Music out of the blue

If you've followed my blogs you might remember that about a year ago I was wondering if I should get a smartphone. Well, I've done it. Gone for the iPhone 4s and frankly, couldn't be more pleased with it. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have not fully explored the "app store" due to an inherent lack of free time in my life, and I haven't enabled the email feature yet, but I have found a few features that I love.

First, there is Words with Friends and Scramble with Friends. These little freebies have me matching wits and connecting on a daily basis with friends I haven't seen in years! Then, there is Magic Eight Ball, which seems to give me and my peers endless moments of entertainment, especially when responding to requests from our children...Certainly $1 well spent.

I've also scored the app TabbedOut, which is awesome in premise but not so much in practice...yet. This app let's you pay your bar/restaurant bill through your phone without having to wait to get the bartender's attention, which always seems harder when you don't want a refill. Unfortunately, the nearest bar to me that participates is in Hoboken. And, while Hoboken is a very nice place, it's rather a bit far to drive for a drink...

But today's learnings about my new smartphone really took me by surprise. I knew that I could listen to my music on my iPhone just like I did for my iPod (minimizing the clobber I need to take to the gym). I also knew I could connect my iPhone to the USB port in my car to listen to tunes through the auxiliary port on my in-dash receiver. What I didn't know was that I could listen to my tunes through my Bluetooth functionality in the car! As we were driving to school this morning, my daughters were not enjoying all the morning radio show chatter, so I hit the auxiliary button to access the CD that was in the player. Then, to my surprise, I heard a completely different song. "I love that song!" my daughter cried out, all the while I am thinking, where the heck is that coming from?! Of course, it was coming from the phone stuffed in my back pocket.

I love Bluetooth. Little did I know, seventeen years ago when I was assigned my first project to write about the origins of Bluetooth and the viking that inspired the name that it would bring so much joy and convenience to my life. So, signing out now so that I can go rock out in my car with music out of the blue or out of my back pocket...Cheers!