My old Palm Pilot vs that new Notes app on my phone

I dug my old Palm Pilot out of a drawer last week and used it for a day instead of my phone's notes app for grocery lists and reminders. The Palm was way faster to jot things down since I didn't have to unlock a screen or swipe through notifications. Has anyone else gone back to a retro gadget and found it worked better than the modern version?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunashah17d ago

The Graffiti handwriting recognition on my Palm Pilot from 2002 actually made me a better speller. I had to learn those little strokes for each letter, and it forced me to slow down and think about what I was writing instead of tapping away mindlessly. So it wasn't just faster in terms of unlocking, it was faster mentally because I was more present with the task. Plus, the battery life on that thing lasted weeks compared to my phone dying by 5pm. I think we traded mindfulness for convenience and didn't really notice until we held the old stuff again.

lindareed17d ago

I really felt that part about "way faster to jot things down since I didn't have to unlock a screen." My old Blackberry from 2010 is like that for me. I pulled it out last month to write down a few phone numbers, and it was just so much more direct. No notifications popping up, no face unlock drama, just a keyboard and a screen ready to go. It makes you wonder if all this modern stuff is actually saving us time or just adding extra steps.