How The iPhone Has Changed My Behaviour, Pt. 1

21 December, 2009

in apple, user experience

One thing I’ve noticed since switching to the iPhone from my Nokia N82 is that the iPhone has become my go-to device when I need to look up certain kinds of information.

For example, take the Now Playing iPhone app. Before the iPhone, I’d go to mytelus.com/movies, select my province, then scan through a long list of cities to find a theatre near me. If I wanted to find a particular film, my task flow was pretty much the same, except I’d start with the movie. Even though my N82 was Internet-enabled, trying to view this site or any site that wasn’t optimized for mobile viewing on it was frustrating, and I’d just turn to to my computer instead.

Now that I have the iPhone, I launch Now Playing and let the phone’s geolocation features find all theatres within a 5km radius, or allow it to suggest which theatres in a larger radius are showing a particular title. Even if I’m sitting in front of my computer, I still reach for the iPhone.

It made me think that it would be amazing if there was an app like this for libraries that worked no matter your location. The Worldcat app comes close, but for now it only works with US libraries (and maybe UK ones?).

How has the iPhone (or Droid) changed your behaviour? What kinds of information do you search for with these devices?

  • I've found that the Google Maps app gives me a more accurate estimation of time to travel incorporating the current traffic levels. I look up directions all the time just to see what it says about how long the trip might take. My desktop web browser shows the same red/yellow/green, but the time estimate never incorporates the traffic.
  • I just got my Android phone (a mytouch) less than a week ago but it's made me a better emailer and a stronger manager of my contacts (since they are immediately synced via gmail). I've also immediately fallen in love with astrid to-do list. I'll probably have more to say after a week in New Orleans.
  • Yes, iPhone/Android immediately became my preferred way of finding movie showtimes - using whatever movie app, doesn't really matter (they all work just fine). Yahoo! Movies has been my desktop browser choice for years, but it never works reliably in Canada - can't remember my location, doesn't like to search postal code, etc.

    My biggest change in behaviour has been that I now leave the house with only the vaguest idea of where I'm going. I depend on the phone to get me the last few km of any trip. I usually check to make sure I have the address when I commit to an appointment, and then I don't think about it again. Usually that's not a problem, but the last few days on Rogers has me rethinking that approach.
  • Cecily Walker
    I've tried a few different movie apps, but Now Playing is the only one I've stuck with. You bring up a good point re: navigation - I used to print out directions from Google Maps before travelling to a place I've never been to before, but not anymore. If the iPhone could add turn-by-turn navigation with voiceovers the way Google has done, I'd be a very happy iPhone user indeed.
  • I too was always printing out Google Maps to help me find a location I've never been to before, but not no more with my iPhone. It's great because I hate printing out wasteful sheets of paper and then having to lug them around. I do everything on my iPhone now.
  • [But I digress.] I don't miss turn-by-turn directions unless I'm driving, and I don't drive much. For me seeing where I am on a map does the trick.
  • Cecily Walker
    Turn-by-turn is useful for me (especially with voice overs) because I drive alone a lot. I don't want to have to take my eyes off the road to check my phone to see if I'm going the right way.
  • Although I have Android, I don't have turn-by-turn directions... I'm on Rogers, and they are not good about firmware updates. I'm almost ready to switch to CyanogenMod but I'm giving them one. last. month...
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