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We asked about people's preferences for phones, tablet, games and all other things digital. Check out their answers.
Bethia Woolf of Columbus Food Adventures uses Skype on her iPhone to chat face to face with her father, Inigo Woolf (on-screen), in England.
Tim Johnson
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the abundance of ads offering the latest gizmos and gadgets—with their data plans, unlimited apps and “4G LTE” capability. With so many options we were curious to see which tech toys people prefer. So we asked around, from performers to entrepreneurs, and we learned the Ohio inspector general plays Call of Duty, the Columbus Symphony conductor listens to Joni Mitchell on his iPod and a certain drag queen is hooked on HuffingtonPost.com. Here are the rest of the responses.
Paul Astleford
President
What kind of phone do you have? I’ve got a Motorola Droid.
What are your favorite apps? My favorite app is Sonos, because it lets me control my home audio system from my phone.
Do you prefer phoning or texting? Definitely phoning. If I have something important enough to contact someone else with, I want there to be a real back-and-forth conversation rather than quick notes.
Stacie Boord
Performer
What kind of phone do you have? I have a Sprint LG smartphone. I hate the touch screen! I have small fingers and I still mistype every other word. Blech.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? GrandviewMercantile.com and BCBG.com (there’s always something new).
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? It varies—whatever I’m prepping to perform or teach as part of the upcoming Shadowbox show or project.
What are your favorite apps? The only app I’ve ever downloaded is the My Piano app on my phone. I love it. I can give myself starting pitches to my songs wherever and whenever I want.
Gregg Dodd
Deputy director for communications, marketing
What kind of phone do you have? iPhone 4S. Like: Siri loves me when no one else will. Dislike: It seems you can’t instantly upload a photo to Facebook.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? Scrabblecheat.com (I am playing Words with Friends with smart people and need the extra help), Columbus Underground and CNN.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? Words with Friends. I love that you are able to play with friends across town, the country or even the world. This is a great way to stay connected.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett, “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra and “Somebody to Love” by the “Glee” cast.
Which tablet do you prefer? iPad. (Please buy me one!)
What are your favorite apps? Moviefone, TV Guide and Pandora. These apps keep me up to date on pop culture.
Steve Fireman
President
What kind of phone do you have? Droid Pro. In my office, I have a ShoreTel 230. I like it, but it’s far too smart for me.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? ESPN, CNN and Spotify.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “The River” by Bruce Springsteen, “Bastards of Young” by the Replacements and anything by the Avett Brothers.
Which tablet do you prefer? iPad: It was purchased for me. It’s magic, Jobs was a genius.
What is your favorite app? Zinio: I love magazines.
Do you prefer phoning or texting? Text: To the point, like me.
Have you ever searched for yourself on Google? (Don’t lie!) Were you surprised by what you found? Yes, not surprised. Disappointed I did not uncover more dirt. However, there is a little boy named Stevie Fireman whose parents have pimped him out on YouTube singing at a county fair!
Arnett Howard
Musician
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? I have played “When the Saints,” “Like Martin” and “They All Asked For You” more times, followed by “I’m Walkin’ ” and “Hang On Sloopy.” These are songs I perform with and I use my iPod as a backing track when I am in solo performance.
What are your favorite apps? Safari for web applications, Pages for writing, iTunes for music data and GarageBand for recording.
Allison Jayjack
Owner, Ladybird Fashion
What kind of phone do you have? BlackBerry Curve. I’m waiting for the contract to expire; the pictures are terrible.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? Designcrushblog.com, food features; lonnymag.com, design inspiration, and pinterest.com, the randomness.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Fallin’ & Flyin’ ” by Jeff Bridges, “Stay” by Maurice Williams and “When You Were Mine” by Cyndi Lauper.
Have you ever searched for yourself on Google? (Don’t lie!) Were you surprised by what you found? Of course. Last time I did the top of the list was my Marshall soccer statistics.
Steve Kelly
President of national security global business, Battelle
What kind of phone do you have? iPhone 4. I like the plethora of apps, screen resolution and design. I don’t like the plethora of distracting apps.
What non-work-related website—other than social media—do you visit most? Onthesnow.com, year-round winter sports daydreaming fodder.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? Not a gamer, though the puzzle website of Brendan Emmett Quigley (brendanemmettquigley.com) provides crosswords of occasionally humbling difficulty with irreverent and impolitic up-to-date clues and answers.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Soldier Field” by Xerxes, “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz and “Angel Dance” by Robert Plant and the Band of Joy. Interesting. Clearly someone has been borrowing my gear.
What are your favorite apps? Evernote, Dropbox and Mozy make it easy for me to have info when I need it, and a lot harder for me to misplace it.
Nannette Maciejunes
Executive director, Columbus Museum of
What kind of phone do you have? An iPhone; I love how intuitive it is. The one thing I would change: Uploading photos to Facebook is currently a two-step process. It would be nice if it were one step.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? I have to admit to being an eBay addict, so that would be the first site. I also love obscure movie trivia and facts so I’m constantly on IMDb. Finally, I visit the New York Times website at least once a day.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? I don’t do any online gaming, but I do play Paper Toss, Solitaire City and Burning Bubbles Lab on my iPhone.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Tangled up in Blue” by Bob Dylan, “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn and “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.
What are your favorite apps? Bloomberg’s ticker app, the Weather Channel, New York Times’s app and MapQuest.
Thomas McClure
President
What kind of phone do you have? iPhone 4S. It’s quick and easy to use. Its camera is amazing. The design is very stylish and chic, and it’s white! I love white accessories!
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? Gizmodo.com: I love gadgetry and new technology and this site informs its audience with a humorous style. HighExistence.com: This is a great site to gain deep insight with spiritual, physical, mental topics etc., and they also have a great sense of humor. YouTube is where I go to hear a new song, view a new trailer or view concert footage of my favorite artists.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? I just beat Gears of War for Xbox 360! However, my favorite game of all time is Fable. Fable was the first of its kind to evolve the character depending on decisions you make in the game, and it was the first of its kind to include a possible gay home life for your character.
What one piece of technology could you never do without? My iPhone! I will turn around to go home and grab my phone, even if it makes me late to an event. It’s a sickness, I know, but I have this need to be connected every minute of the day. The last thing I do before sleeping: Go through Twitter on my iPhone.
Randy Meyer
Ohio inspector general
What kind of phone do you have? iPhone 4. What’s possible not to like?
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? YouTube.com, endless variety; Nascar.com, I love racing, and Yahoo.com, all the fun news that’s fit to print.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Team Deathmatch with my three sons!
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “YYZ” by Rush (best band ever), “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars.
What one piece of technology could you never do without? I love tech gear, but I can’t do without my favorite Pilot EasyTouch ink pen. The batteries never run out.
What are your favorite apps? Evernote, lifesaver in a meeting; CloudOn, workaround for MS Word and Excel on an Apple platform, and Plants vs. Zombies, because I’ve moved on since Angry Birds.
Have you ever searched for yourself on Google? (Don’t lie!) Were you surprised by what you found? I just did it. I’m on page 4 and still haven’t found myself. Is that good or bad?
Dae Oh
Restaurateur, owner of Black Olive, Two Fish, Red
What kind of phone do you have? BlackBerry and iPhone. I like that with two phones I can talk and text at the same time.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? YouTube: I love looking at cars on this site. Shutterstock.com: I love looking at the artwork. And thehotelmalls.com: the next big thing [Oh’s newest venture].
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli, “Narrow Daylight” by Diana Krall and “Forever Young” by Jay-Z.
Do you prefer phoning or texting? Why? Text. It’s faster.
Nina West
Drag queen, stage performer
What kind of phone do you have? The iPhone 4. I love the functionality of the interface, but I absolutely hate the service from AT&T.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? CNN.com: I keep going because I am obsessed with needing to know what is going on in the world. FunnyOrDie.com: because everyone needs to laugh. HuffingtonPost.com: overwhelming with information, commentary, news, blogs and fun.
Do you have a favorite videogame or online game? I really love Scrabble or Words with Friends. Those are my iPad or iPhone games. Other than that, I can’t seem to break my love for Mario Kart. What is wrong with me?
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Someone Like You” by Adele, “Bring Night” by Sia and “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
Have you ever searched for yourself on Google? (Don’t lie!) Were you surprised by what you found? I have once. It shows a definite evolution of the character of Nina West as you look. Kinda funny.
Bethia Woolf
Founder, Columbus
What kind of phone do you have? An iPhone. I love it. Easy to use, lots of great apps, I can even Skype with friends and family in England. Great camera, which is useful for posting food photos to Twitter and Facebook on the go.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? Columbus Underground for local news and discussion; my Google Reader page to keep up with blogs, and the Columbus library. I borrow a lot of books and reserve them online.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “Read my Mind” by the Killers and “Closer” and “Winter” by Joshua Radin.
What are your favorite apps? Skype for video calls, GasBuddy for finding cheaper gas, Facebook and Echofon for social media on the go, Flixster for movie reviews, Shazam for that song you can’t remember and the Weather Channel.
Jean-Marie Zeitouni
Conductor, Columbus Symphony
What kind of phone do you have? I have an iPhone. I think it is the most user-friendly phone on the market.
What three non-work-related websites—other than social media—do you visit most? Radio-Canada.ca: The public French-Canadian TV channel (their news website is always interesting). Wikipedia: Because we can always find interesting subjects and the free knowledge it brings to the world is something I find inspiring. LeDevoir.ca: an independent French-Canadian newspaper.
What are the three most played songs on your iPod or iTunes playlists? “La Valse à Mille Temps” by Jacques Brel, “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell and anything by the Beatles.
