One of my 2013 resolutions is to sleep more. I work for Clever Girls Collective during the hours that the kids are in school, unplug when they get home, and hop back on the computer after they’re fast asleep to write. I enjoy the silence in the house that comes with sleeping children but it’s so easy to get distracted from freelance work when I’m also catching up with friends via social media that can also make for a very long night of working into the early hours of the morning.
I’ve resolved to streamline work tasks in order to become more efficient and disconnect from social networks when trying to meet pressing deadlines. This means resisting the urge to have Twitter open, scroll through my Facebook feed, read every message that comes up on Skype in real time, or pinning something interesting I might find online when doing research for posts.
For someone who relies on these tools for work, it’s not an easy task but my new Windows Phone 8X by HTC is helping.
Since getting the phone, I’ve customized my Start Screen with tiles that aggregate information from the social media sphere. The Start Screen on the 8X is similar to the look and feel of the Windows 8 desktop on the HP ENVY 23 Touchsmart AiO and Windows Surface Tablet with RT we already use in our home. It operates with tiles that are easily customizable so you can have everything you use most often at your fingertips.
Tiles such as Best Friends allows me to keep up with what those I’m closest to are doing. Their smiling faces from their avatar pop up on my Start Screen and tapping the app allows me to see their most recent news from Facebook and Twitter with a swipe. I can also send a group email to everyone in my Best Friends group with a tap. There’s also another feature called Family Room that allows me to create a group for family members.The People tile is another must-have on my 8X Start Screen. People pulls in the newest information from those in my Twitter and Facebook feed so it’s presented in one tidy format.
Being able to keep up with my social networks by adding tiles to my 8X has also cleaned up my desktop of the clutter that comes with having a web browser open for Facebook while Tweetdeck runs in the background. It’s definitely helped me focus on my writing since I’m tending to pick up my phone to check activities on my Tiles occasionally.
And so far so good because while bedtime was typically around 1 am on most nights (and later on others!) there have been nights where my head has hit the pillow around Midnight.
Baby steps, right?
As a member of #HTC8 #Troop8X, I received a Windows Phone 8X by HTC for review purposes. No additional compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.
I'm a DC Metro area dwelling mom of 2 and former teacher with an background in classroom technology integration & school administration. I am a family internet safety & security expert, social media consultant, columnist for Parents.com and Scholastic Parents, dog owner, car enthusiast, and an avid gardener. I also work for Clever Girls Collective. {
I really like the social networking tiles option!
I love the large screen and how the email tile is right at the center of everything where you need it.
We are actually about to shop for new phones in just a couple of weeks. This one looks awesome and may be exactly what I am looking for. It will be my firswt “smart phone,” so I will be looking for something fairly intuitive and easy to use.
This phone is really amazing and if i could i would get it… Today I’m mostly on social networking and how i love to follow all these amazing opportunities via fb , twitter, bloggers … I love how you can customize your home screen with all those tiles… Really cool phone…
My husband has this phone and is crazy about it! I can’t wait until I can upgrade my phone. He loves how all the tiles keep him up to date on what’s going on. I think it is so nice that you can customize the tiles to fit your needs. Can’t wait to get mine. I am a Windows kind of gal!
I would love to get the Windows phone because it uses the Windows system and has a user friendly interface
I’ve seen this phone more & more recently and it looks amazing! I like the tiles that keep you up to date! I SO need that!
I would probably get the Windows phone. My only worry is about security. Does it have firewalls like a req computer that runs windows? I think to that it’s good to have a os that one is basically familiar with. Thank you.
I’ve love it if my work supported Windows Phone. At this time they don’t. I’ve provided Windows Phones to family and they love them, especially the live tiles. My wife is addicted to Swype so it is a hard sell to move to Windows Phone from Android for her.
I’m very intrigued by this phone. Love the look of it with the tiles. Very attractive and user friendly. I’d definitely give it a try!
I love your review. I didn’t know about the personal tiles you can set up. I would love to have a Windows Phone 8X by HTC and hopefully I’ll get one this year unless they come up with something better.
I’m a fan of the tiles.
I probably wouldnt consider this because I already own so many apps on Android
I have an iphone right now but if I didn’t I would look into this for sure. I love the personal tiles!
I do like Windows 8 and the tile features with pictures!
Mitch
I love Windows! Only 7 more days until I can upgrade my phone. Not that I am counting or anything.
I would definitely consider purchasing this phone in the future. I like how it provides such easy access to social networking sites.
great review this phone looks amazing windows 8 and the freedom of the tiles is awesome!
I LOVE the customized start screen. Theoretically I can customize my android screen but I am limited it to a handful of apps and I find the functionality of customizing the screen awkward.
This might almost be enough for me to make the move from my non windows phone!
Wow…I love the super-functional start screen! That’s so intuitive, especially if you’re already using other Windows products. Smart!
I can see having this phone, it would be nice if your computer, tablet and phone all used the same interface.
i like the phone, but i am worried about the amount of apps they have for windows mobile. my sister has this phone and the speaker/microphone has been giving her a lot of problems and she works for microsoft.
wow this looks awesome – I would love to have one
I like the fact you can add tiles and not have to keep so much open on the computer relating to social media. It looks like it woul make things easier for you.
I would love to have this phone, I like the large screen
i would definitely consider this phone, the os and the hardware go very well together!
I’d definitely try Windows, I’ve tried Android and I’ve seen the iOS; it would be nice to try this one, it’s different.
I would like this phone-looks very nice.
I am in love with the Windows phone. I can’t wait to get one! I love how you can edit word documents and sync your Outlook calendar. Windows all the way!!
I like the looks of it, but wouldn’t want one.
THere are so many enhanced things, love the screen, sync things,