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Talk Mobile You
Talk Mobile - Mobile You WeekThe best things you said
by Rene Ritchie, Daniel Rubino, Kevin Michaluk, Phil Nickinson
Mobile You. The last of ten weeks of Talk Mobile 2013, and it was all-too-appropriately all about you. From how to find the right smartphone for you to how to customize that phone to how to manage your family of mobile devices and mobile device users, week ten was about the mobile you.
The modern smartphone is a beast that has changed the way that we live and communicate. It's uniquely personal and yet is our gateway to the furthest reaches of the globe. Unsurprisingly, you had a lot to say about that.
Mobile You
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RECAP
We say it every week, and we mean it: we value your feedback on Talk Mobile. This year's publishing might be over, but Talk Mobile has been a massive experience for us, and we want to know what you thought about it. Good, bad, indifferent, we want to hear it all. That's why there's a comments section down below - sound off and tell us what you think.
When we started planning Talk Mobile, the idea was about lifting up the quality of the conversation around mobile technology, not just amongst the bloggers, but with you the community as well. After ten weeks of throwing thousands of words and multiple videos at you a day, you never let up or relented in the conversation. It's been nothing short of astonishing to watch the discussions unfold in the community. You rock.
And so we've picked out the best comments from the past week and laid them out below. If yours has been picked as a winning comment, keep an eye on your email, because we have some awesome prizes to send your way!
Talk Mobile 2013 Week Ten: Mobile You
Day 1: What you need from a smartphone, what you want, and how to get it
Day 2: Finding the spot for you on the mobile device spectrum
Day 3: How to manage the modern mobile family
Day 4: You, too, can be internet famous - but do you want that?
Day 5: Customization, colors, and accessories: making smartphone fashionable
01
What you need from a smartphone, what you want, and how to get it
How do I not use it to communicate? Phone, text, email, social networks, forums, the whole gambit. My phone is my ultimate communication device. I use it more than my laptop or any other device.metllicamilitia's thoughts on using a smartphone as a communicator
Something that washes the car and gives me a haircut.dmedesha's thoughts on desired theoretical apps
Day One Winning Comment!
Five or six years ago, phone calls took a back seat to texting, messaging, and email. Recently I've discovered that all that has taken a back seat to social media. Today, my most general correspondence takes place primarily in social media, messaging and email are for the most part relegated to work contacts, and phone calls are almost solely limited to older family members who are reluctant to embrace mobile technology.DenverRalphy's thoughts on using a smartphone as a communicator
02
Finding the spot for you on the mobile device spectrum
It's just a bigger phone. Worst word of the past few years: Phablet. Just call it what it is - a phone - or a smartphone to be more specific. Want to talk size? Large. Huge. Extra-Large. Ginormous. But get rid of the phablet moniker.hopmedic's thoughts on the phablet market segment
A beautiful , intuitive, flexible Os, great screen no bigger than 5", most of which covers the face of the device, durability, robust battery so I can USE it ALL day with no plug in, great camera and video, full voice control so I can do what I need when driving. We are getting close...mundo472's thoughts on ideal smartphone features
Day Two Winning Comment!
My ideal smartphone would be able to bypass the commissioner and give me a direct line to Batman. You can never have enough Batman.aloomis76's thoughts on ideal smartphone features
03
How to manage the modern mobile family
As long as everyone pays their share and is respectful of others, a shared plan can be a great way to save costs. If you have someone who isn't smart about data use and/or constantly doesn't pay their part of the bill, you can end up paying much more than you would alone.BenRoethig's thoughts on shared data plans
Why wouldn't it be? There are features that will appeal more to specific demographics than others. That's smart marketing, frankly.ame's thoughts on marketing towards specific segments
Day Three Winning Comment!
We don't rely on any technology in this family. When we need to communicate amongst everybody, we do it at the kitchen table.Jessica Lares' thoughts on managing families and technology
04
You, too, can be internet famous - but do you want that?
The same as anyone famous should: Try to keep it going. Fame is fleeting, and Internet Fame is even more ephemeral.SpookDroid's thoughts on what to do with internet fame
Anonymity (real or imagined) tends to give people fortitude they would otherwise not -- and should not -- have.Tre Lawrence's thoughts on internet rudeness and hostility
Day Four Winning Comment!
Perhaps the greatest reward one could offer a coward would be anonymity.int_architect's thoughts on internet rudeness and hostility
05
Customization, colors, and accessories: making the smartphone fashionable
Nothing. I'm putting a case on it anyway. Let life proof worry about the custom options. Just give me an awesome phone to work with.BenRoethig thoughts on which parts of phones should be customizable
The first step is admitting you have a problem need help. It's okay though. We'll make it though this. You can start by giving me all of your previous devices . . . ;)In Limbo's thoughts on frequently switching devices
Day Five Winning Comment!
I wish the whole phone was customizable. I want to build it the way I want it just like my home computer.NFLPLAYBOOK's thoughts on which parts of phones should be customizable
CONCLUSION
Mobile phones used to just be communications conduits, merely mobile telephones. They've become so much more and with such great variety that we can now say there's a phone for everybody, and everybody for a phone. Which platform or device type best suits you is a personal exercise, one that's grounded in how you use your device, what your needs are, and who you are.
Smartphones and tablets are becoming part of the family as well. They're not quite a father or a sister, but they're the tools that help us keep in touch, keep up-to-date, and keep everything in line. Thankfully it's easier than ever to share information, even across platforms.
Thanks to the increasing power and capabilities of our smartphones its ever-easier to leverage the device as a catapult into mobile fame. Taking great photos or sharing great videos or merely using your phone to post thoughtful, amusing, or irritating things can bring you great fame - or infamy. Just as quickly as internet fame can arise, it can turn to hatred, or vanish as the crowd moves on to the next thing.
And for a phone that's picked because of how it meets your needs and is loaded with all of your content and communicates with all of your people, our phones can be utterly un-unique in their ubiquity. The smartphone has become a fashion device, and part of that is leveraged by the ability to customize it. Be it throwing on your own background or slipping it into a case, or even going so far as ordering a custom phone with colors of your choosing, it's never been easier to make your phone truly yours.
And that's all for mobile you week, and the final week of Talk Mobile 2013. Stay tuned for our recap post as well as our next steps for Talk Mobile. No, Talk Mobile 2013 wasn't the last thing we'll do, and there's no saying what form Talk Mobile 2014 might take. All we know is this: it'll be awesome.
Alright, it is now your turn. We want to know: what did you think of Talk Mobile You Week? Tell us what you loved, what you hated, what you want to see more of, less of, and changed. Whatever you want to say - we're listening, because the floor is yours.
