A day in the life with my Nokia Lumia 800

My Nokia Lumia 800 is a constant companion. At various points throughout the day and night it will aid me, inform me, delight me and also connect me. In fact, I think I would be lost without it.
Whether it is through the core functions of the phone and the People Hub, the use of apps or the camera, my Lumia 800 is always there to assist me.

Even when I am not doing something productive, which is more often than I would like to admit, my smartphone is there to keep boredom at bay. Funny how time seems to fly when you’re just meddling with your phone’s settings.

It is possible – and this happens to me regularly – to lose whole afternoons going through apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace; installing them, trying them out, uninstalling them, looking for alternatives, going through the cycle again, setting up Live Tiles and so on.

Even when I am not idly wasting time (or keeping myself quietly occupied as I prefer to call it) my Nokia Lumia is a big part of my daily routine.

How so? Here’s an example of how the Nokia Lumia can help me through the day.

Morning

At 7.30, the alarm function on my Lumia 800 wakes me up. Nothing fancy, just the native Windows Phone alarm.

After washing and getting ready, I will check emails on my Lumia while having breakfast and also take a quick look around the BBC News app to see what’s happening in the world. I’ll also glance at the Live Tile on the Weather Flow app.

If I am travelling to work, I will use Nokia Transport to check that the trains and buses are running smoothly.

En route, and depending on my mood, I have a couple of options to keep myself occupied. I will either listen to music on my Lumia or use MetroPaper to read articles and web pages that I had saved for offline reading.

Day

Throughout the day and at fairly regular intervals, I can be messaging people via SMS, sending and receiving emails and checking Twitter on Rowi.

If I am walking around and see something interesting, funny or pretty, then I can take a picture with my Lumia and send it to friends using WhatsApp.

I have a terrible sense of direction, so Nokia Maps is guaranteed to be called into action at one point of another.



Afternoon

I have recently got into selling stuff on eBay (blame the recession…) so during lunch I will catch up new bids or any sales I’ve made on the excellent Windows Phone eBay app.

The whole process of buying and selling on eBay is so much easier when you have such a great app to keep you on top of things. Of course, hand in hand with eBay is the PayPal app too.

Simple Paper is an app that I will  look at once a day at least. It’s a note-taking app that syncs with Simple Note, so you can access your notes on any computer or mobile phone. I use mine for creating lists but also for storing information that I need regular and quick access to, like WiFi passwords and task reminders.

On the journey home, it’ll be another look at Nokia Transport and maybe playing a game on the train back.

Evening

How I use my Lumia in the evening will be dictated by my plans.

For example, if I’m going to the cinema, I’ll be looking at Flixster for screening times and if I’m eating out and feel like trying some place new, then Foodspotting is the app to use.

On the other hand, I’m now at the age where staying in is just as appealing as going out. Epicurious is wonderful for discovering new recipes and lets even a modest cook like me eat well at home.

A relaxing evening in front of the TV is not to be scoffed at. In this recent Conversations post we looked at how your Lumia is an ideal TV companion.

On the evenings when there are football games being played and they are not being shown on TV, then I’ll be constantly checking Soccer Livescores.

Even when there is nothing on TV, or if your other half has claimed squatting rights over it, there are still plenty of ways of keeping yourself entertained on the Lumia.

Three apps I have used to while away an evening are Crackle, BBC Podcast Lounge and PrimeTube.

Night

Just because the night is drawing in and you’re tucked up in bed doesn’t mean you have to put the Lumia away!

Ever since I was a young boy, I have listened to the radio to help me fall asleep and there are plenty of excellent Internet radio apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. What’s great about Internet radio is that you can listen to stations from around the world.

Finally, if the radio is not working then I might give one of the sleep assistance and relaxation apps a try. There’s Relax Melodies, SleepNow, Sleep Bug and plenty more to choose from.

Of course, the only danger is that I’ll be up all night installing them, trying them out, uninstalling them…