“Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.”
A few weeks ago, my husband and I headed out to meet some friends for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The sky was stormy-looking, and it had just started to rain. We both commented that had we grilled, like we originally planned, our burgers would be a tad bit soggy. A few moments later, we could see the lightning putting on a great show, as the rain came down in torrents. There were a few good, strong wind gusts, and by the time we got to the restaurant, the skies were clearing.
But the damage was done. We were about two miles from home, trying to enjoy the time with our friends, and all of our phones were buzzing with texts from the kids at home and at work.
“We don’t have power,” and, “Did we really lose power at home?”
Great! We really did pick a good night to go out to dinner! Sometimes our timing is good! We ate and drank in air-conditioned comfort, and our dinner companion’s received the good news that their power came back on. Our teens were at work, so we didn’t get any further updates on our power outage.
But…we did get texts from the kids telling us not to take certain roads home because of downed lines and trees.
Wow – the storm was that bad? Oh yes – and then some. Trees and power lines littered our neighborhood – uprooted, landing on roofs, blocking major roads and knocking out power. The storm, quick as it was, packed quite a punch.
The power was not on by the time we got home.
Our neighbor’s tree fell in the back of her yard, crushing the cyclone fence that divides our property, and narrowly missing another neighbors’ brand new garage. Whew. But, what we weren’t expecting was that same tree would pull the electrical lines from our house.
The weekend we had planned just took a complete, 180-degree change. And that’s when my Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD proved its worthiness.
First and foremost, the phone call-quality is top-notch. That was proved when I started making calls to the utility company. Then to the fire department, which deemed our house un-safe, which prompted a call to the insurance company, which prompted more calls to several area hotels, because we weren’t the only ones who sustained damage and in need of a safe haven. Oh yes, then a call to an electrician. On and on and on.
Thank goodness I had added the flashlight app to this phone! During our #VZWVoices #Boomer training in Chicago, one of my fellow bloggers was raving about her flashlight app. I am so glad I listened! We were able to find all the lanterns, candles and flashlights using this great feature.
Let’s not forget the awesome camera that I used to capture a zillion photos from all angles. The pictures could be directly uploaded from my phone to our insurance company – using their mobile app – which I had downloaded a while back! Additionally, any receipts could be photographed and uploaded for the claim.
As we waited for news on the lines being fixed and power being restored, I installed the DTE app to track progress and report additional problems. (Kudos to DTE, as their app features a flashlight, too!) And, of course, I just had to check email and Facebook and Twitter. Plus, I used the mobile hot-spot feature so that my husband could use his laptop.
But wait? Didn’t I say we had no power? I did. That’s why this phone was a God-send. In the 70 hours we had no power, I charged my phone once, while we were at the hotel! The extended battery life on this device made using all the apps, hot-spotting, phone calls and more totally do-able. It made navigating the power outage so much easier.
The only thing it couldn’t do was make a great espresso. And my soldier used his Army survival skills to conquer that problem. Which I captured with my phone…
How has technology made your life easier? Share in the comments below!
© Lynne Cobb – 2013