Note (September 2026): Microsoft retired Skype in May 2025 and moved its users to the free version of Microsoft Teams. WhatsApp, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams now do the same job for long-distance calls.
When it comes to world-changing inventions, smartphones should be ranked among the most impressive tools humanity has ever come up with.
Buying your first iPhone is exciting, including the thrill of shopping for iPhone X cases and accessories, but this wonderful device can do a lot more than take selfies and share your unique perspective on global multimedia messaging apps like Snapchat.
Unfortunately, since our use of mobile phones has grown so common, our neurobiological ability to normalize awesome stuff has resulted in us rarely pondering the marvel of the little device we hold in our hands.
With that in mind, here are 10 useful things you can do with your smartphone to re-activate your sense of awe and wonder:
Play old-time favorite games
Do you miss the favorite board games of your childhood? You can play most of the classic games using mobile technology. Games like chess, solitaire online, and bingo are just a click away.
Go back to school
Ever wished you could go to an Ivy League college? Now with MOOC, which stands for Massive Open Online Courses, you can attend all sorts of classes from some of the top Universities in the world at no charge.
You can, for instance, spend some quality time sitting in on a Positive Psychology class videotaped at Yale.
The right music–at the right time, in the right place
Sitting on the shores of the Pacific Ocean on Zuma beach, wishing you could listen to your favorite music, too? With your phone, you can access YouTube, iTunes, Sound Cloud, or Spotify to listen to your favorite tunes anywhere.
You’ll never get lost again
Frustrated with driving around in circles on your way to a job interview, but can’t find the address you were given on the phone? All you need to do is pull up to the side of the road, find Google Maps, and suddenly get oriented in the right direction.
Make educated wardrobe decisions
What should you wear today? Should you dress up warmly, or just the opposite? Should you take an umbrella? Using weather apps, you can figure out how to dress comfortably for the whole day.
Loneliness is optional
If you’ve moved to another state or another country but miss your family back home, you can text them to see if they are awake or look up the time zone feature in your clock app.
Then, if they do want to talk, you can use a VoIP app like Skype to call long-distance at no extra charge. Do you miss your friends, your relatives, the love of your life? They are only a phone call away. Neither time nor distance matter anymore.
Get the help you need
You’re driving on a country road. It’s dark. There are no streetlights. You hear a knocking sound in the engine. You stop along the side of the road. But you suddenly realize that there is no point in looking under the hood-because you didn’t bring your flashlight.
Wait, a minute. You have a flashlight app on your phone. After you get out and look under the hood, you realize the situation is a lot worse than you thought.
Apparently, your oil gauge isn’t working because you’ve just discovered that you hardly have any oil. Fortunately, with your smartphone, you can call roadside assistance.
Share the magical moment
You’re in Hawaii, on the vacation of a lifetime. The sun is setting. It’s gorgeous-and you want to share this magical moment with everyone you love. It only takes a few minutes to capture the moment and share it with friends and family on Facebook.
Make a buying decision
You’re away from home and at a store that you’ll never visit again. And there it is on the shelf-that item that you’ve wanted for as long as you can remember. But do you have the money to buy it? It will only take a few minutes to check your online banking app to make a decision.
Read a book
You’re on a flight. You’ve read all the magazines. You’re bored out of your mind. You can’t sleep and the plane will take another 6 hours to land. Wait! You can access your favorite books on your Kindle app.
Many of the helpful features of your smartphone are things that you may never come to use. But when you need a helping hand because you’re lost or bored or confused-getting the information, guidance, or help you need is as close as your smartphone.
