Many people these days crave the newest, shinniest and sleekiest model of just about ANYTHING. I call it TECHOMANIA. I doubt if it is cure-able!

There is a marketing line from a company that says “you can separate the MEN from the BOYS from the prices of their toys”. Bang & Olufsen, I think. Show me your TOY and I will tell you who you are!

We want the latest model of that curvaceous Toyota Camry, that captivating iPhone and that iridescent Samsung Galaxy S.  It is an irony of life that those who are comfortably able to afford the top-of-range toys are the ones who hardly have the time to explore it and make proper use of their intrinsic capabilities.

Even those that are have the time often lack the technical know-how, or knowledge to make use of their TOYS to the best of the toys’ awesome capabilities.

Which brings me to the question, “are you really making use of your smartphone”?  The modern-day smartphone is actually MORE of other things- than a phone. I submit that a smartphone is a computer that has the capability to also offer telephony service. It is multi-talented. I use my smartphone for more of those OTHER THINGS than actual telephony itself.

Many of the utilitarian values derivable from your smartphone are dependent on the array of software available for that gadget. What is the essence of that late-model Ford Mustang without adequate fuel to power it?. Or capable tyres to keep that power user tight control?. It is therefore vitally important to ensure that the smartphone you procure runs an Operating System (OS) that has a good and divergent array of software. It is through the software available for your device that you unleash all the power “under the hood”

It is noteworthy that you can actually get the same, or close to same, functionality via software as the hardware equivalent.

Listed below are some of the items and services your smartphone will eventually eliminate or at best, reduce in importance . It is meant to emphasize just how versatile these supposed “phones” really are:

– I do not buy have to buy PHYSICAL books & newspapers anymore There are enough books available for free on the internet – than any human being can read in a thousand lifetimes.

– Brick-and-mortar publishers, bookshops, libraries and newspaper houses are likely to continue to get diminishing patronage. My SmartPhone, via the internet, affords me access to all these services. When was the last time you visited a Post Office?

Okay, I agree. The smartphone will not replace Parcel Companies like DHL any time soon.

– I see brick-and-mortar Educational Institutions going out of fashion, witht learning primarily being via the internet.

– My smartphone can wake me up from sleep (via its alarm facility), put me to sleep (via sonorous/mellifluous music), serve as a teacher of foreing languages, motivate / elevate my spirit when I am down, serve as my mechanic (via auto sites), keep track of my spending_pattern, be my ad hoc doctor!

– My SmartPhone can serve as my Television, Radio Set, Media Player,digital diary, replace my standalone digital camera, GPS, wrist watch, torch light, remote control and alarm clock.

– It can serve as my car alarm system via a software like ExpressAlarm [for Symbian os).  The list is almost endless.

When you shell out good money for these expensive toys, see whether your smartphone that you permanently have with you cannot serve some purpose that you ordinarily accomplish in another fashion.

I will conclude this piece by saying that your smartphone, through the software installed on it and via the power afforded through the internet, will make your life more organized, purposeful and efficient. Your professional and social/personal life will be all the better for it by the efficacious use of this wonderful device – the SMARTphone!