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FAQ Tuesday: What can a Smartphone do for Mom?

3 June 2009 12 Comments Disclosure

A couple of months back Walmart sponsored the Elevenmoms in getting a smartphone for them to use in everyday situations. I chose to get a 3G White iPhone 16GB. Since the day I got it I feel as if I have had a little slice of heaven in my hand. Now you all know that I’ve had a iPod touch in the past, and truly I love the iPod touch but honestly I didn’t think the iPod touch would be any different from the iPhone but I was completely wrong. The added feature of the iPhone are outstanding!

So how does a iPhone save this Mom Time?

Never in my life have I been so up to date and on top of my game. The iPhone has helped me really stay organized with everything from calendar events and emails to grocery shopping and coupons. What does all this organization mean? It means more time for me to do other things like just hang out and have fun with the kidlets.

How does an iPhone save you Money?

When I was purchasing the iPhone in-store at my local Walmart the sales lady, was super helpful. I told her about what Walmart was doing with all of the Elevenmoms and the smartphones then I asked her how did she think that the iPhone would save a mom time and money. This is what she said….

…well you have to think about it. If you were to go out and buy a GPS and an iPod the money that you spent would add up to the price of an iPhone.

paraphrased not an exact quote

So very true! If I were to go out and buy a new cell phone, GPS, and an ipod I would be out a lot of money. The beauty of the iPhone is that it has practically everything you need all in one device: Camera, GPS, Phone, Text, iPod, Video Capabilities, Connection to the internet, and more.
Think about it this way if one had to carry around all the fabulous perks of the iPhone I would be carrying around….
a laptop to connect to the internet
a camera
a GPS
a portable DVD player to watch movies
an iPod
a cell phone
a portable email device…the list really could go on for a while but I will spare you. What I love is that I have all of these in one single device that is super easy to carry around with me. Do I use all of these features in a single day? More often than one would think. So in short the iPhone saves me money by being multiple devices in one and space because I don’t have to lug around multiple devices anymore. My purse is so light now I don’t know what to fill it with.

Project iPhone: What can a smartphone do for Mom?

Ok we get it, you LOVE the iPhone. Now dish, what is your favorite apps (the ones you use most often)?

I love that the iPhone apps are very affordable with many of them being free! Here is a list of the ones that I use on a daily basis….
Twitter: Tweetie (paid), Twitterrific (free), Twitterfon (free)
RSS Feeds: NetNewsWire (blogs), Subs (youtube subscriptions)
Chat: Skype
Post to Web: Audioboo (audio blogging), Whrrl (tell stories as they happen), itookthisonmyphone (post photos to twitter, facebook, and flickr all at once),
Audio: Shazam (find out the name of the song you are listening to), BoomboxPro (listen and blip music)
Grocery Shopping: GroceryiQ (make a grocery list), Shopper (make a grocery list, add up your total, factor in coupons)
Reading: Amazon Kindle for the iPhone

This is just a list of some of the apps that I use. I have over 8 pages of apps on my 16GB iPhone, you could say that I’m a little obsessed. And yes really there seems to be an app for just about everything now a days.

How was your experience purchasing an iPhone at Walmart?

Really, it wasn’t all that bad. Since several of the other Elevenmoms had already gone and gotten their iPhones or whatever smartphone that they choose I knew that it would be a bit of a wait going in the store. But honestly it wasn’t too terribly long of a wait really. Maybe an hour from start to finish and this was me signing up with a new contract with AT&T and everything.

What I did appreciate was that I could get everything done right there in the Walmart store with no need for a separate trip to an AT&T store. My contract was activated and completely set up from the moment the iPhone was purchased.

I tried to answer the most common questions about the iPhone and my experience in using it. Are there any questions that you have that you would like to ask?

Disclosure: My iPhone experience is being sponsored by the lovely folks at Walmart. My contract and phone have been covered by Walmart. Despite this, additional posts, comments, etc. are 100% my own opinion.


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Something About: The Domestic Diva

Heather started blogging back in 2004 as a way to document her first pregnancy. Now two kidlets later, she enjoys sharing a glimpse into a Diva's world via >video blogs (vlogs) and her self-portrait photography. She can be seen around the blogosphere in various online campaigns such as the Walmart Moms, Velveeta it! Kitchenistas, Lee Fit Ambassador, Tropicana as a Juicy Insider, and her latest involvement with Sharpie as a Sharpie Squad Member 2010. To keep up to date with the Domestic Diva you can follow her on Twitter @thedomesticdiva or "like" us on Facebook.


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12 Comments »

  • Tina - Mad Hatter Mom said:

    That’s interesting.. My hubby and I are toying with changing to AT&T when our contract is up with Verizon and of course we have been looking at the iPhones. My only concern is that you can’t send a picture text. You have to email it. I don’t know if you text alot or not but if so did it bother you at all?

    {Comment #1 on 3 June 2009 at 3:58 pm}
  • The Domestic Diva (author) said:

    Tina-Mad Hatter Mom….Ive never sent a lot of photo msgs to ppl other than my husband and it hasn’t been much of a problem to me. Like you said, I just typically email the person since a media package is included with the iphone packages. So I try to do everything via “the internet”. I’ve heard rumors of photo messaging becoming available with the new update that is supposed to occur sometime this month, but we shall see it is just a rumor. Also the new iPhone is coming out soon as well so be on the lookout for that, dont know what the difference will be between the 3G and the new one but I’m anxious to find out. At this point for me, all the other cool factors were the deciding factor for me, granted the iPhone has some room for improvement like not having photo msging but once you start using it in daily life you learn to adapt and do things other ways. I’m anxious to find out what the new update has in store though. Hoped this helped, let me know if you have any other questions, I’ll try to answer them for you even though I’m not an apple expert or anything.

    {Comment #2 on 3 June 2009 at 5:29 pm}
  • Drea said:

    i knew nothing abt the iphone so this was neat 2 see. im curious tho, how much does your contact cost monthly for this? including the internet… cell phone minutes, etc…
    thanks!!

    {Comment #3 on 3 June 2009 at 8:53 pm}
  • The Domestic Diva (author) said:

    Drea….the iPhone is fabulous. Like I mentioned in the video, I can’t really explain how much of a great tool this is until you experience it for yourself. Everyone I talk to is on AT&T so I essentially get to talk to them for free because with the iphone plans you get unlimited mobile to mobile. Also included is unlimited data (email and web), visual voicemail, and rollover on your minutes. Since everyone I talk to is essentially free I opted for the cheapest package which was 450 anytime minutes, 5000 night and weekend minutes, plus the unlimited data for $69.99/mo. Also I chose the lowest text package which was 200 msgs. for $5 extra. So roughly $75/mo. But mainly everything I do is on the net so I’m thankful that the iPhone plans come with unlimited data.
    If you go to your local Walmart you should be able to get a pamphlet that will have the various prices etc. Also they typically have a model out on display that you could play with, granted you might not get the “full effect” as if it were your own, but you could get the feel for it. There are 4 plans currently available ranging from $69.99-$129.99 according to the pamphlet that I received, they also have family talk plans available.
    Here is a link to Walmarts iPhone 3G website, check out the “guided tour” link it will take you to Apples website for a video.

    {Comment #4 on 3 June 2009 at 11:05 pm}
  • Iva @ Horizontal Yo-Yo said:

    Thanks for your review of the iPhone. The Man Beast and I have seen several commercials for these types of phones and were saying that we just didn’t have a need for one. And to be honest, we don’t.

    BUT…

    Having said that, when we first starting using cell phones, it was your basic just-to-talk phone. Soon, we moved up to press-to-talk. Now, we’re texting on a regular basis (I really love texting…it’s like email, only better).

    So, who knows – in a year or so, we might truly have a need for a Smartphone.

    Thanks again for the great review!

    {Comment #5 on 4 June 2009 at 9:21 am}
  • Drea said:

    Thank ya chicka dee. :) good review. ill def look into an iphone for the future.. i have verizon right now tho and cant justify paying cancel fees until my contract is up :) but when that time comes, for sure I want one!

    {Comment #6 on 4 June 2009 at 12:50 pm}
  • mammajama said:

    Great review. My hubby has had an iPhone for about a year and I’ve had my Blackberry for the same amount of time. It’s funny to compare the two.

    I mostly use my phone for texting and emailing, so I find the keyboard invaluable. I can’t stand his “keyboard” and am always typing two letters and erasing one, it seems on the iPhone. Also, you can’t forward texts on it, or as Tina pointed out send photo texts.

    On the other hand, his GPS is about the same as mine but internet browsing is a little easier on his. I like to explain to people that if they like Macs then they will like the iPhone. If you’re a hardcore PC person then you will probably prefer a Blackberry and the way it’s set up.

    The lack of organization of apps and the lack of folders (I am set in my pc ways, I know) irritated me but hubby loves it. Different strokes, right?

    {Comment #7 on 4 June 2009 at 1:33 pm}
  • Jenn said:

    The iPhone is neat, and I probably would have gotten it, except that shitty credit and my refusal to shell out a $500 deposit prevented me from getting it. So I went for the T-Mobile G1 instead (since I already have T-Mobile), which worked out well since it is a lot like the iPhone, except not quite, heh.

    Smartphones FTW. I love being able to check email, get directions, text my husband, make my phone calls, and of course play with all sorts of fun apps!

    {Comment #8 on 4 June 2009 at 3:37 pm}
  • The Domestic Diva (author) said:

    Iva@Horizontal Yo-Yo…I hear ya, I have never been much of a cell phone kind of a person, but once you start using something on a daily basis you create a “need” for it, know what I mean? Kind of like you don’t know what you are missing until it is gone type of thing.

    Drea…you are welcome.

    mammajama….yes internet browsing is so much easier on an iphone like the commercial once said “this is not a watered down version of the internet”….webpage look like they would on your computer which I LOVE!
    Yes the PC in you might have gotten the best of you, just kidding, I do find myself wanting a way to organize the apps etc. one way that is possible is just to put different types of apps on different pages for instance social media on one page, financial planning another, games, home management, etc. Like I mentioned I have like 8 pages of apps :P

    Jenn…apps are fab ;)

    {Comment #9 on 5 June 2009 at 12:18 am}
  • mammajama said:

    Oh, forgot to mention – the iPhone can’t support bluetooth. Just so you know :p

    {Comment #10 on 7 June 2009 at 10:48 pm}
  • mammajama said:

    aaaaand the BBerry has Excel, powerpoint and Word on it ;)

    {Comment #11 on 7 June 2009 at 10:50 pm}
  • The Domestic Diva (author) said:

    mammajama….the iPhone IS Bluetooth compatible it just might not be compatible with all third-party models, for instance Apple makes one that works with the iPhone specifically. Secondly, I agree there needs to be a way to carry around important “documents” on the iPhone, hopefully this will come with future updates as Apple discovers the need for it. In all honesty I don’t use Excel, Powerpoint, or Word so it is not a bother to me that the iPhone doesn’t have this feature :)

    {Comment #12 on 8 June 2009 at 12:45 am}