Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies, perhaps the NBA’s most underrated point guard, makes his living as a floor general by surveying the court for the best options. The same mindset takes place away from the hardwood, too. Conley, an admitted smart phone and PDA addict, has “tinkered with everything” from Mac computers to a Galaxy Note to an HP pad. And while he may be strictly an iPhone man, Conley is on a never-ending quest to fill it with the best and coolest apps. Here’s a look at what’s inside:
What app are you most dependent on?
“Really, I think Google Maps. I use it every day. Whenever I have to go somewhere or looking up anything, that’s the first thing I look up on. How far it is and how close it is, or whatever. A lot of the times, I’m just looking for things that are in the vicinity. If I’m looking for a restaurant. ‘I hope they have Benihana’s here. Let me check.’ And it says it’s like 20 minutes away, I’m like, ‘No, I’m not gonna go there.’ “
As someone with the NBA lifestyle, with a lot of travel and time spent in unfamiliar cities, Google Maps is probably quite valuable.
“It’s a lifesaver. Oh my God, it’s a lifesaver.”
What’s your most recently downloaded app?
“I got the IMDB movie app, which is huge for me. I’m a big movie guy. Reviews. New movies coming out. Whatever city we’re in, I usually try to find the closest theater. I think that’s an easy way. It helps to find that really quickly.
What’s the weirdest app you have? The one you don’t know why you have it?
I don’t know if I have it on this phone anymore, but I had an app with a game where you put your finger on this little guillotine, and they slide it down. (Editor’s note: It sounds like the game is “Finger Slayer.”) You had to hold your finger there and whenever it’s about to shut, you had to get your finger off. If you didn’t get your finger off in time, your finger would get cut off. I don’t know why I had it, but it was one of those weird apps you saw somebody else had. [I played for] probably about five days, and then I kind of let go of it.
You’d think an NBA player with your athleticism could conquer that game.
“I’d like to claim I could, but it’s harder than it looks.”
How often do you find yourself scouring for new apps?
“Anytime I have free time and I’m bored, I’ll just go on the app store and look at new apps and the best sellers, the most popular ones. And then if somebody has any particular one they say I should go download, I go out there and look for it.”
Is there a game you play most on either the iPhone or iPad?
“I used to play Ruzzle. Ruzzle is a word game. It’s, like, nine letters in a box and you try to make as many words as you can in a minute. I used to do that constantly. Before games it was part of my routine. Just to play a few games of it.
I was pretty good. I could get up to 60, 70 words and get a good amount of points.
Do you do anything with photo apps? Are you an Instagram guy?
“Yeah, I do have Instagram, Twitter. Those two are huge for me, too. I’m just now getting into Instagram. I’ve had it for a few months now. Twitter I’ve had for a couple years.
Do you tend to go filter or no filter?
“I’ll do filter. Check things out sometimes. My most recent picture is a Halloween picture of me and my fiancee. It’s pretty cool. I’m not really into making pictures, but it was a good one.
How long do you think you can go without checking the phone, checking the iPad, keeping some type of gadget in your hand?
“If I’m not playing basketball or something like that, it’s probably like, five minutes. Maybe. Every five minutes I gotta check to see if somebody texted me, or if there’s a new response on Instagram, or something. I get the itch quick.”
Is there an app you wish existed?
“I think it would be cool if there was some facial recognition software out there that, I don’t know how it would work, but you could hold a phone up to somebody’s face, a random person, and you could tell who they are and what they do. It would be kinda weird, but cool at the same time.”
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