Random title, yes?
Phones and e-mail represent two things that most of use more than daily. So, I get excited when something I use is improved according to what I want it to do. Recently there have been two big improvements in the way I use these.
My Phone: Republic Wireless is the bomb!
For those of you who know me, I’m a big Apple guy. I loved using an iPhone. I hated paying for it. My iPhone was costing $70 per month and I just didn’t feel like it was worth it any more to have that big of a payment for something that made calls, sent texts, did e-mail and basic web-browsing, and took photos.
So I switched to Republic Wireless. They sell a high end (Moto X) smartphone for $300 that is designed to make phone calls on WiFi when it’s available. This keeps the cost of the plan down. Their 3G unlimited everything plan runs only $25 per month (that is NOT a misprint). I usually use a cheaper plan for around $10 per month, plus they give you the option to change twice in a month as well.
It’s been a great experience. It’s been easier than I thought to switch to Android and the phone is really high quality. The camera takes good pictures. How are the calls over WiFi? Well, I’ll admit they’re not perfect, but only twice in two months of using the phone has anyone asked because there was too much static. I make calls from my office that sound clear. My home is the only place I’ve had any trouble, and that’s because our internet connection isn’t the greatest.
The bottom line? I have a device I really like at a savings of around $1000 over two years everything included. I’m pretty sure I’ll find a place to invest that extra money!
E-mail: Unroll.me is the bomb!
Let me introduce you to a neat little internet app I found. It’s called unroll.me. It scanned my e-mail and found 120 subscriptions. What this does is roll every subscription email into one daily digest of all your subscription emails. Instead of many subscription based e-mails each day, I get one. I can ignore the ones I don’t like and it helps me keep my e-mail organized. It even lets you unsubscribe to ones that you really don’t want anymore.
Who would have thought 15 years ago that we’d have a concern of being over-burdened by e-mail? This little site really is a big help. You can check it out right here!
Think. What’s new in your world? Are new things an end to themselves? Do our desires for new things blur how we could or should use them?
Act. In looking at your life, what is one decision you could make to bring about greater effectiveness with your time or money?