My Phone Died. And I've Freaked Out.

This morning everything was fine. 

I woke up. Checked my emails. Flicked through Instagram. And then my phone stopped working.

I figured it was a glitch, and that if I gave it five minutes it would be happy and working again.

Except it's wasn't. 

Then I thought maybe I hadn't attached it properly, so I put it on the charger. I thought it would be happy and working again.

Except it isn't. 

I am freaking out. 

All my photos are on that phone.

I am feeling all sweaty and stressed. Like someone is squeezing the life out of me.

HEEEEELP!

Support Hustle

Hustle Video from Hustle Corp on Vimeo.

Normally I would say - don't support the hustle. But this Hustle. YES! Support it. 

So many times I've come to the tail end of the day and my phone has run out of juice. It's so annoying, and frustrating, and I feel like someone's cut off a limb. 

Hustle is the answer to my phone losing it's go-go-gadget power, and even more awesome? It's two Aussies by the look of things. And it's compatible with all smartphones - how do you say WINNING!! 

Anyway - go here if you've got a little cash to support these cats and their awesome initiative. I do love a good crowdsourcing. 

Talking and Texting and Driving and Being Distracted and Being an Idiot

Do you ever text while you're driving? Be honest. You can be totes honest here. 

I've been observing drivers lately, when I'm sitting in traffic - because I live in Sydney and there's plenty of traffic in which to observe. 

So many people texting or holding their phone while driving. 

I watched one car in my rear-vision, and could see the woman looking down incessantly to her lap. One guess to what she was doing. I don't think she was sewing a button on her skirt. 

23% of Australian drivers talk or text while driving. That's a little scary when I consider how many people are on the road - and how quickly accidents happen.

I know driving home from work, I sometimes want to chat with someone, because I'm by myself, it's a good time to talk because there are no little people to interrupt, and no distractions. 

No distractions? HUH?? That's crazy isn't it. 

So many distractions on the road.

This is not to give you a rap over the knuckles, dear reader, it's to say: I'm not going to answer my phone or text, or even so much as give my phone a glance when I am in the car, sitting in traffic, bored. 

Instead I will find a good song on the radio and engage in some in-car karaoke. 

Tech Review:: Sony XperiaGo - A Review and Giveaway

Have you ever dropped your phone in the toilet? Nope. Me neither. But did you know that 40%* of women have at some stage? And if you haven't dropped your phone in the toilet, has your toddler every done some wayward experiments that involved your phone, a tub of water, and a few minutes without your attention? Hmm. Then I have the phone for you. Hello Sony!

The Sony Xperia is a neat compact unit that not only looks sleek - it can be submerged in up to one metre of water for up to 30 minutes. Plus it might look super chic - but it's got some ruggedly good traits (check out this video these crazy Germans created for vigorous phone testing - wish I understood German). Those people at Sony are smart cookies. 

I've often had, how shall we say, mishaps with a wayward cup of coffee and my phone. One of my friends recently lost her phone (bless its soul) to less than a metre of water whilst she was getting out of a kayak. Ouch.  If she'd had the Sony Xperia Go, she need not have shed a tear. 

Having been using this phone for the past month, I can confidently say, it's easy to use, and ideal for the multi-tasking parent, adventure seeker or the accident prone. Yes. That's me. This is one phone that can take a bit of a beating. Oddly enough, the texture of the phone is a little ... rough - however I think this is a good thing, because it's not prone to slipping and sliding out of your grip like other phones. 

So many times when I've been juggling dinner or bathtime I have had damp fingers and tried to use a different phone - only to realise it won't detect my finger. The Sony Xperia has scratch resistant mineral glass and a wet finger tracker - good news for me while I madly multi-task.

As a blogger, a working-mum and a mad keen social media addict, this phone makes it easy to access everything I need - and it has a 5 megapixel camera. SWEET! Battery life is pretty decent too. 

It's also a really nice size - small enough to hold comfortably in your hand (it's 9.8mm thin), with a screen large enough for a good, clear image. 

The good news for you friends? I have one of the sleek  Sony XperiaGo handsets to giveaway. Valued at $379 - that's a sweet deal. 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post answering this question: 
If you only had one last phone call, who would you ring?


* I may have made these statistics up. 

top image via daily euphemisms
product images courtesy of Sony

COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. WINNER ANNOUNCED TONIGHT (20th November).

Terms & Conditions:
- Open to Australian residents only (sorry peeps)
- The prize is 1 x Sony Xperia Go handset valued at $379. 
- Giveaway opens on Tuesday 13th November 7am - and closes on Monday 19th November at 11:59pm
- The judges decision is final. No haggling. No squabbling.
- The winner must be contactable via email - and will be contacted on Tuesday 20th November. After this time the winner will have 5 days to claim the prize otherwise it will be re-drawn.
Disclosure: I received a Sony XperiaGo handset for review. This post is not sponsored. I liked the phone, I wanted to share, and they wanted to give one away. And I love you. And sharing is caring. So here we are. That's how we got here.

Guilty. As Charged.

Firstly, I want you to read this. Then come back over here and rejoin me. OK? Yes. Very good. 


With a very heavy heart, I must say, I do do some of those things. 


I hate that I do those things. I am mortified that I do those things. It's terrible I do those things. 


So today I am starting a new life. A fresh new page of my life. And I've sort of sampled this life previously - I've got a taste for it. I've voluntarily left technology turned off. Let my phone run out of batteries. And it feels SO good to not be switched on and available to the world all the time. 


It feels so refreshing to not be a slave to the ping of my phone.
To turn off - and not feel this creeping sense of - sheesh, I can not be in this moment. 
And it's good for my family. 
It's good for my family to have sacred time with me. Sacred family time. 


Do you do that? Or do you suffer FOMO? Because if you suffer FOMO, then just wean yourself off. Because really, all you're missing out on is finding out what someone's having for lunch, what they just bought (yawn), or how fabulous they are. 


And while you're at it, check out this thoughtful post from one of my favourite bloggers, Checks and Spots. 




image via this Etsy shop - phone is available for sale. And you can totes interact with your kids with this phone.

Samsung Galaxy Note: I'm A Tech Head

I was lucky enough to be a recipient of a brand spanking new Samsung Galaxy Note.

Yes, yes, I know. Lucky PMM. Roll your eyes. La-di-dah darling, la-di-dah. Well I'm going to give it a fair review, and if you're in the market for a phone, perhaps this can be part of your homework? Your research, if you will? There's a reason Samsung are trumping Apple. 

I come from using a BlackBerry (for two years) - and the Samsung Galaxy Note is world's - universes, galaxies ahead of that phone. I hated the BB. With. A. Vengeance. 

This phone? The Samsung Galaxy Note? Man. How I love this phone. And that's completely unbiased. It's supremely user friendly - and I can actually do stuff. Like play on Instagram! Like access my emails readily. Like type without making a bazillion mistakes. 

Over the years, mobile phones have become smaller and smaller. Ridiculously so. My fingers? They have not shrunk, and therefore typing messages has becoming increasingly frustrating - so I just started sending messages with loads of mistakes. And a disclaimer at the bottom that blamed it on the ever shrinking keys. Terrible, I know, phone makers stop making things smaller. 

But the new Galaxy Note? You can either type (on the touch screen) or there's an S-Pen, it can read your handwriting (awesome, I know!) and switch it to typed text. 

When we visited the Royal Easter Show, the Samsung stand hosted three artists who did caricatures on the phone. This gives you an idea of how ace the capabilities are. Because look at my awesome massive nose. And superhero chin. Rad. You can draw. On. My. Phone. Matt is totally into that. As are the kids. And I can write myself notes. Because it's a phone and a tablet. 

You can read about the features here and see all the tech specifications here. But below I've collated my own loves about this bloody awesome phone. 

Pros:

• The large screen size. It's supremely user friendly for me - I can read emails, watch video content, look at photos, and also keep the smalls occupied with the  game, YouTube etc. The iPhone is pint-sized compared to this baby.  
• It's an android. Which doesn't mean it's being beamed up by E.T. - it means it opens up a whole world to you.
• Samsung has a whole range of apps that are free! And I can use Instagram. And a whole bunch more (I am full of glee about this!)
• The camera takes some pretty rad photos. Plus I can mess with them afterwards - draw on them, write on them, whatever tickles my fancy
• If I was meeting someone somewhere a bit tricky, I can take a screenshot of a map, then draw on the map to show them directions, then email it to them. Can't do that on any other phone.
• I can use the whole Microsoft Office suite on here. So if I am out and about and need to update a spreadsheet for my boss in a hurry? No problem, just pull it up on the screen, update and send it back. A cinch. 
• Do you know how often I get lost driving around Sydney? Because I rely on ye olde UBD. However the Galaxy Note has Navigon installed. Truly. Divine.
• Super crisp high definition display - makes viewing so much better on a good screen
• It's a very impressive phone. The IT boys at work were oohing and ahhhing over it. I let them look at it while they set it up. For 10 minutes. Then I reclaimed it.

Cons:

• The battery life - I need to charge it every night - however this could be to do with my excessive consumption of Instagram
• It doesn't fit into my back jeans pocket - so my butt does not get to vibrate anymore. Shame. 

---------------------------------------------
I was chatting with someone on Twitter the other night - and she also told me that if I had a Samsung television, I could do something jiggy with the phone, and it would be the TV's remote control. Way to freak out the smalls! 
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Full Disclosure: Samsung gave me the new Samsung Galaxy Note to review. I was not paid for this review. And I freaking love this phone. It's unnatural how much I love it.

Dialling It Up

Matt got a new iPhone and I can't even connect the darn thing. It's only giving the option of Emergency calls. A surefire way to keep the bill low, but a surefire way to keep my blood pressure high.

On the flipside: I think I could text message blindfolded too. A cinch. I am a crazy good SMSer. Though that's not really something you put on your CV. Is it?

Oprah Autotuned

Have you seen this yet? It makes me laugh. The melodrama. The autotuning. And my favourite piece - Australia's biggest icon ever - not the Qantas plane - but Captain John Travolta coming down the stairs. He's Australian, right? Er.. No? Just everyone's favourite non-couching jumping Scientologist.

I'm thinking this will make a great ringtone. Just to really, really drive everyone stark raving bonkers.

Are you excited that Oprah and 300 of her best friends are going to be hitting our golden shores? I bet you are counting down the days.

You CAN!

How cool is this?

Donate your old mobile phone (which is probably taking up space in a drawer, or just randomly tossed somewhere around your house) and help young Australians survive cancer.

You donate it. They recycle it to raise money to build specialised youth cancer centres right across Australia.

Currently in Australia your chances of surviving certain cancers decreases by 50% the day you turn 16. These youth cancer centres will help reverse that fact.

All you have to do is pick up an envelope (available in selected newsagents and publications). Or you can print a label. Or you can order an envelope. Or drop your phone in a YOU CAN bin.

Already 396 phones have been donated.

Let's get to work and donate our unwanted phones to make a difference!

I can. You can.