I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate my review.
For someone who loves social media, gadgets, and technology, I have been quite donkey-like in my stubborn refusal to give up my paper calendar. Much like my beloved books, there’s something quite satisfying in physically writing things down, and flipping over a page to the fresh start of a new week. And I know I’m not alone. One random question about paper planners in a Facebook blogging group I belonged to elicited over 200 comments … mostly about how much we adore our old-fashioned calendars.
Paper is all good and cool if you’re the only one that needs to see the calendar. It doesn’t work so well when you try to coordinate calendars with other people, though. Especially other people who live with you and kind of depend on you to communicate such important things as what time the kid’s band concert is, what day the in-laws are coming over for dinner, and which night your partner must be home on time because GIRLS NIGHT OUT. For years I had this big family calendar hanging on the pantry door. It had spaces for me, Mike, and the kids, so that you could pencil in each person’s activities and commitments. The only problem was, while I loved the calendar and looked at it several times a day, Mike hated it. Mostly because it’s hard to look at a calendar on the pantry door at home when you’re, you know, at work. And for years we had arguments that went something like this:
Me, 3 days before important event: Don’t forget, on Tuesday night I’m going to the shrimp sale at the Crab Crib.
Him: Mmm-hmm.
Me, 1 day before important event: I’m so excited to go to the Crab Crib with the girls tomorrow! Don’t forget to be home by 5!
Him: The what? Did you put it on the calendar?
Me: Yes! In Sharpie! And I highlighted it for extra emphasis!
Him: Got it.
Me, 1 hour before important event: You’re on your way home, right?
Him: No. Why? For what?
Me: Banging head against calendar on pantry door.
Mike spent a lot of wasted breath trying to convince me to swap to a shared, online calendar. I spent a lot of wasted energy dragging my feet and being frustrated at our inability to sync our schedules. I’d like to say that I finally saw the wisdom in his ways, that he finally gave that one convincing argument that made me see the error in my ways. But no, the last straw for the old-fashioned family calendar was that we moved into a new house and there just wasn’t a good spot to hang up the calendar.
We turned to Google Calendar, and haven’t looked back. People, I’m here to tell you: if you haven’t gotten yourself synced up to an online calendar with your spouse, partner, or whoever else depends on you to be places on time, do it now. It has saved us so much frustration and made our lives infinitely easier. I don’t have to remind him 8 times about book club or scout meetings. He doesn’t have to tell me his hockey schedule repeatedly. It’s just there, at our fingertips, whenever we need it.
It helps to have a great device at your fingertips to access all that crucial family information. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing around with the Sharp AQUOS Crystal. It comes equipped with the Google products I love and have come to depend on daily, like Google Calendar, as well as Search, Maps, Navigation (Oh! How I love Google Navigation!), Talk, Google+, and YouTube. So while it might take you awhile to get your device set up with all the apps you love and get your screen set just so, you can hit the ground running with your synced Google calendars.
Thanks to the sleek design of the AQUOS, with its 5-inch, edge-to-edge screen, you can see every appointment nice and big, in crystal-clear HD. It makes for great YouTube viewing as well. One other feature about this device I found pretty cool is the ability to make calls and send texts over Wi-Fi. It’s not something I would necessarily use on a daily basis, but as we consider a new phone for Elena, this feature really appeals to me. How nice would it be to save money on a data plan knowing that when possible, she could make calls and send texts using Wi-Fi? I wish we’d had that option while using our phones in Europe. It makes so much sense, and would’ve saved us money on the international plans we purchased. Which would’ve left more money for more important things, like churros.
All in all, it’s a pretty little device, and one worth checking out if you’re looking for a new smart phone. Sprint and its prepaid brands, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA, are the exclusive US carries for this groundbreaking AQUOS device. You can find more information about the Sharp AQUOS Crystal on the Sprint website.
Happy New Year’s friends! May you be happy, healthy, and perpetually on the same calendar as the ones you love!