canklecat

Once you try a smartphone you'll wonder why you waited so long. Rather than making me dependent, the smartphone has enhanced self sufficiency.

I'm no technophobe. I've enjoyed electronic doodads since childhood, although terrible soldering thwarted most of my project building. Got my first computer in the early 1980s, including online access from college and work.

But I hardly ever talk on the phone at home and couldn't see much use for a mobile phone other than for emergencies. I hated texting because it's so awkward on a handheld keyboard. Only thing I needed to do on the cell phone, besides make calls, was to look up phone numbers. But a few years ago my old 2010-2012 era flip and keyboard phones were obsolete for web access -- the old school browser was deactivated. I was reduced to begging for phone books in convenience stores and restaurants. Eventually, nobody even had phone books anymore. I actually had to call friends a few times to ask them to look up a number for me.

I don't walk around with my nose buried in my phone, and put it away when I'm with friends. But it's reassuring to have access to immediate communication. Besides my mom's recent surgery on long term convalescence, an old family friend of hers from school became ill at about the same time. It's handy to be able to exchange brief messages and updates without waiting hours until I'm back home to check the computer.

• I can look up my own dang phone numbers now.
• Remotely set call forwarding from home to the mobile phone when I forget to do so before leaving the apt.
• Look up a bike repair tutorial on the road for a new-to-me problem.
• Check bus routes and schedules (I don't have a car).
• Summon Uber or Lyft if my bike breaks down beyond my ability for road repairs (Yellow Cab doesn't service our area, another reason for the success of Uber and Lyft).
• Get turn by turn voice navigation -- haven't needed it yet, but I've tried it and it works pretty well.
• Check for discounts, coupons and unadvertised specials in almost any store. No need to clip and carry coupons. I saved another $5 off a $50 total beyond the advertised and shelf prices in the supermarket last night just using the app.
• Feed the cats and scoop the litter box. Okay, not yet. But soon, my precious fur monsters. Soooooon.

And, for better or worse, most folks even my age and older now prefer texts to voice or email. I think it's a commitment issue. They're afraid a voice call will drag out for minutes when they only need a sentence or two to communicate. (One of my older friends is a master of regular but very succinct phone calls: "Yokay? Needinnything? Innythingnew? OKtok2yal8rbye." Her conversations have always been like texting.) And emails tend to invite lengthy exchanges, which can be difficult to read on smaller smartphones.

No point fighting the trend. We'll end up like ol' great-great-grandpappy, cussing that consarned Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell for their devilish inventions that caused more than one interruption a week.

Oh, and with the Swype and similar apps that let you sweep across the virtual keys rather than tap-tap-tap, texting is a breeze. Unfortunately it means my emails from the phone are just as wordy as my posts here.