My morning adventure

I woke up this morning at 7 am to the gentle bleating of my iPhone. Being a travel day, I showered, dressed, and fed the dogs more quickly than usual. Since my flight was at 8:40, I requested an Uber at 7:45. The app said 8 minutes, the reality was closer to 15.

So I’m in the car at 8 for an 8:40 flight, a little stressed but Google assures me that I’ll be there in 17 minutes. What Google could not predict was that the Uber driver would miss her exit and add another 7 minutes to my travel time. So, when we arrive at the airport at 8:25, I rush out of the car without checking my pockets and realize that my Nexus 5 is gone.

Quickly deciding to just get on the plane, I whip out my CLEAR card and cut the security line. At the gate by 8:35, my fear was realized- I had missed my plane. A $25 change fee and I would be on the next flight to Portland, in 80 minutes.

As they say, tragedy begets opportunity, so I whip out my iPhone (I carry both phones) and bring up the Android Device Manager from Safari on my phone. I see it there, whipping around the bay area in the care of an Uber driver. I Google for “Uber Lost and Found” and find that I can just call my driver, who says she doesn’t see a phone. A quick tap on Android Device Manager and my phone rings at full volume for 5 minutes. Another tap and I lock my phone with a message and some contact info. Problem solved.

When I receive my device, I notice that my phone is practically begging to come home.

As a product manager and lover of well designed products, this is awesome. Not only did it do exactly what I wanted it to do, the phone provided a single button to call its owner.

I walk back curbside and watch my phone approach. My driver appears and barely slows down to hand me my phone. Once again, the technology that I rely on saves the day.

So here I am at the airport terminal, on a seat with USB and AC power, writing about my morning. Not too bad.