Enjoy great online radio at AccuRadio

Thank goodness it’s summer and a business owner in Chicago can get away with wearing cargo shorts, because it’s the only practical way to get around when you’re carrying three smartphones around with you all day — the Palm Centro that contains ten years of your contacts, notes, and memos; the Palm Pre that you were intending to switch to, but you can’t find a way to move your ten years of contacts, notes, and memos over to; and the Apple iPhone that looks like it’s going to be the smartphone you end up migrating to, because it’s just excellent in almost every way.

But in getting used to my iPhone, I’m reminded of how integral the smartphone is becoming in the lives of consumers. It’s not just a smart phone — it’s an Everything Device.

Let me describe how I’m using it, with my assurance that I’m no major technophile — e.g., I know less about Twitter than you do.

First and most straightforwardly, I cancelled the landline phone at my house two years ago. The cell phone, I believed, was the only telephone I needed, and so far, it’s worked out great.

Do I need to wear a watch anymore? Nope. It’s actually easier to press a button on the phone in my hand than to twist my wrist to look at a watch face — and I know the time on the phone is accurate.

Will I ever buy a camera again? I don’t think so. I never make prints larger than 4“x6”, and both the Pre (with a flash) and the iPhone (without one in the current generation, but I’m sure it will have one eventually) offer a perfectly-acceptable number of megapixels (whatever those are) for prints that size.

How about an MP3 player? Well, of course the iPhone is a souped-up iPod, but the Pre is a great MP3 player, too, and even the Centro was acceptable.

So far we’ve got four functions, so we’re already one ahead of Kirk and Spock’s tricorder. But wait, there’s more.

I used to carry a travel alarm clock when I went on business trips, because hotel wake-up calls are unreliable and hotel alarm clocks are confusing. No more — I just set an alarm on the smartphone.

Maybe a nice new Flip video camera? No, thanks; the Centro and the iPhone have video capabilities that work just as well.

How about an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle? That’s just crazy talk! I’ve just downloaded Kindle for iPhone, and it’s great. For the casual reader, it would be absurd to carry a second device around for the same fuctionality.

GPS device? Nope! The Pre especially comes with a great version of a GPS system. And Google Maps is great for navigating public transportation systems.

Compass, check (on the iPhone, anyway). Rolodex, naturally. Calculator, obviously. (If you’re counting, I believe we’re now up to dodecacorder.)

And could my Everything Device replace my newspaper? Since I got the iPhone, I’m starting to think so: Reading the New York Times on an iPhone is a different experience than reading the print edition, but better in many ways (such as being able to follow links to related items).

How about replacing my TV? Could be. For example, if all I want to watch on TV this week is “30 Rock,” I’d save a lot of money cancelling my Comcast cable service and spending $1.99 to download the episode from the iTunes store.

And, of course, finally, let’s talk about radio.

I don’t need an FM Walkman. I don’t need a Sirius Stiletto or an XM2GO device. I don’t even need an AM/FM tuner in my stereo — I can simply plug the output of my smartphone (on which I’ve tuned in Pandora or AccuRadio or the stream of News 980 or Mix109 or whatever) into my stereo’s “aux in” jacks using a $4 cable from Radio Shack. (And I will use the same trick in my next car, which I’m confident will have an “iPod” jack in the dashboard.)

This is the future. This is where we are headed. Companies and individuals who craft products and services for this new era will create billions in new enterprise value. And so can you.

The future is here — it’s just not ubiquitous yet. But it will be.

Comment

1. The only problem I’ve had is “reliable” radio. I carry an iPhone and a BlackBerry Bold. Both are great devices, but I can’t always count on any of the streaming sites to always be there… I am dependent on a good cell signal for it to happen. And because there is no Stern on the Sirius/XM app I carry a third device – a portable XM unit.

   — Scott Parks · Jul 24, 02:07 PM · #

2. Just bought my first iPhone a week ago, after waiting for the 3G S model to be released. It’s great! It’s already changed my life for the better. Been listening to a lot more online radio these days.

   — Josh Lehan · Jul 25, 04:26 PM · #

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