Five ways to keep your head up on a commute with Lumia
While we all love to use our smartphones, there’s no need to constantly have your face buried in it. We’ve found five ways you can still use your Lumia and look up at the same time.
If you’re on your daily commute, one thing you’ll notice almost daily is the sea of scalps–or the top of people’s heads.
That’s not because you may be taller than everybody else. Everybody is usually staring down at their phones, hiding away in their smartphone screens.
Lift that chin, re-join reality, and let the real world back into your life with these face-up activities.
Enjoy some music
Spotify–free or paid
Grab a pair of earphones and plug them into your lugholes.
Next, load up Spotify and browse through some of the many “Commute” playlists on offer, such as:
All you need to do is sit back and enjoy the music (and the ride) while still looking out on the world.
Audiobooks
The confined nature and jostle of a train can make reading a book hard work, and sometimes leave you suffering from travel sickness. Why not have a story read to you instead?
With Audible (free 30-day trial) installed on your Lumia you’ll be able to virtually peruse more than 150,000 titles on its digital bookshelf.
Titles include:
Podcasts
Preinstalled with Windows Phone 8.1 is the Podcast app, found in the App list.
Under the “Get podcasts” window, type in the URL or the name of the podcast you want to listen to and it’ll be shown to you–ready to subscribe, play, or share with your friends.
If you’re stuck for ideas about which podcast to listen to, check out our recent articles on funny, news, tech, business, and health and fitness podcasts.
Make a call
This one’s simple and requires nothing more than the phone’s basic functions.
Make a call. Sure, it’s easy to send a text message, or emoji your pals through WhatsApp, but making an actual phone call is a much more personal experience.
“Hey, I thought it’d be easier to call. How’s it going?” is always a good opener. But keep your voice down and remember where you are. The whole carriage may not want to know every detail of your conversation.
Use your camera
On the train the other day, I looked out the window. The sun was setting and its diminishing light was highlighting the golden grains of the passing wheat fields. Not many people noticed it, but I did.
Lumia smartphones have some fantastic imaging technology, so take out your phone and take photos.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be of what’s whizzing by outside; you can also document what’s going on inside the train.
Be the one to capture the sea of scalps (nobody will notice). What about that graffiti sprayed onto the inside of the carriage doors? Or the hand straps hanging from the ceiling as they fade off down the carriage?
Your Lumia can capture it all with great detail; photograph it.
Are you using any of these tips to hold your head high, or do you have any others you’d like to share? Let us know, below.