I noted it and the time I had to action it, I had completely forgotten about it. I was listening to an audio book via Audible when I heard the little notification sound, which reminded me to look. So I was able to get cat food today. I probably would have gotten home and then procrastinated until tomorrow (or until I couldn’t put it off any longer) if I hadn’t set that reminder.

    I was in Costco the other day and saw a product that was interesting, but I wasn’t sure how it compared in the grand scheme of things. I was able to check reviews on Amazon and decided to pass on it. Just imagine how useful this kind of functionality is in a used book store (or a normal book store, for that matter).

    My calendar and todo widgets are on my main screen. When I get an email, I hear a notification.

    Keeping everything in a single central place is very useful. When researching survival knives (the most important tool you can have with you in a survival situation), you’ll often hear this answer to the question “What is the best survival knife?”: “The one you have with you.” 9/10 times, the knife you have in your pocket is the one you end up using in a real survival situation (an unplanned one).

    So it is with the smartphone. I doubt you carry your camcorder (or even camera) everywhere. You certainly don’t carry your laptop everywhere, or GPS. Yet if you have your smartphone, you have all of these, all the time. It’s not just about convenience: it’s about really having functionality you can use when you need it. Isn’t that tightly bound to the idea of being productive?

    Smartphones do a lot of things. There’s a lot of exciting synergies that can happen. You literally have a computer in your pocket that has a touchscreen interface and a lot of cool sensors. And honestly, it’s not that much more expensive than a normal phone. I was paying $50ish before, now I’m paying $70. Sure, I have a 450m plan and a 20% work-based discount.

    For me, this is right up there with having an HDTV in terms of “Boy this is awesome, why did I wait?!”.

    Of course, I know why I waited: it’s only recently that Android has reached critical mass in terms of OS and hardware support. But for the price of brown-bagging it once a week, I now have a device that’s already wound it’s way into the patterns of my life.

  • Aeiluindae

    I just purchased a smartphone. I’m planning on using it to aid my memory because I am very forgetful. I’ve tried a lot of other methods, but a smartphone will be impossible for me to ignore or forget and that may beven what out takes

  • Jason

    I agree, a smartphone is not worth the price tag.

  • Martin Cohen

    I just got a Droid 2 to replace my Treo 755, and my initial reaction is that “Fingers are clumsy!” Things which a stylus does easily are a pain with fingers.
    Also, the calculator I prefer on the Treo (EasyCalc) has no real competition yet on the Droid (and, possibly, the iPhone).
    The browsing and camera are much better, but many things seem less convenient.
    I’ll see how things work out.

  • DD

    (using an iphone as an example) you need to have the same discipline in using your smartphone as you have in eveyday life. you can’t expect to fill it with games and be productive.

    the one improvement I can see is that it can keep your life “in sync” – as long as you use the right tools. Apple’s Mobile Me allows me to update my calendar on one computer somewhere, and have it automatically sync to my phone or other computers. When I don’t have my phone i can access the website.

    i use remember the milk for my to do lists- again this is not true GTD but it works for me. the lists it make can be dropped into gmail, it will email me with lists of the day and there is a iphone app which syncs.

    ditto dropbox – I can type notes into a document somewhere and it will sync to my phone and other computers.

    the clincher is that if I lose my phone (god forbid) i can locate it, delete it and then re-populate a new phone with the same information easily

  • Yolande

    Hi,
    I would love to have a smartphone but decided the smarter option for me was to have a mobile (cell phone) and an iPod touch. The iPod touch has my calendar in it and I can use it to listen to music and podcasts. I agree with you that a smart phone would be too distracting and expensive!

  • http://schlosser.info Joachim

    Hi Francis,

    you are right. Basically, a smartphone is just a cell phone merged with a PDA. This merger in itself does not mean productivity boost, apart from a tighter integration of phone book and other contact information people have.

    To my humble experience, there is a slight productivity gain added by photo/video capabilities: with the photo, I can conserve wild whiteboard/flip chart sessions more easily, rather than re-drawing it in some program. Video is a nice way to enhance giving my people feedback on their presentations: Seeing means believing in that case. Again, this could be implemented by having a digital photo camera with me all the time, but that would be another device to carry. And more difficult to share the images taken.

    However, overall I agree: productivity seems not really to be in the center of interest of the popular smartphone vendors since almost all of them fail to deliver a solid task management app as core system component.

  • Cary

    Hi, my name is XXXX, and I’m a smartphone addict.

    I think about the only thing in the productivity arena that’s a true plus for the smartphone is the ability to associate location with your tasks, actions, etc. Remember the Milk (and a couple other apps) let you set location based notification of things you need to get done. This is a power tool in your arsenal.

    To a lesser degree, ubiquitous capture of text, audio, and images, ‘a la’ Evernote is a potent ability of smartphones. Alas, this may fall more into your Convenience category rather than productivity.

    You can also add wireless hotspot to your potential list of gadgets inside a smartphone.

  • http://don'thaveone Pramod

    Productivity – being productive
    productive – having the quality or power of producing especially in abundance.

    Smartphone – A phone that is smarter to work with. A device that is capable of doing more than just making phone calls (My Definition).

    what is your goal – if palm and phone can suffice you to be productive, a smart phone can accomplish that. there are many things in the article
    that are tell tale signs of denial of accepting a smart phone. I was in the same boat – didn’t want to spend the money first and didn’t see the
    necessity of data being available to you at all the times. Boy was I wrong.

    Was there a single time in your life when you got your phone, but not your pda, – less productive. Got your pda, but not your phone – less
    productive. forgot both – then only god can help you. :-).

    Our reliance on data and its availability is growing. we are remembering less and taking more notes. Numbers i used to remember when i
    didn’t have phone/pda are now stored in my phone. life is lost if i lose my phone – pretty pathetic, but true. The capability of a smart phone keeping
    you informed with the data relevant to your needs makes the smartphone owner more productive.

    Switching between 30 devices is the most unproductive way of doing things. carrying cables and remembering to carry all 30 devices without
    fail is unproductive.

    I can go on and on with advantages of smartphone and its role in productivity.

    FYI – the data package will set you back by US $300.00 annually. your voice cost remains the same. Data package is just an addon. I don’t know how the $2000.00
    came into picture.

    I am sorry to say this, but the article’s title and the content doesn’t jive together. this is more of a mind ramble than an article.

  • Craig S

    … where did my previous comment go?

  • Greg

    Smartphone is only a tool – like pencil can be used to write a poem or you can put it into somebody’s eye ;-) If you want to be more productive with smartphone please start with looking for enhance productivity software – this is something what are you looking for! When you want to edit a photos on computer you start with photo editing software, then you choose a computer. Regards form Poland :)

  • sd

    I faced a similar dilemma a couple of years ago when I lost my Palm Tungsten. I had been carrying a Palm of one variety or another since 1996 and it was an integral part of my life.

    But while time had marched on, Palm had not. There were few new Palms to buy and the company looked like it was down for the count.

    Buy a used Palm? There were issues with older Palms communicating with newer OSes like Vista and 7. I didn’t use Outlook (and really didn’t want to get started with it), so the various third-party apps weren’t of much use.

    I considered an iPhone and Android but could not seriously consider Windows Mobile or WebOS. I really didn’t want to be an at&t customer and I had read in plenty of places that the iPhone is not that great a PIM if you’re used to a Palm. And Android — well, my thoughts on Google are for another post.

    I (finally) settled on a Nokia E-series mobile phone. It runs Symbian. Symbian has suffered for a lack of development and it may not offer the most eye candy. But it’s a very efficient and, in my experience, bulletproof OS, just like my Palm. And I can live with that.

    I’m back to having a PIM I can use to access the Web and the phone system. The phone I selected has a built-in GPS, camera, and FM radio, too, and while those weren’t deal-makers, they are nice to have. I’m glad I could move forward, even this little bit.

  • Daniel Walters

    A smartphone to me is just a PDA with an integrated phone. In fact it was Palm who pretty much invented the concept with the Treo – a Palm Pilot / phone combo.

    The dangers of getting addicted to your smartphone (and so less productive) are very real. But in productivity terms, the issue really is about what productivity software is available for that operating system – unlike the old Palm or PocketPC PDAs, modern smartphones tend not to include much productivity software built in, instead you choose the software you want, free or paid.

    One advantage though is being able to back your information up online, you don’t need to find a PC with the appropriate sync software and cable to do it. That’s one productivity gain.

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  • Colleen

    Hey, I love my iPhone! In fact, I just read your article from within the lifehack iPhone app. ; )

    Having my calendar and tasks that require alerts in one place and portable ensures that my appointments and time-critical tasks don’t slip between the cracks. I have not used any other device, such as the Palm, and I still use a wirebound Franklin-Covey Planner for project planning. Old habits die hard, or not at all. I say, whatever works!

  • Bill in Detroit

    1) don’t pay for internet access (that effectively kills a major distraction, er, ‘research tool’)
    2) turn off text messaging (voice mail will still work just fine)
    3) don’t install non-essential software (be STINGY about what constitutes ‘essential’. In 5 years, I’ve found 2 additional programs useful while totally ignoring most of the pre-installed ones)
    4) buy a spare battery or two; they are much smaller than a recharger when traveling. You have a recharger at home (right? if not, DAGS & get one), don’t be held captive to it.

    I have a smartphone. I use it as a:
    * telephone
    * calendar
    * some-time camera
    * timer (AvinaSoft Timer ~$10 — I give timed talks and time the talks of others)
    * ad-hoc database (Phat-Notes)linking dates and addresses so that, when I am in a neighborhood for a scheduled appointment, I can also call on the customers in that neighborhood.

    I bought dieting software and never used it. I’ve used voice notes about twice just to see what it was like (it would work better if it would remind me to listen to it later!) and never set up the speed dialing function.

    The idea of a smartphone, for me, is not that it is smart, but that it lets me make smart choices about the functionality I am willing to allow to intrude / able to use.

    For the most part, I have stripped my smartphone of a lot of its functionality (internet & texting open wide doors) and this has increased its utility to me. I have been considering ‘upgrading’ to an Android device … but I’m hard-pressed to figure out how it would be an ‘upgrade’.

    Once the current device stops working that calculus will change. But, right now, what I have works just fine. It sounds like that is true for you, too.

  • http://www.genvejen.dk Mads

    The iPad is nice and tempting, but I wonder if it will increase my productivity or not.

    Honestly speaking, I’m afraid the iPad will rather decrease my productivity compared with my trusty old Sony Ericsson phone (used only for calls and messages) + a custom made DIY calendar (do it yourself calendar with getting things done pages, contact lists, etc.).

    Only problem I have with my current setup is backup. It simply isn’t possible to backup my calendar without taking photos/scanning all the pages :(

  • Michael

    I’m reading your article on a smartphone right now. I am puzzled by the fact that you would prefer to drag along a knapsack with al these devices separately. How your smartphone improves your productivity is up to you. Nobody is forcing you to use it on the toilet or in meetings. I have the feeling your being a bit narrow-minded on this. Technology doesn’t bring you productivity, it’s what you do ( or don’t) do with it.

  • Marc p

    Interesting thoughts. I have been Thinking about the way that (how i perceive it) people become more and more unsociable and distant by using these kind of technologies. I think it’s not so much a result of their addiction to their mini pc and what it’s OS can do. Rather, it’s a case of the smartphone helping relieve the loneliness and alienation we have to live with in the first place. It is an escape from loneliness, which in turn makes loneliness less painful, which in turn makes us bother about it less. So, as a result, we become more alone whilst feeling less lonely.

    So I realise I’m off topic as you were saying something about smartphones and Productivity…that just depends on what u want. Smartphones are capable of increasing our productivity in ways that were unthinkable only a few years ago. Actually they can help you learn, work, discover, travel– live better.Accordingly, they can also lead to an increase in a false feeling of sexiness, pointless photos of furniture and such, the risk of missing seeing the taj mahal although you are in it (gmaps sais it’s 176 meters on the left), wasted hours refreshing Facebook in case someone pockes you, obsessive OS update disorder, lack of interaction with other humans, icon arrangement skills…etc, etc.

    I guess if someone is smart, but is capable of doing stupid things if he so chooses, can still be considered smart. Somebody who is stupid andt unable to do smart things when he needs do will always be stupid you. If u don’t need a phone which has the option to do both, you dont need a smartphone.

    Must go because my wife just texted me from upstairs. Must b clothed when mother comes , apparently

  • Eugene

    The current generation of smartphones don’t have the same PDA functionality as a Palm. Ever since the first iphone managers over the developers and engineers have been copying the iphones features (and lack of). My windows CE PDAphone from around y2k had a lot more functionality (PDA/PIM) than current windows mobile phones. Each release smartphones have become less of a pda and more of an app/web phone. Unfortunatly the iphone sets the (low) standard and everyone else is following.

  • http://obeah.deviantart.com Igor

    You make a very compelling argument against getting a smartphone. I also like to avoid things I don’t really need, like, laptops until this year because the price:power ratio compared to what I can get out of a desktop seemed ridiculous, and there was a computer pretty much anywhere I really needed one.

    I’ve also kind of set the date for early 2011 as the time to get a smartphone, waiting for Microsoft to release its new mobile OS, to see if Apple fixes the damage they’ve done with their current model and what Android’s response will be to all that.
    Now, I’ve noticed through reading your text that I not only fall under the part of bad habits, but also partially wanted to get a smartphone to support them, as in, I’d like to see the forecast from a park bench and then write an email to someone prior to IMing with my girlfriend to meet me at the movies, tickets for which I will subsequently buy, from a park bench, without lugging my laptop around.
    However, consider all the things you listed a smartphone device crams inside itself, and then see how much sense it makes if you don’t have any of those devices. So, no MP3, no camera, certainly no camcorder,etc. Or, if they were old enough to have started falling apart and an upgrade is really just trying to maintain the status quo, *while* attempting convenience ?
    Yes, it does sound like I’m asking you for consumer advice, my apologies, but I’m just providing a second point of view…or justifying my own, hard to tell really these days…

  • Tyler

    How was writing a 2,000 word article about the productivity of a smart phone productive?

  • Quinn

    I use a Blackberry in conjunction with an Acer Netbook. I am a heavy user of Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs; and with that my life is very manageable. Carrying two NEWER technologies is much better than carrying two OLDER technologies.

    My calendar and tasks is added and updated via my netbook on Google (cloud living is the best) which is synced to my BB. My agenda is there when I need it. Any changes to tasks and or calendar events can be done on my BB and synced back to my Google pages.

    Paper is used only for note taking which I can transcribe later using Open Office or Notepad ++

    But, I always suggest to a person to use whatever system works best for them.

  • http://www.flashcardmakerpro.com improve memory

    I can’t live without my smartphone as a consultant I need access to my calendar, email, and to do list on the go. I don’t always like to carry my computer as it is bulky and often not necessary for short trips.

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  • Anonymous

    Great article – spot on in every way.

    The smartphone is a great toy (I admit that I own one) but is far from being the most productive device I’ve had.
    That would be the 1999 Psion 5mx – small enough to carry around on a belt holster, lightweight, and having the greatest schedule and contact functions ever devised. Additionally, it downloaded dictionaries, encyclopedias and e-books. It had a clear, large touchscreen that did not necessitate squinting, an OS that NEVER crashed, instant on, a keyboard which nearly enabled touch-typing and even GPS capability. It was way ahead of its time, and nearly perfect for my productivity as an English tutor who had to manages a busy, ever-changing scheule.Unfortunately, it also had three shortcomings: no phone app, clamshell hinges which broke all too quickly and a very delicate screen. This wonderful PDA is still obtainable via auction sites, but is now unsupported.

    The only advantage that today’s more expensive, more complicated smartphone has for me is that I have a phone, contacts and schedule together in one device, which is truly more convenient for lugging around and operating. But there’s the key word once again – convenience (and not productivity). The calendar function is less efficient, the screen too small, the oversensitive virtual keyboard a nightmare and no dictionaries or encyclopedias. True, having portable e-mail is a boon, but the Net, as you get it here, is a joke.

    Prior to purchasing the smartphone, I was carrying around an ordinary cellphone and an Asus pocket PC. The latter was barely sufficient for keeping my schedule, but was easier to manage than the calendar function on the smartphone.

    PDA manufacturers have basically left business users in the dust. In addition to increasing speed, memory and media functions, they should have developed AI and voice command apps. The Siri voice command on the iPhone 4S is still a joke, and basically an amusement rather than a genuine productivity tool. By now – hell, even 10 years ago – voice command should be the basis of nearly every function of a PDA.

    What we need now is a pioneering company like Psion which can create avant garde products for both serious use as well as amusement.