How attached are you to your smartphone?

Just in case you have been living under a rock, what is a smartphone? Have you seen those little devices people stare at in the subway all the time? Did you think they were only sending text messages? Wrong! A smartphone is way more than that. It is a high-end mobile phone that offers advanced computing and connectivity than a regular mobile phone. A smartphone works both as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a phone. Imagine being able to have a portable media player, a photo camera, Wi-Fi, GPS navigation… all in one! And PLUS: they come with a great, high-resolution touchscreen. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m totally in love with my smartphone. Let me tell you what happened to me some days ago. It was Friday when I left London to go to Colchester to visit the family. By the time I realized I forgot my ipHone charger at the hotel, it was late at night. That was ok, because I still had about 70% battery life... At least I don't need a quick visit to Starbucks to get an Internet connection here, so some of the things I would do on my iPhone I could do on my laptop to save the battery life. But by Saturday afternoon, the battery of my iPhone was just completely flat. I knew that I had to go to the shops to get a new charger but still, I decided I could hold it off for a little bit longer… BIG mistake! On Sunday, I started to panic. Even though I was aware of the fact that anyone trying to reach me, knew they could do so by email or Skype… What about my word games? If I don't play after a while, I automatically lose. What about my daughter? She also has an iPhone so we can call each other for free daily!!!! And, call me crazy, but not having to hold my iPhone just doesn’t feel right. I am downstairs in the garden, sipping my coffee, and I'm thinking about checking my emails... It’s becoming an obsession. When did I become so dependent on such a little thing? Then, a little emergency came up and I really needed to go to a grocery store... I don’t know Colchester. I was told to go to Tesco: just go straight and turn right in Wesley Street... So here I am, happily walking down the street, and wondering at what point do I turn right exactly? Let's just stay on the familiar path and look around the town centre. Though the one thing I had forgotten was that on Sunday, most shops -if not all- close around 4 pm, and it was well over 4pm. Well, you can picture it: I got lost! When you have a smartphone, you can do all those great things like getting Google maps out to find your way! I had no freaking idea where I was and I could not even ask for directions, because I didn’t even know the address or their phone number, which is saved on my iPhone of course... I finally saw a ‘Library’ sign which I knew would bring me back close to home. I had forgotten my iPhone once before, when I went to have dinner one night with friends, and I felt so anxious about not having it that I just wanted to go home and get it. It was always in the back of my mind that I had left my iPhone at home, and because of it, I did not enjoy myself as much. Sad, isn't it? I've had my iPhone for nearly two years, and it is one purchase I never had to look back. And I do realize that I heavily rely on it for everything I do! It is just so practical. I use it to check my bank accounts, to see how my business is doing, to convert money, to translate words, check things on Google when discussing something with friends... Forget jewelry, without my iPhone I feel naked! I know that some people won’t buy a smartphone because they fear they’ll become dependent… What can I say? I don’t regret owning it but, in my experience, it is true you end up being a smartphone junkie LOL

So how attached are you to your smartphone is our new poll for this month.

[poll id="4"] I can honestly say that the first two answers apply to me. What about you? How attached are you to your smartphone?