help please i phone novice

AuntyCat

I have an old phone & was thinking of updating. I am on contract with o2 & have no problem with them - i think my contract will be ending soon.

I thought i'd better look into i phones, everyone seems to have one but i have no idea what they're about or if i would need one?

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good article or similar that would explain all aspests please?

ie - whats the difference between iphone, 3g, android, blackberry?
How much useage do you need to do things?
What do apps do? do you pay for an app then it's free, or do you pay for it each time you use it?
What's a good package at the moment?

As you can see i have no idea & i'm not that old, haha.

Thanks in advance.

DUTR

Have you thought of going sim only with a 3gs?
Tech radar, GSM Arena, engadget are 3 of many places that have reviews ,
please note not everyone has one and they are not the leading selling operating system.
You don't need one, you have managed fine without, depending on your lifestyle I suppose then can add some enhancement , imagine the iphone as a music player (ipod) with PDA (personal digital assistant) with a phone built on.
Android 2.2 handsets can work out more effective and cheaper, both have a host of useless apps (which are mini programs) and can both sync with calenders, take pictures and recieve emails , browse the web etc.
Androids can be customised to your own preferences and can complete some individual tasks much better, there is nothing the iphone can do that say a HTC wildfire cannot.

The iphone may benefit from available docks and accesories.

AuntyCat

Thanks for that but a lot of it didn't make any sense to me.
i need an explanation of the basics. i will have a look at the reviews you mention though.

I think i need more basic than that - i don't even know what a HTC widfire is??? I now know i don't know what an i phone is, i thought it was a generic term for all these things.

You may be right i may not need one, until i know what they do i'm not sure.

DUTR

AuntyCat wrote: »

Thanks for that but a lot of it didn't make any sense to me.
i need an explanation of the basics. i will have a look at the reviews you mention though.

I think i need more basic than that - i don't even know what a HTC widfire is??? I now know i don't know what an i phone is, i thought it was a generic term for all these things.

You may be right i may not need one, until i know what they do i'm not sure.

All I can suggest is you look at this link http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/02/25/idiots-guide-smartphones/

MissKeith

An iPhone is the name of a smart phone made by Apple. The generic term for these types of phones is 'smart'. A smart phone will generally have high speed internet access, email facility and as you know 'apps'. App is the shortened term for application. There are many types of applications, some are games, others are simplified, more useful parts of a website such as Facebook, Ebay, Twitter and many more, some are gadgets such as compasses, sat nav, shopping comparisons and lots of others. You'll find apps for sports, finance, music, shopping, the last is endless! You generally download these apps from a store within the menu of the phone. For example IPhones have the App Store, Blackberry have the App World and Android has the Marketplace.

All smart phones have an operating system (similar to computers) which differ wildly. iPhones have iOS, Google make Android which you will find is used by many different manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson. And Blackberry use their own Blackberry OS. The differences between these can be massive, iOS tends to be extremely simple but locked down so you can't really customise it too much, a lot of the apps you have to pay for and you have to sync your phone to iTunes which can get annoying. Plus iPhones can be expensive! Blackberrys are great for email and instant messaging, they're very popular with teenagers due to the Blackberry to Blackberry instant message facility. Lastly there's my personal favourite which is Android. Android is very customisable, majority of the apps are free to download and you have lots of choices of phones which can be very reasonably priced.

It all depends on why you want a smart phone. Do you want simple and don't mind spending a lot of money? i Phone may suit your needs. Do you want emails and instant messaging? Go for a Blackberry. Do you want an all rounded phone which is cheap and customisable and you don't mind putting in some effort to learn to use it (worth it in my opinion!) then opt for Android.

If you give us an idea about your budget and what you want to use a smart phone for, I'm sure we'll be able to help you find something that will suit you.

Sorry if that was too simplified for you, I don't want to patronise you! On the other hand if there's anything I need too explain further than please let me know!

Guys_Dad

Good reply from MissKeith.

I get where you are coming from - lots of people have these smartphones and you are curious as to what they can do.

Here is what to do to minimise your costs.

1. Go and buy an unlocked Samsung Apollo for about £60 and then get a giff-gaff network sim. Put £10 on the sim in the form of a giff-gaff goody bag that gives you unlimited data. See how you get on.

2. Spend a couple of months trying it out, seeing what apps you want to use, see how much data you need etc.

3. Apps, android, IoS, Iphone, Data, wifi. You need to understand these terms. If you are prepared to spend some hours getting acquainted with the jargon etc, then good. If not, then please stick to a basic handset which is ideal for voice and text.

AuntyCat

Thank you both for your replies they were both very helpful.

MissKeith that was exactly what i wanted and not at all patronising.

I think i would use a few apps, messaging, email etc - I have teenage nieces so could keep in touch with them easier. Internet browsing & facebook etc

As I said i'm with o2 so i've had a look at their offers to start with. They seem to have a Blackberry with x texts, x minutes & xmb's for £15.50 per month. which seems reasonable. The trouble is with the mb's I don't know how that works - is that how long you're on the internet? So that would include looking at facebook etc? hence my question about the apps - are they free to use once you've purchased them? or do you need to pay for every minute you're using them? What about using apps or internet when abroad, or is that a no no.

We're getting there slowly.

MissKeith

Mbs are used when you browse the internet, it depends on the size of the webpage on how much data (mbs) is used so it's not am exact science. If you're looking at a Blackberry a very good thing about them is data compression. In laymans terms, if you view a web page on a Blackberry you will use less mb than by viewing the same webpage on an iPhone. I would say 250mb would be sufficient for occasional browsing. Do you have wifi at home? Most smart phones have the ability to connect to a wireless network so you can browse and download without it coming out of your data allowance.

If you do not have wifi, I would opt for a larger data package as downloading apps use a lot of data. You only have to pay for an app once but I would suggest to read the description of the app before you download because you don't want to give them permission to rob your grandma, lol.

I would STRONGLY suggest NOT using your smart phone abroad as most of them will connect to the internet at all times and update itself without your knowledge. This isn't so much of a problem when you have a decent data package but when certain networks charge £8 a mb!! whilst roaming, you do not want to get caught out.

I'm glad I've been helpful, I used to have to explain this a lot when I worked for Carphone. Nothing like helping a technophobe download their first app. if you do go for a smart phone, they have a useful little service called Walk Out Working where they explain how your phone works, set up an email account and download your first app for you. They have to offer this service to you when you purchase from them and can lose their jobs for not doing so so you might want to look there for extra help.

Again, let me know if there's any other help I can give you!

Neil49

It would be worth visiting a few phone shops that have phones running that you can pick up and use. I use an android smartphone and really like it, but my girlfriend has problems using the touchscreen and qwerty touch keypad and finds instant messaging very awkward (maybe she just needs more practice but she finds it very frustrating).

You've had lots of good advice above but just to say that internet use abroad can cost you a small fortune unless you can connect to a free wifi service.

If you scroll down the list of postings within this section you will find a number of people who have innocently run up bills well in excess of £1000 through accessing emails, facebook etc while abroad. I'm going abroad next week and my data connection will be turned OFF! The charge comes from the amount of data you download. not the time you are connected. There are free apps which monitor usage and you can get data packages for use abroad but they can rapidly run out and then the bills mount up.

Blackberrys use a different means of sending messages. This area isn't my strong point but I know this can be an issue. Hopefully others on this site can explain Blackberrys and data usage etc in more detail.

I suggest a few visits of phone shops (without committing to buy) and get them to demonstrate the features and benefits. Then come back to this site and ask for clarification.

Remember, sales people want your money and will try to sell you something with a good profit for them. The people on this site want you to get the best deal at the best price.

Hope this helps.

Sambucus_Nigra

AuntyCat wrote: »

I have an old phone & was thinking of updating. I am on contract with o2 & have no problem with them - i think my contract will be ending soon.

I thought i'd better look into i phones, everyone seems to have one but i have no idea what they're about or if i would need one?

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good article or similar that would explain all aspests please?

ie - whats the difference between iphone, 3g, android, blackberry?
How much useage do you need to do things?
What do apps do? do you pay for an app then it's free, or do you pay for it each time you use it?
What's a good package at the moment?

As you can see i have no idea & i'm not that old, haha.

Thanks in advance.

I called o2 and asked what my options were.

I was told that if I didn't have a new phone, because I will be no hassle paperwork wise, they would credit my account with £100 for not renewing my 1 yr old blackberry. So I did and within a week the credit had been added.

Nice. I didn't even want a new phone, I was just asking like.

AuntyCat

Thanks all for your help & advice, i'll have a look round.