Month: February 2013

A wallet for my iPhone

I'm in the market for a new wallet. My current wallet was purchased several years ago. It has served me well but is beginning to look worse for wear. After several years I feel I need a change.

I carry my iPhone in my left pants pocket. With no case. Commando. I've always been careful to not put iPhone into my pocket with a set of keys. This reduces the chance that my iPhone screen will be scratched.

Keeping my iPhone and my wallet separate does cause a problem. It's a small uncomfortable problem. Bulk and weight. The wallet and iPhone 5 together is like putting a small rock in my pants. Wait ... don't go off on some sexual tangent. I'm writing about wallets!

In any case, it's uncomfortable while sitting. Quite. I find myself taking my iPhone out of my pocket when I sit to work or at a meeting or eating. Sometimes taking the iPhone or wallet out of my pocket isn't easy to do. Especially when wearing jeans.

I don't have the traditional billfold. I have one of those wallets that is a partial clip and part card, holder. It has three card slots which I've stuffed with a number of “necessary” items. Ok. Some of it isn't necessary. There are two credit cards that I don't need in my wallet so I really just need enough space to carry six cards ( or maybe less ) and a money clip that can hold a few bills is all in I need. I do want some space to place my iPhone.

Twelve South, SurfacePad, iPhone 5[exif id="33193"]

Twelve South, SurfacePad, iPhone 5[exif id="33195"]

The item in the photograph above is the SurfacePad for iPhone from TwelveSouth. It's an attractive flip cover but not very useful as a wallet. It has no slots to hold credit cards or money but can be used as a stand. Although it provides minimally more protection that carrying my iPhone 5 naked in my pocket I want one anyway.

Twelve South, Bookbook, iPhone 5[exif id="33190"]

Twelve South, Bookbook, iPhone 5[exif id="33191"]

I've researched the iPhone wallet need for over a year. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Most of the wallet I've seen -- most on Etsy -- is some sort of felt sleeve with one or two slots for money and credit cards. They don't look durable and would require me to slide my iPhone out every time I want to use it. Plus my hands would then be occupied holding the rest of the wallet while using the phone.

The wallet about is the BookBook, also from TwelveSouth. I think this wallet comes close to what I want. It has four slots for credit cards and ID cards, plus an internal pocket for cash. The iPhone 5 fits snugly in a slot on the right and the back cover has holes for the iPhone camera and flash. I would not need to remove the phone to make a call. So what's holding me back from a purchase? I'm just not in love with the outside spine. I don't like the look of that book. If this was smooth leather this would be perfect.

Any ideas on where I can find a wallet like the BookBook without the book design?

Conditions

breezi_placeit_conditions

I've used many weather apps. Some offer a packed display of current conditions (no pun intended), location, wind speed and a forecast for the news few days. Others have gorgeous high-resolution animated images of the weather -- falling snow, blowing grass etc. Some others display Doppler radar video and breaking news on storms all over the world. These are all good apps geared towards the needs of a diverse demographic. My wife for instance doesn't just want to know if it will snow she wants to know when it will snow. I just want to know whether I'll be shoveling snow anytime that day.

Conditions is an iPhone weather app for the minimalist. This 99¢ app displays the current weather and the forecast for the news five days on a plain white background. You can swipe down to refresh the screen or tap gently to toggle between hiding or displaying the future forecast. The user can specific Fahrenheit or Celsius from the options in the iOS Settings app or let the app update that based on location. The app will turn dark at night. There are no other controls in the app.

That's all to tell about this app.

Writing in obscurity

More recently the idea of “lowest possible engagement” has come to represent much of what ails the social web: Likes, retweets, +1s – throwaway actions which have become the mainstay of our social interaction often at the expense of more meaningful responses.

Where people used to visit blogs and leave genuinely thoughtful comments or even write a response on their own blog the propensity is now to “plus one and run” at the site of the social share rather than at the original post itself.

Our self-imposed attention problems brought on by trying to follow too many people on too many social networks demand that we head for the easy solutions, the curated lists or groups, the bite size chunks of news in an attempt to consume as much in as short a time with the least effort as possible.

The focus on consumption leaves us with little or no time for reflection, response or even creation.Colin Walker

I find my self falling prey to all of this especially when I don't have anything meaningful to add in the moment but want to signal that I enjoyed what was posted. However, there are moments when I want to leave a response but I lack the time to cogently respond. Sometimes I save the link to Evernote with the intention to write something later.

The thing is, I often don't. Sometimes it's out of laziness. Sometimes I just can't get my thoughts in order ( see the tag line to this blog ).

What ever the reasons for my lack of effort, I think Colin is right. I may have sold my soul and my voice to social media. What shall I do about that?