We're coming up on five years since the iPhone was launched, which on June 29, 2007.  Aside from whatever else Steve Jobs did well, the basic move he made with the iPhone was to combine an Internet mobile device with a GPS and accelerometer, and let anyone start writing apps for it.

It's staggering how much it has changed our lives. I took a day off for the first time in a year to go see the NFL Draft since the Redskins have mortgaged their future on RG3, and I've been told it's something that should be on any NFL fan's bucket list.

So Wednesday I drove up to New York city with my iPhone.

I got there using the TomTom GPS app. Not only is this much cheaper than buying a separate gps device or paying rental car companies, you also can do some very cool stuff by combining driving directions with an Internet connection.

On top of the roads automatically updating every few months, I get traffic updating in real-time.  The TomTom app will suggest alternatives as it finds routes that will save time. It now also has a database of permanent speed traps and red light cameras and will beep at me as I approach them. To complete that experience, it also has the current speed limit and my driving speed, so when it buzzes me about an upcoming speed trap, it tells me right away what speed I should be going without looking for a speed limit sign. And then of course, this is tied into my phone contacts, Facebook and Google, so I can search my contacts or the Internet and quickly pick places to call and drive to without any retyping.

But that's just one app.

I have TuneIn which lets you listen to local radio over the Internet, so I could hear that Robert Griffin III interview with the local Redskins DC radio station at 6pm even if I'm on the New Jersey turnpike.

Of course this is an iPod at heart, so I had my days' worth of my own music. And I also had Pandora to stream music.

I used Weatherbug for weather conditions and hourly forecasts along my route.

I used the eBay app to monitor prices to buy draft tickets, and I also checked in on StubHub with their app.

While waiting in line to get tickets, I used the Hipchat app to discuss my daughter going to the hospital and talk with support and a developer about an issue in the release that I had to patch that night.

While waiting in line I took pictures of famous people walking by, including Rich Eisen, Michael Irvin, Roger Goodell and Steve Mariucci, all while posting those to Facebook to chronicle the experience and make fun of the Cleveland Browns.

While in line, I checked Kayak, Hotels.com and Hipmunk to find and book a hotel room.

I was also checking for updates on the Capitals' Game 7 overtime win.

At 1 a.m., after I arrived at the hotel and learned that it was oversold, I used Yelp and the phone to call nearby hotels. Since everything was sold out, I used TomTom to chart a course back to a rest stop in New Jersey. While cruising along, I saw a Ramada whiz by from the highway. So I pulled over, use Yelp to find its number and address, called to confirm they had a room, and TomTom'd it through the back roads to the hotel. 

When I got to the hotel, they had free wifi. Not that it mattered though, because my iPhone is also a wireless hotspot, so I can use my laptop from anywhere and don't have to pay for wifi at hotels anymore.

Honestly, I consider myself a tech laggard. I don't use Twitter, Instagram, video or anything trendy, aside from paying for my lunch today with the Starbucks app.

It's pretty darn amazing how different life is. This isn't a replacement for a phone...this is a device that lets you do what was magic only five years ago.

That's why I had us develop MobileNow two years ago, why I moved Robb over as Director of Mobile last year, why we're beta testing apps for the iPhone and Android, why we release software every week. Tech is moving so fast and I'm glad to be a small part of it.  It's exciting times.