Seen as I have developed an app from scratch, you might be forgiven for thinking when it comes to mobile technology and the latest gadgets I have it all covered but you would usually be wrong. I am usually so buried in the mechanics of my business that I don't look up for air and suddenly I am out of date AGAIN.
So this week my phone was treated to a little TLC and I sought out a number of items that I think are essential for the self-respecting phone owner.
Charging lamp
The corner of my home office if anyone ever wondered what that looks like ha
Now I think this is a genius idea and I am minded to get one for every one I regularly need to contact but cant as they have run out of battery. I come in from a meeting, place my iPhone (which is almost guaranteed to be running out of battery as its red hot all day) straight on the platform and its charging nicely. There's a charging receiver needed too but mine is hidden nicely under my case. It's completely wireless and if I do want to use it I can do so straight away. The lamp is fairly standard but useful too. The design is super stylish and I am hooked.
Mobile Phone case
Nothing technologically amazing there but it sure looks pretty. I have had a few comments on how nice it is already. My previous one was a gel cover and it made it bulky this one is more streamline.
A selfie stick
Now I know I am way behind the times here but I am one of those stubborn adopters that feels they don't need something if everyone else has it. I am the same with film trilogies. I still haven't watch Lord of the Rings because of it. However, I have been more forgiving with the selfie stick. Anyone following me on twitter or Instagram will know how much I love a good selfie. I have to say I absolutely love it, the Bluetooth connectivity to press the shutter from the end of the device is pretty neat and I am sure my photos are going to be a work of art from this point onwards because of it. I have often been heard moaning as my hair is too long to fit in a standard selfie but not anymore, provided I remember to take it with me. Here I go with the new (improved!?) selfie...
Fitness monitor
Anyone regularly reading my blogs will know of my passion for fitness. So to combine fitness and tech is a dream! I think we all need to be that bit healthier and keeping informed as to how we are doing can only be helpful. I took the Mi Band with me on my recent boot camp so it certainly got a comprehensive testing. I love most things accompanied by an app as you know. I would like to test a Jawbone is due course but I started with this as the cheaper alternative at only £30. However I have to say I found its use is limited. If your fitness regime consists of walking only, this is for you and useful. If you vary your routine, as you should, its functions of calorie counting gets lost. There is nothing to inform the app what type of exercise you are doing so the information would be very different for a run compared to a walk. Also it was almost 1km out when I compared it to my Nike Running app. Warning: knowing how many steps you've taken in a day is strangely addictive.
There are just so many weird and wonderful products for mobile phones these days both physical and virtual. I will naturally always lean towards app based technology but reviews of apps are a whole other blog.