I was having lunch with a couple of UX folks the other day, and the conversation turned to mobile phones… how we use them, and how we don’t. It occurred to me that if you reclassified my iPhone as simply a device, the telephone is one of the features I use least. I text, and look things up on the web occasionally, but find myself using the camera quite a bit as a documenting tool.
Here’s a few recent pictures from my phone, and how I use it.
DIY projects. I like to take a picture of the wiring prior to removing, just in case.
Comparision shopping. I’ll take pictures of prices, which I can later reference when I’m at another store looking at the same or similar product.
Quick capture. Rather than writing down directions or phone numbers, I’ll shoot a picture of what i need from my screen. Much faster than trying to look it up on the phone later.
Product shots. If I’m shopping around for a particular type of item, I’ll shoot pictures of the products that interest me. Later I can reference the photos and use them to remember where I saw what product.
Julie Gomoll
April 12th, 2009
I agree, it seems limiting to name the iPhone a phone, but iDevice isn’t very sexy. Nor is iMultiTool. We need a new name!
I use my iPhone in many ways I didn’t anticipate too.
Like you, I use it for documentation:
* At the mall, or airport, or anywhere with hairy parking, I take a picture of my parking location.
* When the pesky downtown parking meters take my money and show “FAIL” on the meter, I snap a shot in case I get a ticket.
* Like with your DIY projects, I document the back of my overly-complicated home theater system before I mess with it so I know how to plug things back in afterward.
Perhaps the most unexpected use for me is the clock:
* I never set an alarm. I use my iPhone.
* I no longer bother with a kitchen timer.
* I set alarms for things I never had alarms for before, like the laundry. My washer & dryer are out of hearing range, so I set an alarm to remind me to check. I do the same for radio shows I don’t want to miss, and web chats I want to attend.
Word Games. Granted, this doesn’t qualify as an unexpected use, but the casual games I’ve played most frequently on the PC are word games. Other than Babble (playbabble.com), all my word gaming is now on the iPhone. Not only are my favorites available in the app store, there are also a couple of new, truly unique iPhone word games that I just love.
I do some quick capture of text as well, but I’m most likely to add it to EverNote for transcription.
I’m also (finally) recording more – conversations with clients, talks with my dad, brilliant ideas. I also record dreams in the middle of the night, although they’re often not as coherent as I’d like.