Making the Most of Your iPhone at Summer Events, Fairs, and Festivals

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

In addition to back to school month, many fairs and festivals are happening this month.  There's so many fun things at them -- from the food (cotton candy!)  to the music, to the events (demolition derby anyone?)


But have you thought about how your smart phone can help you create better moments at these events from the rural county fair to a major rock concert in an urban area?

One of the most obvious ways to get ready for a festival is to listen to music of the band who is going to be performing, but did you know that there is an app for finding concerts you might want to attend?   Bands in Town scans your music library and will suggest bands that are playing locally you might enjoy.  Since 45% of smart phone users listen to music on their device, this is a great tool.

Of course you want to take photos at the fairs and festivals you attend.
 Editing and storing photos is important on the go.  Some great apps for that are Aillis (iTunes), Retrica (Android), and Smug Mug (iTunes).

Because you might not be able to charge your phone for a while, you might want to make sure extras are turned off to conserve battery life.  Examples of these would be bluetooth and location devices. You also may want to lower your screen's brightness to help conserve battery.  I also often try to keep a power bank on me to be able to charge my phone on the go.

One thing I've found as I have traveled to very congested places is that there are times it might not be possible for a phone call to go through.  But texting works great.  It takes less network bandwidth and therefore often a text can go through even when a call can't.  Sometimes locating others in a crowded place can be difficult, so texting might be a great option to help you find each other, especially in a situation where you can't receive data or even make a phone call.