I am a Smartphone addict.

It’s true; I have had this addiction for quite some time now. You may even remember me sharing my love for my PDA in our August ’09 newsletter “A little public display of affection for my PDA” where I took my habit to the beach (much to the chagrin of my family). Work is never more than an arm’s length away!

I have had a number of devices over the years. From a Blackberry to a Microsoft based PDA; I’ve loved so much of what they had to offer.

But now I’ve got the Droid! (The heavens open. Queue the angelic chorus!)

This device does all that my previous gadgets did and then some. My Droid has increased productivity and replaced other electronic devices, allowing me to streamline my entire life; work and the fam! Let me share some highlights:

Replaced GPS: I’m more on time for my appointments! Just speak the address into the mic, touch “get directions”, touch “navigate”, done! You are now on your way to your location with both visual and voice commands leading the way. This service costs nothing additional to your carrier data plan and it freed up the TomTom for my wife. Win, win!

Citrix Access: I am out of state, on my way to a football game, and I realize I never approved time sheets. No worries via Citrix from my Droid, I am able to approve them without a PC from the Droid. This allows me to access any app from anywhere…securely! (Fandotech can hook you up with this! Email me for details…)

Marketing: We have a huge Social Media initiative we are working on at Fandotech. I am able to access and communicate via Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook via my phone. I can get that info real-time anywhere I go.

Evernote: A great free app that’s furnishing me with the functionality to create voice notes and text notes, and to upload files and photos for any topic. My laptop came preloaded with the companion software so now I sync between devices. I love the voice notes!

Contracts: Using the camera and the Scan2pdf app, I can take a contract as I leave the client site and create an electronic document without a scanner or PC on hand. Then I email it to the office for electronic filing before I even leave the client parking lot.

Of course, there are plenty of fun apps that could be “Productivity Quashers” in a business setting but certainly make my downtime more enjoyable!

Replaced separate MP3 player: This was another device I was able to lose. With 16GB of memory coming standard with the Droid I have more than enough space for my music, audio books, and podcasts.

Pandora Radio: This ad-supported application allows me to be my own program director. Create a station for a band you like and Pandora will play music from that band and musicians from the same genre. You can approve or deny the music provided to help refine the station to meet your tastes….it’s free, BTW!

Fantasy Football: I am a Fantasy Football junkie and there’s an app for that. Changing lineups while out with the family on a Sunday…huge! Rumor has it next year the NFL Redzone will be accessible on the device!

Where: This free application will identify your location, tell you the weather, gas prices, reviews and news for that location, and if you want to take it a step further, the pulse will tell you what Twitter buzz is going on in that town. This app is terrific when you are on the road and have to answer the question “Where should we eat?”

The Best Part! Everything listed above is free! Let me rephrase that, you have to pay for the Droid and, of course, your cell service, but each of the applications either comes standard with the device or was a free download at the Droid marketplace. In fact, the only application I paid for was Touchdown by Nitrodesk which gives me a full Outlook style client on the Droid. (That was my own need.) The Droid will connect with Exchange using its own utilities natively, but across separate apps for email, contacts, and calendar functions. I wanted something simpler to use. It cost me $20.

So my addiction once isolated to work endeavors has now extended into my private life. My Droid is never more than an arms length away (except for meetings at the office, it has been banned!). The reality is this has given me untethered access to all of the resources I need to be more productive and available in my job while also being more present for the important family events.

I can’t wait to see what the technology pushers come up with next.

Brian Doyle