Who would ever of thought that a mobile phone, which was simply used to phone people, would evolve into the smart phone that it is today; a phone which you can do so much on. Today, over 70% of the UK population alone, own a smart phone and each person will use their smart phone for different reasons to suit their particular lifestyle. Due to smart phone evolution, smart phone now gives you the opportunity to do everything all in one place, all on one device. Gone are the days that you would have to go on holiday taking a camera, a music player, a notebook, a map and a phone, a smart phone means that you now can have it all in one.
Maps
You now no longer need to carry around a large sized map in the car or a city map on a day out when you have a smart phone. All smart phones have maps already installed onto the phone for people to use. The maps app can be used as a Sat Nav in the car, directing you on your unfamiliar journey or can be used in a city where you need to get from one place to the other and again are unfamiliar with the city that you are in.
Discount Vouchers
Everyone wants to save money where they can. Previously, for people to save money, they would have to look out for a discount voucher in a newspaper, a magazine or would of had to print one from the Internet. This is no longer the case with popular discount voucher companies, such as Voucher Codes and Voucher Cloud, supplying customers with a free app which they can download onto their phone. The apps also work out where you are with location services and say which local places have discount codes that you can use. You will find discount codes for shops, restaurants and the cinema.
Shopping
Today a lot of people work hours where they are not able to visit the stores which they would like to. Some may not want to use their days off or weekends going out shopping, so this is where online shopping is suited to so many people. With many stores having their own app or a mobile website, customers can shop online using their smart phone. A lot of places also offer a click and collect service, where customers can choose an item online and have it sent to their local store for free, meaning they are not having to pay for delivery or have to schedule a day where they have to be at home to wait for it to arrive. Many people also find that there is more choice online than on the high street, therefore they have more products to choose from.
Amazon are one company that have a scan facility on their app so that you can scan a product to then by. Soon Amazon will be releasing their first smart phone with Fire Fly Technology where you can point the camera on the phone at various products such as books, DVD’s and even films, which are being shown on the television. This technology will tell you what film it may be then give you the option to buy this particular film through the Amazon site or just simply give you some information on the site.
Payments
More and more places are letting you pay now via your smart phone through contactless payments, meaning that this is even less that you need to take around with you. Contactless payments may be a safer way of using money as you don’t have to carry around cash and numerous cards with you, you just simply need your phone.
Eating Out
Many restaurants now have their own app or their own website which will allow customers to view the most recent menu and also allows customers to book a table all through using the app or the website. This makes it easier for customers as they simply choose the restaurant that they want to go to, pick a date and a time and say how many people will be going for a meal and then they will receive a booking confirmation, which they simply have to show on arrival at the restaurant.
Gaming
Portable gaming has never been so easy now that the smart phone has evolved. People can now download apps so that they can play games. This could be great for those who like a challenge. People can play games on a break at work, whilst traveling to work, whilst at home or on the journey to the holiday. There used to be a time where there would only be one type of game on a phone, for Nokia this was the game Snake. Today there is much more of a variety in games that you can have on your smart phone, from simple card games to popular games such as Fifa that people can play on their phone.
Watch Film, Video and TV
There are many apps that you can get for your smart phone such as Youtube and catch up television apps such as BBC iPlayer. You can also download films onto your smart phone to watch when traveling to your holiday destination or are on your commute to work. Many DVD’s and Bu-Ray’s that you buy also come with a free download of the film so that you are able to download it onto a smart device, being either a tablet or a smart phone.
Information Search
Many people will use their smart phone as a way to find out information quickly. This can be anything from news and weather to which actor was in a certain film. Many people will have their favourite search engine, such as Google, set up as the homepage on the Internet to make searching for information even easier. Search engines also have individual apps that you can use for information searches.
Listen to Music
With smart phones containing a large internal memory, you can download an extensive amount of music onto your smart phone. You can listen to music on your phone at home, whilst it is put into a sound dock, or you can listen whilst you are on the move with your headphones. Most smart phones will also be able to be connected up with your car by using a cable or even bluetooth if your car has this facility. If your car has bluetooth then you can also use your phone hands free to make calls whilst driving without having to touch your phone.
Services
As well as being able to shop on a smart phone, people can also use their smart phone for certain services. This can be anything from booking a holiday on their smart phone as well as taking out different types of insurance. Lots of companies have mobile responsive sites or apps, which customers can use to make viewing services on their smart phone easier. People will often use their smart phone as it is easier and quicker than turning on a computer and waiting for it to load.
Camera
Most smart phones will contain a camera facility on the front and the back of the camera. This is great for those times you need to quickly take a snap of something as well as recording a day out in somewhere like Barcelona. This also saves having to always carrying a separate camera with you. The front camera is useful for taking selfies and seeing what you look like, instead of guessing whether you and those you are with all fit into the shot. The back camera normally produces better quality photographs, therefore can be used to take pictures of others and of points of interest.
Note Taking
If you are at a meeting and need to take notes, but have not taken a notepad and pen with you, then you needn’t worry as you can write notes easily on your smart phone. This is also useful when you need to make a shopping list or make notes for when you are next meeting with a friend. The calendar facility on smart phones is also good for planning meetings, days out with friends and organising days out with the family. Notes and the calendar can easily be shared with others and can also be emailed to one another to make sure that the dates are the same.
A smart phone is the one essential product that every body needs in the modern day world. One day there will be a time that your smart phone really will be able to do anything for you. There are already apps that you can use to control your heating at home, so no doubt that in the future there will be a time that you can control things like your oven or microwave from your phone. You can have a day where you use your phone to direct you from one place to another, use it to pay for your lunch then use it to order your takeaway for the evening. The smart phone is turning into the essential remote control for our lives.
