(StatePoint) – With the rapid pace of new developments in smartphone technology, it can be hard to keep up with all the changes, especially if you grew up in an era when telephones were still attached to a cord.
Phones these days aren’t what they used to be, but that’s for the best as smartphone technology can actually improve your quality of life. Here are three easy ways to get more from your smartphone:
“Read” Audiobooks
Whether your hands are tied up gardening or cooking, or you simply want to give your eyes a rest, consider listening to your favorite books on your smartphone.
You can purchase audiobooks a la carte or opt for a subscription plan, which offers deals, such as unlimited selections for a flat monthly fee.
Features like bookmarks and back buttons make it easy to “flip through” a digital audiobook.
Apps to Manage Health
Well-designed apps can help people manage long-term health conditions.
For example, ArthritisPower, a free app for patients with arthritis, allows users to track their symptoms and treatment outcomes, and share the information with their doctors.
Created by CreakyJoints, a go-to resource for arthritis patients and their families, in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the app is also a data-gathering tool for researchers.
Via informed consent, user data is also being used to help researchers better understand how different treatments can work for different people.
“One out of every five U.S. adults of all ages lives with doctor-diagnosed arthritis and it’s important that patients actively engage in managing their own treatment plan,” says Seth Ginsberg, president and co-founder of CreakyJoints and principal investigator of ArthritisPower. To download the free app or learn more, visit arthritispower.org.
Video Chat with Loved Ones
Talk and see grandkids and other far-flung friends and loved ones between visits with video chatting. It is the perfect way to ensure you don’t miss important milestones even if you’re miles away.
Many such video communications services are free – even internationally – and can present affordable alternatives to placing long-distance calls on a landline.
Your smartphone puts the world at your fingertips. Make great use of it.
