Smartphones

[honda03842]

I often meet people who dislike smartphones. Smartphones are a wonderful extension for the traveler. We arrived in Washington, NC around 1 this afternoon. I typed in nearby restaurants and ended ub at Rachel K's Bakery.

Rachel's is outstanding. I had a 1/2 sandwich and a cup f soup. The sandwich, remember only a 1/2 was like a whole any where else. Ginny had a whole sandwich for a choice of sides she choose a chocolate chip cookie "The best chocolate chip cookie ever" per Ginny.

Normally I would not have been able to eat my 1/2 of sandwich but it came on Newfoundland quality multi grain bed, the best I've ever had in the states.

Every pastry in the place looked great. We bought two for supper tonight.

We'll never pass thru here without stopping and never pass thru here on SUnday (closed Sundays). It reminded me of the Clucking Chicken on the Cabot Trail, NS.

There are sins worth committing.

[Casita Greg]

"Smart phones" to me, has always been a love/hate relationship. While they have tremendous capabilities for accessing information, and performing many other functions nowadays, I still feel like a dweeb trying to figure out how to use one, never mind all the bells and whistles. My wife just "upgraded" me to a Samsung Galaxy S7, mainly because my old phone became "pregnant." The old phone sat plugged into the charging wire for weeks at a a time and the battery literally forced the phone case apart like a cooked clam. It also developed a bulge which was half again as thick as the phone itself was originally. I guess that you're not supposed to leave it plugged in for prolonged periods of time. Oh well, another learning curve here. Technology isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[steve dunham]

My kids got me a "Smart Phone" for Christmas. It's more phone than I need , want or am capable of using . I don't know how smart the phone is but it's definitely smarter than me.

[Jack L]

All smart phones are smarter than me, but I do get smarter every day I use mine. RV Parkey and Gas Buddy apps are very helpful.

[charlsara]

I agree with Norm. They are the travelers friend. We use RV Parky to find all our overnight stops. Sometimes it is nice to know where gas is to. The old I Phone comes through and is not hard to use. It is a pretty nice camera to.


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[KenjiFox]

I have literally over 50 smart phones. No, not in service all at once. I repair and sell them a lot though. I wouldn't go anywhere without my pocket computer. That said, I used an HP Jornada since about 2000 (little palm sized laptop) and many pocket PC devices before smartphones existed. I am a complete electronics geek and programming nerd.
These are absolutely amazing tools, packed to the brim with all kinds of sensors and tools. You can use them for almost any task. I was an early adopter of digital camera's cell phones (old brick ones!) GPS systems, mobile internet, etc. Now all of these things fit in one pocket.

I use mine 100% of the time when traveling. As a GPS, or as a guide to the weather.
I don't even wear a watch anymore. My phone always has the right time wherever I am in the entire world.

For those looking for useful software for their phones, I suggest "Waze" for free GPS with free real time traffic and danger warnings. As well as the prior mentioned "RV Parky" and "GasBuddy", as well as "Gas Guru", "Sanidumps" for a location map featuring dump sites, "My Tracks" to record GPX files and draw where you went on Google Maps, "BBQ Tank Meter" to VERY accurately measure the amount of propane in a 20 lb cylinder, Google "Keep" to write quick accessible notes like a post-it on steroids. Very easy to use, and you can have the notes remind you of things like a timer, as well as attach images etc. "Coverage Map" to see if there is service where you intend to go, "SpeedTest" to see if it's decent when you get there, and finally but certainly not least, "Zello" to keep in contact Nextel style for almost no data use. Zello is basically my all time favorite piece of smartphone software. Given that I am a smartphone developer, that's some high praise! I was actually going to create something JUST like Zello. I looked, and found that there was no need. They NAILED it.

This list is far from all inclusive. You can even get bubble levels and altimeters depending on your devices sensors. I am posting right now on my solar powered laptop through my phones connection. It's literally my lifeline, and I do all of my work through it. We carry three unlimited plans, Sprint x 2, one permanently hidden built in the trailer providing internet to all of my sensors and controls as well as current trailer location and speed via GPS (Take my trailer and I WILL find you and make sure you are sorry!), and one in my pocket to access things like battery voltage, current inside temp, air con/ heat settings, fridge temp, etc. and one T-mobile with LTE for when we need something online uploaded or downloaded FAST. Just a heads-up though, T-mo doesn't have great coverage yet.


This topic is right up my alley, and it was posted by literally my favorite people on this site. <3 Sorry if I got carried away!

Oh and that phone getting pregnant, that's actually the Lithium Polymer battery gassing due to age or temperature related failure. Luckily it didn't burst into flames.
They are made as a slurry mixed between layers inside of a foil pouch. LiPo lithium batteries are the most energy dense batteries, and also fairly unstable. They are used in all small high power electronics since we always want the longest run time per size possible. They hate being 100% charged, and they hate it even worse when they
are above 90 degrees and fully charged. Leaving it on the charger does lower the life span due to sitting at a high charge state. However, it's not why it gassed and expanded. Unless the charging circuit failed and allowed to to charge to more than exactly 4.2v +- 0.05v or so, then it was due to some other factor. Sometimes copper tendrils of sorts form inside of the battery with age and cause it to internally short out after one of the barrier layers are pierced inside. Lithium Polymer batteries, like that of which are used in iPads, iPhones, Most ultrabooks, and almost any Android or recent phone are only meant to live about 3 years or 300-600 cycles.
If you have a battery that is puffed dispose of it safely, and right away. It is unstable and /could/ vent. When they vent, they can do so with fire. The phone was likely salvageable via replacement battery though. That is if it was not mechanically flexed and broken from the expansion. In the event that you wish to store a lithium battery, whether it's a spare phone battery, or you intend to use your laptop on AC for extended periods and it has a removable battery, the best thing to do is discharge the device to about 40% then remove the battery and put it in a zip-lock. Place that in a refrigerator. That's the best condition for the lithium chemistry to outlive that three year mark.

Feel free to ask any questions about tech related things, I am positive I can help.
I've done tech support for years

[honda03842]

Kenji,

Thanks for the App tips, Nice post.

[Jim Bennett]

For business, my smartphone is indispensable, and much of this transfers over to my personal life too.

Probably one of my most used and appreciated apps, is my Construction Master Pro, a construction calculator that works with fractional measurements, as well as metric. It calculates stair rise and run, roof surface area, rafters, rake walls, volumes of shapes, just about most any layout requirement used in the construction industry. I have the same thing in a $100 calculator, the problem is, is that the calculator was never with me when I needed it, so for a #20 app, it has earned it's cost hundreds of times over.

I use a bunch that Kenji listed, with Keep being a favourite list app. Punch lists on jobs, shopping list for anything, it is great. You can easily check off individual items which drop below the list.

Other than the standard features, I also use my smartphone for;
- purchase orders
- stay linked to forums and other social media
- flashlight
- storing 8,000 songs and playing them on multiple formats of players (Sonos being a favourite)
- searching properties for sale
- accessing documents stored in the cloud
- mobile hotspot
- games, mostly card type for me though
- various health apps
- shopping
- beer and wine apps
- Audubon bird app
- sports teams
- I could add dozens more apps I use

While I prefer my computer for the screen size for many things, I would give it up long before my smartphone.
-

[Briantb]

[QUOTE used an HP Jornada since about 2000 (little palm sized laptop) [/QUOTE]

Loved my Jornada! Instant on..Windows CE was so far ahead of its time



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[KenjiFox]

Originally Posted by Briantb

[QUOTE used an HP Jornada since about 2000 (little palm sized laptop)

Loved my Jornada! Instant on..Windows CE was so far ahead of its time
[/QUOTE]

I still have it, and it still runs all day on the original battery!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

......While I prefer my computer for the screen size for many things, I would give it up long before my smartphone.
-

I couldn't agree with you more, Jim. Before I had one, didn't think I needed one. Now it is the last thing I would give up.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[honda03842]

We're in CT for a week helping out a family member before we complete our final prep for Newfoundland. This morning I decided to take Ginny out to breakfast and discovered a delightful looking breakfast spot off the beaten path thanks to my smart phone. It was located in Coventry, CT, 'Meet me on Main'. A very small place with about a dozen tables, great pastry and great breakfasts. Anyone with an eye for talent and beauty would be just be happy to sit for a while. Thank you Google and our smart phone.

[ZachO]

It's interesting. Yelp is great. As long as you know how to filter the idiots that would complain about anything from the reasonable reviews. It's done interesting things to "local" diners/restaurants/bars (they're all local, I guess ). Now the little diner I love in town is known to travelers. It's a "thing". The Taco Bus in Dillon, MT is a local place people love, but during the middle of the summer, I can't go there without seeing someone with out of state plates taking a selfie with a dumb grin in front of the bus, and doing a silly borderline "is this mean spirited or not?" dance to the Mexican music playing.

It's a compromise. It's great to see these places get more business and get noticed, but turning a place into a tourist destination completely changes the atmosphere.

Having said that, when I travel and pull into a new town, the first thing I do is use the internet to find the "best" breakfast cafe, then see if there's a local brewery

But I tend to instantly become like a "regular" and skip the selfie and obvious tourist behavior. I try to see how the locals treat the place, and blend in.

[Darnelle]

The best thing about my smartphone is the app that lets me block calls. Kiss my behind scammers and telemarketers!

Love my tablet and computer however.

[accrete]

Cari and I have our smartphones with us always. My s4 is my watch/evernote/camera/multi-tool etc even around camp.
And when we have no cell towers we still can text each other using the GoTenna's we have paired to each ( > Link < no affiliation, just happy customers)

: ) Thom