It’s So Obvious …

… and yet it’s never been incorporated in your phone …

In my never ending search for the magic bullet that will make my digital life perfect, I look and look and look for the perfect answer, even when I don’t know what the question is.  I tend to shy away from looking in the Play Store because everything there is branded by the author as the latest and the greatest.  They probably are from their perspective but I learned early that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to download and check them all out to see if the claims are true.

Instead, my visits are usually limited to finding something very specific.  Since most of the software is free or moderately priced, there are times when I download and discard after a couple of uses.  I’ll bet you’re exactly the same way.

I always like to read reviews and reports from other people’s experiences.  I’ll let them do the heavy lifting and then decide whether or not it’s going to fit my needs.  In my own little world of paranoia, I’ll also let them determine if the application has unexpected results or privacy concerns.  It’s a little buffer for my own protection, I guess.  Perfect?  Hardly, but it’s just another layer.

It was with this mindset that I read this article this morning.  “5 free Android apps that do amazing things Apple’s iPhone can’t“.  Who doesn’t mind a little mudslinging first thing in the morning?

As I reviewed the applications and the claims about what they do, I’m in awe with the divergent thinking that the developers put into their works.  After all, why didn’t Google or Samsung think of this first?  In particular, I focused on the Clean Master application.  Hey, Valia wrote a review of it.  How cool is that?

I think that we all know that there’s cruft on all of our computers and devices and, if we could just get rid of it, performance would go through the roof.  Maybe this will do it.

But, it was one of the features that gave me a facepalm.  Why isn’t this part of every phone?

I think of all the times that I’m asked by someone to “borrow your phone for a sec so that I can Google something”.  You hope that they’re just using your browser but you know they’re just a tap away from your email, your photos, or your text messages.  So, you might keep one eye on them while they’re using it.

We know that we can lock our device with passcode or a swipe pattern and only a fool doesn’t.  But locking by potentially sensitive information or application isn’t a feature that I’ve ever seen built into a phone.  This was just so obvious.  I love the thinking.

It’s not that you’re going to find the key to the crown jewels on my phone but you’ll find family pictures, text and email messages with friends, or my latest dual authentication codes.  Wouldn’t it be nice to share a device knowing that those are protected?

I’ve said it before and will repeat it.  When smart people push technology to its limits and give us solutions that others didn’t even know was a problem, we all win!