Disconnected, and connected.

Amazing.  As soon as I posted the previous entry, I turned to the young lady on my right.  She was only one of two people in the waiting area connected to paper, and not a device.

Elise.  An arial artist dancer.  A what?  Turns out Elise is headed to Georgia to hook up with a circus troupe.  A group of women she's performed with before.  She actually lives in San Antonio and teaches some form of arial dancing.  It was funny.  She and I talked about how people don't connect anymore. Everyone is simply plugged into their device.  I told her in the past few months of making it a point to connect with people, it always seems to be one extreme or the other.  I'm either introduced to something totally brand new, or experience a "small world" moment.  Elise was certainly on the "new" side of the spectrum.

Which brings me to the other extreme, and my flight mate to Houston.  Casey, from K.C.  You can't make that up.  Casey is headed back home to K.C. for the Chiefs football game.  He and his family have season tickets, and he makes every home game.  Turns out Casey is in the oil / gas business and is a petroleum land man in San Antonio.  I grew up in Miland, TX.  Surrounded by oil / gas my whole life.  Was even studying to be a PLM when I started college.  I'm headed to New Orleans for a bachelor party weekend for my younger brother.  My brother is marrying a girl from Tyler, TX.  Casey's girlfriend is from Tyler.

Again, amazing.  Brand new experience, and small world moment.  All in the span of a "disconnected" hour.

Stay disconnected my friends!

Our disconnected, connected reality.

Sitting in an airport this morning.  Watching the waiting area. A full 80% of soon to be fliers, are connected to some type of digital device. Half of those have headphones on.  With the exception a little one running around, everyone is completely consumed with their device.

No conversation.  No interaction. Reality. 

Sad.  I'm going to turn my device off and shake it up!

Blackberry Q10 - One Week In

One week in and I'm loving the BB Q10 experience.  I felt compelled to write this now given that BBRY just announced its quarterly financials and the stock has taken a hit.

I'M THRILLED so far with both the new Blackberry OS 10, and specifically the Q10.  I've spent many hours the past few evenings putting the device through its paces and learning more about it.  Moving from the iPhone 5 has been a bit of an adjustment.  It's going to sound strange, but it's been the "unplugging" part of the experience I've enjoyed most of all.

I used to spend too much time "searching" for things on my iPhone.  I was looking for things to be done.  They just never seemed to find me in a way that worked.  With the BB Q10, the only time I've spent searching is in my learning mode.  I wrote earlier about the Hub.  It's fantastic!  Everyone of my email and social media feeds, is in the Hub.  If I want to track anything, I just open the Hub.

I'm also very satisfied with the "contact" features.  When I pull up a contact, I can easily see their updates and our communication history.  Big Gold Star!!

Keep following!

David

Blackberry Q10 - Keyboard

Next to the Hub, if not the most important feature of the Q10, is the keyboard!

OK, I must admit, I've had every iPhone since it's been released.  Original, 3, 3G, 4 and then the 4S and finally the iPhone 5.  I did stray every now and then.  Atrix 4G.  Original Nexus. Samsung Nexus.  Nexus 4.  I would have to check my eBay account to get a full listing.

Oh, and yes, a Blackberry along the way.  I don't remember the model number.

Now comes the Q10.  QWERTY keyboard and a touchscreen.  What a blend of technology.  I have to say the keyboard is fantastic.  With every iPhone and Android variant, I've never been fully comfortable with the virtual keyboard.  I spend at least every 4th or 5th keystroke on the backspace, and at times hitting the key many times.

So far, I have been very pleased with the Q10 keyboard.  I must concur with several reviews I've read saying the keyboard is of superb quality.  The feel is very sturdy and you feel every click, as you would expect from Blackberry.

Another quality of the keyboard is one that can't be measured by simple metrics.

You feel more apt to do work!  With every virtual keyboard I've ever owned, I've always used the device to view, but never respond.  Responses have always been reserved for "when I'm back at the office".  The past few days, I've responded on the spot.  I truly understand all the reviews I've read to date that talk about being able to function, not just review.

More to follow!

David

Tools I Use: Blackberry Q10

Many will read this in disbelief.  Those who know me, know I love trying out new phones and equipment.  I have been consuming all the information I can find on the new Blackberry phones, and the new operating system, OS 10.

I have put down the iPhone 5, and picked up the new Blackberry Q10.  AT&T had them in stores as of 6/21/13.  One of the features I'm really interested in, is the Blackberry Hub.  It's an aggregated inbox for everything.  Email, Texts, Social Feeds and phone calls.  I have tried several apps for the iPhone, but nothing really seemed to work.  Most of the apps dealt with Social Media, but nothing else.

I plan on writing more.  Follow along.

David

Shaving Time

Really interesting experience. I'm sitting at a McDonald's a few weeks ago. Reading the paper and having coffee. I've been there for about an hour. There is a training sessions going on. One person is training about 12 associates. This entire training is about "smart order taking". WOW! This is all about getting the order time down. How to "ask" or "suggest" items for the flow of the order to reduce questions and potential mistakes. I was pleased to hear that on kid meals, they suggest the healthiest options. Everything is about shaving seconds.