From Tornados to Starbucks—My HTC Does It All

(I was not paid and received no enumeration of any kind in exchange for writing this article, nor is my blog affiliated in any way with HTC. The following are just personal and honest reflections on my experiences with the HTC Incredible.)

I’m in love with my phone. That’s not something I would normally own up to, but it’s true. I’ve had my HTC Incredible for just under three months and I’ve been very happy with it. But after my recent ten day trip, I’m so attached to my phone that I would feel handicapped if I lost it.

My trip began on the 18^th, when I flew out of Seattle to Boston. I spent a couple of days there, visiting friends and tooling around the city where I used to live. Then, my best friend and I hopped in her car and headed west, pulling her camper behind us. We stopped several times along the way, ending up in Chicago, where we parted company. I took the train from there to Minneapolis, and flew back home yesterday.

During the course of the trip, I used familiar features of the HTC Incredible, to good effect. I also downloaded some new apps and explored features I hadn’t explored before. I did all of this without ever referring to Help or searching the internet for instructions. I was able to find the features or apps I needed and then use them without difficulty. The Incredible proves you don’t have to be an Apple product to be usable.

Constant Contact My Incredible kept me in touch with work, family, and friends

Sharing I was able to use the camera and the phone’s social features to share and interact with others about my trip

Navigation After using the Incredible multiple times every day for navigation, we won’t be bringing our old GPS on our next drive

Starbucks Finding restaurants and my much needed Starbucks coffee was easy with my phone

Reservations I was able to make reservations for Amtrak directly from the phone

Tornado Even in an emergency, my Incredible proved its worth

Constant Contact with the HTC

I’m a small business owner, which means business never ends. I had to be in touch and do some work during my trip. Using Touchdown, I checked email regularly throughout the day. (Tip: If you use an Exchange server, Touchdown lets you get your email without paying the extra fee that Verizon charges for Exchange users.) I also made business calls, as needed, using the speaker while driving for a hands-free talk.

With the Incredible’s messaging system, I kept in contact with my husband, my daughter, and my friends. The notifications are clear, with an audible sound and a green icon on the home screen, showing how many new messages have arrived. My phone was such a reliable method of contacting me that my friend’s husband ended up texting me, instead of her, because he knew the message would get through.

Sharing via the HTC’s social features

I’ve installed Twidroid on my phone and used it to tweet my progress and share pictures. I also DMed people, and used my phone and Twidroid to coordinate a visit with twittermate Allen Mireless in Toledo. I kept in touch with my dad, who is driving up to our house, and with my friends after we parted company.

I also took a lot of pictures with my phone. One of the big selling points for the HTC is its high quality camera. The pictures turned out great. My father-in-law even commented on the quality of the photos I’d uploaded to Facebook.

I took both pictures and video (including one of fireflies in the dusk), and used the Camera app to immediately and easily share the pictures to both Twitter and Facebook. The next day after posting, I checked my email via Touchdown, clicked the Facebook links where friends had commented on the photos, and responded to their comments via the Facebook app.

Having one device that can take great pics and share them easily makes all the difference. It was so easy to whip out my camera and snap a shot that I did it often. And no forgetting the camera back at the camper. My phone was always with me.

My Incredible proved invaluable for navigating

One of the most important and unexpected uses I found for the phone was navigating. For example, I knew my way around the Boston area, but was unsure how to walk from my friend’s house to downtown Lexington. I used the Car Panel app’s Navigation feature. It polled my GPS location. I entered “downtown Lexington” as the destination. The app found it and gave me walking directions.

Later, my phone became a familiar feature on the drive. Every night we stopped at camping sites. Although my friend had printed directions, we weren’t always confident in them. Plus, she likes to see a map. Out popped the Incredible and its Car Panel Navigator. Using it, I could enter the campsite and she could view the map. After she was satisfied that the route really did make sense, we usually ended up following the Navigator’s voice directions right to the campsite. My friend, who is a bit resistant to the idea of a smartphone, grudgingly began asking me to check the directions on my “little device.”

When traffic was bad, I added the traffic layer so we could see long the traffic lasted. When we needed a restaurant, I used the same Car Panel app to search for restaurants in upcoming towns, scrolling ahead on the map to see which big towns we’d hit. Zooming in, I could click on them to see the restaurant names and even get reviews, if they were available. Once we decided on one, I just clicked again to get directions to it.

Android Starbucks app keeps me amped

I’m addicted to Starbucks—what do you expect, I’m from Seattle. Although we didn’t have Starbucks coffee every morning, we did when a store was reasonably close. We also sought out Starbucks a couple of times so we could use their WiFi for our laptops and my friend’s new Nook.  On the first day of our drive, I downloaded an app to find Starbucks stores. It conveniently integrated with the navigation tools, so that I could go from the results list in the app to get directions to the Starbucks I’d found.

Reservations were easy via the HTC

Towards the end of our trip, I decided to make a change of plan and take the train from Chicago to Minneapolis, instead of driving with my friend. My decision was easier to make because I was able to use my phone, while we drove, to check Amtrak’s schedule and pricing. The Amtrak site wasn’t optimized for mobile, and it was a little challenging to search for stations and enter information. (There might be an Amtrak app, but I don’t travel by train enough to download one.) Nevertheless, I was able to successfully book my ride from my phone. (Amtrak, if you decide you want to make your site more mobile friendly, feel free to contact us at Coherent. We specialize in that.)

Tornado? No problem! The HTC can handle it

Perhaps the most important use for my phone came the evening of the 23^rd. We’d had dinner and pulled in late to our campground at Maumee State Park in Ohio. Tired, we set up the camper in record time, then headed off to the nearby bathroom to get ready for bed. There, we met a woman with a flashlight, who told us that there was the possibility of tornados that night. A big storm was coming down from Michigan, and it had already spawned funnel clouds. She said we’d hear from the rangers if a tornado warning was issued, in which case we would either evacuate to the cinderblock bathroom we were now standing in, or to a dirty, spider-infested trench next door that would be opened if necessary.

As we walked back to the camper, we could see the storm approaching: a black wall of clouds, regularly lit from inside by lightening. The rolling thunder only added to the drama. At the camper, we were greeted by the campsite’s “hosts,” frequent campers who were the designated caretakers for this circle. They reiterated what we’d already been told.

We turned on the radio to hear the broadcasts. They talked about which counties were at risk of getting a tornado warning, but we didn’t know which county we were in—something easily remedied by my Incredible. I tweeted my dad, who is always online, to make him aware of the situation and searched Twitter for “toledo tornado.” According to two tweeps, Toledo—an hour away—had gotten a tornado warning.

Not having lived in a tornado area, we were a little concerned about whether we’d hear the warning or be found and contacted in time.  So, I immediately began searching for a “Tornado Warning” app. I didn’t find one, though I did find a very popular Tornado Siren app that apparently effectively mimics the tornado warning sirens.

Finally, I found and downloaded the Weather Channel application. It picked up my location using my GPS and displayed the weather, along with a little rotating warning icon. Clicking it displayed the current warnings for the area: severe thunderstorms and high winds. I checked the application and phone settings to ensure that I would get an audible warning of any new weather alerts, such as a tornado warning.

We decided that high winds and possible funnel clouds warranted taking the camper down, which we quickly did.  After consideration, we headed right for the cinderblock bathroom instead of sitting in the car, just to play it safe. By the time we got there, the hosts were already rounding people up due to the tornado warning that had, indeed, arrived. We sat with others in the bathroom as the wind howled and roared and the rain gushed. Inside, we had no idea if a funnel cloud was descending.

My friend and I took pictures for the occasion and we all listened to the emergency radio we’d brought with us. To my horror, though, I’d forgotten my phone in the rush!! It’s a helpless enough feeling being holed up waiting for a funnel cloud. I felt even more helpless without the ability to check the situation online or tweet my dad about our status.

Luckily, the storm passed with no ill effects for us campers. Apparently a number of funnel clouds were spawned and some damage done in the surrounding areas, but thank goodness, no life was lost.

My Digital Assistant

I remember reading science fiction stories about digital assistants of the future that would provide any information you needed. Now, I’m living in that world. My HTC Incredible is my own personal digital assistant. From the mundane to the critical situations, it serves me well. Just like a Hollywood star who depends upon an assistant to maintain her schedule, research information, and solve problems, I’ve come to depend on mine. Only mine is a lot less expensive, a lot more portable, and is always clear-headed and matter of fact in an emergency.