musings | why i love my iphone

for seven years my husband used to work full time as a cell phone sales representative. and ever since the iphone came out, his main selling line would be "you should see the way my wife uses this thing!" he says that i am the ideal user for an iphone. i'm not so technie that i feel the need to jail break it, but i'm not so technologically challenged that i have to bring it back to the store because i can't get it to work (this happens a lot by the way - number one recommended solution? turning the phone back on.)

so why am i such an "ideal" user? well, i'm a multi-tasker through and through. i absolutely love being able to do five things at once. so the fact that i can do those five things, with the same device on the go is incredible!!

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apps that help me connect with people

twitter | i use twitter differently on my phone than i do on my computer. on my laptop, or at work i share amazing arty links and respond to tweets. on my iphone the twitter app acts as an impromptu book. if i'm lying in bed, or riding the bus i love to scroll through my feed and see what's new and interesting. i also find i add pictures to twitter from my phone often and never do on the desktop.

apps that help me get things done

teux deux | i'm a big fan of this to do app. i hate to forget the things i have to accomplish so i love that i can input them as soon as i think of them. you can list your tasks, edit them, cross them off with a line, or delete them completely. you can also drag them to different days, and unfinished tasks just fall to the next day. there's even a giant "someday" list of low priority to dos.

etsy | the etsy app made my life so much easier when it first came out. the mobile site is nice but it's not ideal for sellers. the app allows me to renew items, communicate with customers, marked products as shipped and view new orders in full size. it's great if you want to browse or purchase as well - i've used it for these things myself!

be funky fx | this is my instagram alternate. i know that there's a way to alter photos in instagram without posting them publicly but i prefer this app for that purpose because you can also crop, brighten, saturate and it has different filters. i use this for the snapshot feature on my blog.

my banking apps | most banks now have apps available to do online banking. most people are afraid of this but i'm not sure why. i cannot express to you just how handy it is to be able to transfer money from one account to another on the go, to send money to others and to pay bills that i've forgotten about! in addition, i'm certain i spend less because i'm always checking what my account is at and so i know when to draw the line instead of imagining it's full of moo-la.

maps | this is one that seems a bit obvious but i'm not sure people understand just how helpful it is. absolutely anytime i go somewhere new in my own town, i use maps - and i use street view to see what a building looks like. and since i love to be early or on time, i always check to see how long it will take to get there. oh, and i love how the little blue dot moves so that i know when to get off the bus!

yellow pages | honestly i think everyone should have this straightforward app. you can get addresses, phone numbers and websites for both businesses and people. i often use this when i have forgotten an address and i'm at the post office and need it stat!

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apps that help to pass the time

tetris | i'm not sure how relevant this will be to anyone else, but i am obsessed with tetris. i have loved it ever since i was a little girl and my family used to pass off the game boy* at the cottage to see who could play the longest. and that was back when it was in black and white! i just love being able to play tetris whenever, wherever, anytime i'm bored.

corus radio | obviously i'm listening to my itunes music all the time. but sometimes i like listening and having a real surprise song come on. that's why i've always loved the radio!

cbc music | this is one step better than the radio - you can choose a theme like pop or rock or indie, and then pick from two-six stations within each category. it's kind of like satellite in that there aren't really any commercials. but you never know what is coming on next - maybe it's a song you haven't heard in years!

imdb | when i see an actor or actress i go crazy until i can figure where i know them from, and what other projects they have done. sometimes i get lost in imdb traveling from actor to movie to actress to television show - but that's the fun of it!

apps that make me a better person

fit bit | there's about a gazillion fitness and weight loss apps out there. despite what it implies, i've realized fit bit is more about maintaining weight - but it's one of the best looking apps in this category. it's pretty and fun and really clever. you can track your food, exercise, water and weight. if you wanna get really serious about it, they even sell step trackers and scales.

intimacy tracker | ya...this is a bit awkward but i'm going to go ahead and put this one down because i really do love it. you can set it up however you like but basically you track your nooky or dates and with whom. in my case it's just my husband but it's a subtle way of figuring out if we need some more alone time.  

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other apps** on my phone that are equally awesome/come with the phone

notes, flixster,  movies, clock, shazam, twitter, teux deux, maps, calendar, instagram, etsy, tetris, camera, photos, yellow pages, fit bit, weather eye, evernote, cbc music, paypal, cibc banking, bmo banking, draw something, facebook, be funky fx, imdb, itunes music, intimacy tracker, roger my account, words with friends, corus radio, battery, blogger, bloglovin, scanlife, backgrounds, freesaurus, voice memos, linked in, xe currency, some ecards, shoppers, posted, good reads, kobo e books, kobo, convert units, overdrive, mail chimp, michaels, gas buddy, contacts, calculator, settings, youtube, letris, pinterest, app store, itranslate, hangman, ebay, itunes, old tetris, canada post, weather, reminders, netflix, videos, compass, stocks, game center, newsstand, craigslist, live stream, path, city vibe, facebook camera, hipstamatic

* gameboy!! she sure is showing her age!
** i actually use all of these. i try not to have apps that i don't use wasting space.