At the beginning of this year after seven years, a Nokia phone and two Samsung flip phones, I finally conformed and bought a smartphone. Specifically a Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone, yes I (unintentionally) went full circle in my upgrade as the Nokia phone I mentioned earlier was my first phone. I decided after years of reluctance to buy a smartphone as I conceded that they are extremely useful for my university studies, for my small business and that smartphones and iPhones are the phones of today (not that I didn’t know that this has been obvious for the last four years). I bought the Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone as it had Microsoft Office on it.

Over the last four months, I have learnt many things about my smartphone but here are the top five lessons that I have come to learn.

1. Touchscreens are hard to work and you have to wipe them clean every five seconds

Touchscreens are cool and I do like them, however after years of button I have found it a little hard to adjust to a touchscreen. They are hard to work, however I don’t think they’re much harder to work than the little buttons that were on my Nokia and Samsung flip phones. I’m still adjusting to my touchscreen, my fingers occasionally still hit the wrong apps, however I am getting use to them. It annoys me how easily fingerprints and smudges get all over my touchscreen and how many times a day I have to wipe it clean, however like with the touchscreen, I’m getting use to it.

2. My smartphone is smart but not as sturdy as my old phones

I think everyone can relate to this. Whenever I would drop my Nokia and Samsung flip phones I never had to worry about it breaking because the phones were thicker and smaller. With my smartphone, it is in a protective leather case, however every time I drop it the back stays in the case and the phone falls out. It hasn’t broken yet, but I’m always worried that one day I won’t be able to put it back in the case or it just won’t work at all. Smartphones need to be as sturdy as they are smart.

3. So many apps, so many possibilities

I have discovered first-hand the joy of apps. There are so many different types of apps out there such as game apps, social media apps, sports apps, weather apps and even some random apps such as a dice app for board games. So far I have mostly bought apps that I need such as time zone and currency converters but I have also bought some games to play when I’m waiting for the bus or at the doctors. Due to the fact that I’m not on a plan, I don’t really buy apps unless I need them, that being said I wish I could buy heaps because there are so many!

4. Data costs

Over the years I have heard horror stories about the bills that people get at the end of every month on the news or current affairs shows due to data roaming or other data costs. In my first few weeks especially, I learnt how rapidly my credit disappears when downloading updates, downloading apps and using the internet. The free apps aren’t really free because the data required to download them eats up my credit. Since then I’ve discovered the relief of being able to turn off my data connection and knowing what apps costs what to buy.

5. You fit into (virtual) society

As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, I bought my smartphone at the beginning of this year. From 2007 until I bought my smartphone I had two flip phones. When I finished high school in 2008, iPhones and smartphones weren’t big yet, when I started uni in 2010 they weren’t common but were starting to appear in my uni class and social circles. I noticed that everyone around me owned a smartphone or iPhone for at least the last two years. In 2007 when I bought my first flip phone I wasn’t teased in fact people really liked my phone, last year in 2013 I was asked if my phone could connect to the internet. Now that I have a smartphone, I fit into virtual society quite well and I admit I kinda like it.

Feel free to share what you have learnt about your smartphone/iPhone below.