Easy Transition - although I am still a Digital Immigrant!

A few weeks ago I got a new smart phone (Samsung Galaxy S5).  I was amazed that the transition from my old smart phone to this one was so painless.

A little over 2 years ago I went from my old flip phone to an earlier model smart phone (Samsung Infuse).  That transition was so difficult.  I talk quite a bit about being a digital immigrant.  Usually new technology for me is difficult to learn.  When I bought my first smart phone I had help figuring it out from one of my students and my son (who had the same phone).  In fact the reason I bought that particular phone is that my son had the same model so I could call him and ask for help if I got stuck. He would patiently walk me through how do certain functions or how to set up apps.  As time went on I got more skilled at that phone and did not need to call him for help.

So when I was due for an upgrade I debated on getting a new phone.  As I was thinking about it my husband said he wanted the Otterbox case from my old phone and my son wanted my old phone.  It was like they were fighting over the carcass before I had ever made a decision.

I wanted to stay with Samsung (sorry iPhone people) and started researching what was best.  The Galaxy S5 had great reviews and was on special when I was ready to upgrade.  This transition was so seamless.  The nice person at the store transferred all my contacts and other saved data.  He gave me a short lesson the the new enhancements to the phone and then he sent me on my way.

At first I was a little unsure but soon I was adding apps and activating functions on the phone.  I love the voice search (OK Google!).  It tells me the weather, where I am and how the traffic will be on my commute home from work.  I take photos, post to social media,  answer email and sync my calendar from work.  It even counts my steps every day (as long as I have it on me).  I feel positively confident that I can handle just about anything.

I also connected my phone to Sync in my car (it's amazing to me that Microsoft Sync has the same voice as Apple's Siri).  Now I travel down the highway chatting away with no phone to my ear.

I'm not sure if I would qualify as a digital native but my digital immigrant status may have been upgraded to a digital permanent resident!  On second thought, Nah!  I still haven't figured out Twitter even though I have an account (when do you hashtag?) and I have never tried Instagram.  So I will stay in Digital Immigrant territory for now.