Twenty odd years ago I had a phone on a little table in the hall, If I wasn't home anyone wanting me would have to call back later, I think that there was an answering machine attached to said phone, but back in the day people were a little suspicious of them and very rarely left a message. Life was quieter back then, shops were closed on Wednesday afternoons and no one had even dreamt of Sunday opening. Then came the mobile phone, a huge brick that was hardly 'mobile' I had to get a bigger handbag to accommodate mine. My husband at the time loved technology and thought that it was a perfect gift; I just relished the opportunity to buy a new handbag. Anyway, at this time I was volunteering with an outreach charity working with young people on the streets. The mobile phone changed the way in which we worked; we were able to call the emergency services from the emergency, call hostels for availability and I was able to call home to let my family know I was OK,. The mobile phone was already becoming indispensible.
The first handheld mobile that I had didn't have text messaging, it simply allowed one to make an over priced call. People were becoming available where ever they were. The world was changing, the internet had arrived and businessmen all over the country were telling their wives that they were on the train. Then came the texting, who would have known just how huge that would be? How did teenagers communicate in my day? Oh yes I remember, we talked with each other and we actually did laugh out loud when we weren't in our Goth phase. It's not all bad though, I now know were my children are at any given time of the day and I also know that 'Lucy is going out with that ***** who works in Sainsbury' although that particular text was sent to me in error LOL.
So, with the world permanently attached to their new BFF, the mobile phone and everyone reliant on an internet connection, Apple decided to up the game …. A phone WITH an internet connection, a phone that was ALSO a computer, well I wasn't having any of that. Who would want such an item, pffft, not me! And then my best friend bought me one …
My Apple IPhone sat in the box winking at me from the corner of the room for a full two weeks …
I remember it well, the day that my life changed forever, the day that the last bastion of hope and the realities of a bygone age were ripped from my still heaving chest, and the day that I opened the box. Or rather my friend opened the box shortly after calling me a most unflattering name which I will not repeat. That was it, there was no return, I was hooked. I have become so attached to my phone that I require oxygen if I am ever more than an arms reach away from it.
With the myriad of apps that are available it is now quite literally possible to work from anywhere at anytime. Emails can be read and replied to whist you are having a romantic dinner (actually that's not such a good idea!) or send a PayPal request whilst waiting for the bus. It's not so much my phone that now fits in to my favorite sparkly clutch bag, but my entire office too!
Here are my top 10 simply 'must have' apps
1. UK Train Times
2. Tube exits
3. PayPal
4. Tunein Radio
5. Kindle
6. Office2
7. Netflix
8. Dropbox
9. Skype and other socoal media apps (I am lumping all these in together as having one without the other causes the universe to implode)
10. Ebay (to be used with caution and never when bored)
What is your 'must have' app?
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