This particular moose was eating dried leaves from our clematis vine, which shows you just how nutrition-desperate Alaskan ungulates are at this time of year. Her nostrils were probably fewer than six inches away from me when I snapped the picture.
The amazing part isn’t the proximity, however. It’s the fact that if I call up the photo on my phone and press the image lightly, it starts to move.
And emit sound: I can hear the rustling of the clematis vine. All I can think of are the magic photos from the “Harry Potter” books.
(For the uninitiated: In the HP universe, people in the photos can wave and smile.)
This moose wasn’t smiling, though. She eyed me narrowly and the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. “This far, and no further, hooman.”
In other news: Yes, I finally got a smartphone. After years of using a dumbphone (pay-as-you-go flipper), I bit the bullet and joined the 21st century.
Frugally, of course.
Initially I bought an iPhone 8S+ at the Apple Store here in town, spending $599 for the privilege. My niece graciously offered to add me as a line on her family plan, which is a heck of a nice deal: For a little under $25 a month I’d get all the talk and data I needed.
But it got better.
A phrugal phone hack
Right before Christmas we visited her carrier, a local company called GCI, to add me onto her plan. The pleasant young clerk asked if I’d be buying a device. I said no, and held up the boxed phone, only to hear him say, “I asked because we’re running a special: an iPhone 10R for a hundred and fifty.”
Dollars?
When I’d just spent almost six hundred bucks for an older model?!?
I voiced this disappointment aloud and the GCI guy suggested, “You could return it.”
But…I’ve already opened it and used it. And I bought insurance for it!
“They can probably transfer* the insurance,” he said. “And they offer free returns.”
Well, the Apple Store clerk had told me I’d get an extra 30 days (60 total) to make up my mind whether I wanted to keep the phone. She said that around the holidays people tended to get too busy to decide on returns. Which I thought was both kind and realistic.
With a small amount of hassle (i.e., driving downtown and returning the 8S+) I could save my small business about $450. So I did it: Accepted a second phone, which is newer and larger.
And which has photos that move! I am so easily amused. When my niece showed me how to turn the photo into “live” mode, I burbled like a kindergartner.
Learning the new-phone ropes
Since then I’ve downloaded apps like Ibotta and Fred Meyer, added various contacts, texted some folks (my dad, my daughter, my niece and her sons, my buddy Sonya Ann), learned to set a quacking-mallards morning alarm. I even downloaded the Cinemark movie app so I can show the QR code on my phone instead of flashing a paper printout of said code. #hightech
During a power failure, I realized that I could set up the phone as a personal hotspot, which meant we could check Chugach Electric’s website for updates. And even though I had downloaded the Alaska Airlines app and could have pulled up my ticket to Phoenix, I still printed out a paper boarding pass. Old habits die hard.
Speaking of habits: Thus far I haven’t turned into one of those people who can’t look up from her phone for more than five seconds at a time. Frankly that had concerned me, after hearing so many stories of people who get the screaming fantods when their phones aren’t within sight.
Not me. Not yet. Sometimes the device stays on the living room table (or in my coat pocket) all day and maybe even all night. In fact, last night I forgot to unplug it from the kitchen and didn’t hear the ducks quacking me awake. (They gave early-riser DF quite a start, though.)
I always knew that once I got a better phone I’d be glad I did. And I am. It’s nice to be able to stay in contact when I’m out and about. I can check e-mail or catch up on the news no matter where I am. At some point I might use Google Maps to talk me through an unfamiliar area of town.
I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of this device’s potential, but I can say that I’m pretty happy with what I’ve seen so far. Especially the moving moose.
*Turns out they couldn’t transfer the insurance. They just refunded my money and sold me a second policy on the new device. The only potential hassle was parking downtown – but I found street parking right in front of the shopping center. There was even money left on the meter. Sometimes the tech gods just smile on you.
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You go!!! I love Ibotta and Shopkicks on my Apple 5s smart phone I got when my daughter upgraded. You will enjoy a smart phone!
Great minds run on the same track! I too, finally bit the bullet and (as my adult children say) I have now joined the 21st century. I got a Motorola E6 and my son set it up for me. It was $80 new, and of course not the latest model, but it works for me. I use Consumer Cellular and I pay about $30 a month or less, depending on how much data I use. So far, so good, but I AM still learning all of the neat things the phone can do. My frugal hack is there is a discount on the monthly bill because I am a member of AARP.
Talk about serendipity! And how sweet of your niece to add you to her family plan. Enjoy your phone, Donna.
Congrats…thank you for this timely post. It looks like I too will be taking the plunge. My carrier…Virgin…is no more and Boost has taken over their accounts. My plan was “grandfathered”…$20…every 3 months.The Boost plans are less than generous…The changeover makes my head hurt…some of these plans are downright scary…
I just got an iPhone 11 and didn’t know the Live pictures existed. Freaked me out when they started moving! We switched from Verizon to a two-line 55+ plan with T-Mobile and saved a bundle. I’ve been having health problems for the past year plus, so I’m not as willing to postpone gratification as I used to be. Still want the most bang for my buck, though.
Congrats on your new phone! Honestly, though, what caught my attention is when you mentioned insurance on your phone. I didn’t know that was even a thing, but it sure would give me some piece of mind. The thought of the financial implication in having to replace my phone can make me break out into a cold sweat.
Can you tell me more about phone insurance? I am clueless about it.
I suggest you contact the dealer who sold you the phone, or the manufacturer’s website — they’d probably LOVE to sell you some insurance.
If you have homeowners or renter’s insurance, that might also cover the device.
And if you paid with a credit card, some of them extend manufacturer warranties; my brother’s American Express card ended up replacing his cell phone when it broke!
So many exciting things for you to check out! I use my maps app in the car all the time for directions and to find businesses. My car integrates with the phone for hands free assistance. I also listen to library audio books with the library app. I also use the Kroger app for digital coupons, and the Starbucks app to load Swagbucks gift cards onto. I get a free drink from using the app about once every couple of months.
HAHA..like you Donna, I downloaded my rebate/cost savings apps FIRST! 🙂 Don’t forget about FETCH Rewards..I love that one, just scan your receipts (from grocery, drugstore, convenience store for points towards a plethora of gift cards! (If you don’t have it yet, use my referral code for a first time scan bonus: RAQW6 )
I did use your code and was pleasantly surprised to pick up 2,020 points instantly by scanning the past 10 days’ worth of receipts from Walgreens, Safeway and Costco. Was also pleasantly surprised to see how simple it is to use, given that I’m new with this smartphone thing.
And now that I’ve joined, I’ve got a code of my own for anyone who’s interested: E6CK1
When my niece used it to join Fetch, I was gifted another 3,000 points — which means I already have enough for a $5 gift card to Amazon, Target or a bunch of other places. So if you join using my code, you will then have your OWN code, and able to get points from folks who use it to join. #greatcycleoffrugallife
Download the Swagbucks and the SBLive apps! SBLive is a nightly game where you earn Swagbucks!
Yeah, Abby played SBLive while I visited. I should probably give it a try, too.
We have this one moose that goes for the shrub in front of our picture window. It drives our dog nuts and I am waiting for the day her butt, which she bangs against the window sometimes, ends up in our living room.
One day my niece heard someone knocking. When she opened the interior door, she saw a HUGE moose, busily devouring her jack o’lantern. His antlers kept knocking into the door as he took bite after bite.
Last week she was lying on her bed, reading, and something blocked out the sun streaming through the window. It was another big moose, looking in her window. Couldn’t help but think of that line from the children’s picture book “Mooses Come Walking,” by Arlo Guthrie, about the moose looking in your room and thinking that you’re in a zoo.
https://amzn.to/2PSS6ZY
Congrats on entering the 21st century. I was forced to go there over a year ago when I got my smart phone. I like Fetch rewards also but Ibotta is probably better. I haven’t figured out Ibotta yet.
Congratulations on your new phone Donna! 😊
I loved my Android smartphone as a device, but didn’t like it as a phone at all. I’ve reverted to a flip phone and I think I made the right decision.
I do still use the apps on the old phone via our home wi-fi. There are a lot of assistive apps for blind and vision-impaired users, and even more on the iPhone. I’m thinking about getting a tablet so I can use some of the apps on the go, but so far I don’t think I’d get enough out of it to justify adding another line to our plan.
iPhone photo tip: so I am sure you have noticed that those moving photos can be blurry when in their final form. Either that, or the prime view is .10 of a second before the end. You can fix that by taking a screen shot of a live photo while it is playing. You can capture that “sweet spot” where your subject is in focus and right where you want them. It might take a little bit of practice. The screen shot won’t move, but it will reproduce much nicer when sharing. And if you don’t already know, you take a screen shot by pushing the buttons on both side of the phone at the same time. Have fun. I hate what smart phones have done to our culture, but I do love my iPhone.
Thanks for the tip, o tech goddess.
And I, too, deplore the results but cannot deny the utility. It’s the same way I feel about the Internet: We have trolls and stalkers and doxxers and all these other bad things, but we also have communication like never before, and ease of research, and access to free books and and and….
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Downloaded fetch! I already use Shopkick (referral code SALE 127807) and Ibotta. Might as well scan those receipts for another rewards app. I scanned the receipt I had and already earned 4,250 points! I used your referral code, so hopefully you’ll get a bonus, too.
Nice!
I’ve heard of Shopkick. Will have to check it out.