Mobiles for a novice

sewyjan

Hi
Can someone please help me. I am not stupid but I am getting to the point where I could scream. Why does everyone think that we all have smartphones or whatever you want to call them? I have an ipad which I use regularly and it has come to the point where I think I better buy myself a smartphone because I feel very alone not having one. But..... where do you start. I hardly make any phone calls on my old antique mobile, just emergencies. Do I need one really because would I use it? How do you know where to start when you are looking for one. Help please.

Inner_Zone

You don't need a smart phone to make phone calls, why do you think that? Plenty of non smart phones available.

eDicky

Perhaps you could consider a smartphone as being a much more compact iPad that you could also use for phone calls when needed.

DigForVictory

You "need" a handset, & a SIM with a smartphone tariff. That latter bit may be tricky as you may know how many phone calls & texts you send but when it comes to data, it's all new & exciting & you may decide that really you just do not need that smart a smartphone. You won't know until you try & having to watch every tuppence evaporate on data can be really frustrating, so it makes sense to get a fairly hefty data allowance on a short & rolling contract. (Says she with a month contract rolling with Tesco - their phone app is very handy letting you know how much you've used.)

Apps are programs that you may recognise from your iPad, but will be cropped wickedly to fit on a phone screen. If you get an iPhone (big If, they're glamorous but expensive) most of what you have on your iPad may work on your phone. If you get an android phone (different operating system but similar experience) it should all be a Lot Cheaper.

Where to buy - somewhere reasonably close so you can go back & ask questions. Have you an under 20 year old? The phone they are thinking of upgrading may be fine for you so long as it is in sound mechanical nick - not chipped or cracked or waterlogged & still holding a battery charge. (I've handed tech support for my parents over to my lads - and both grandfather & grandsons seem to enjoy heads together over gadget time.) If there is a lack of useful young folk around, but the local Tesco has a phone store onsite, that may solve a lot of early questions. (Buy a SIM from them but perhaps not the handset - unless the combination seems a reasonable price & the staff are reliably friendly.) If you are determined to go down with all flags flying & are near an apple store, consider a new iPhone. The folks are all very young, but formidably knowledgeable & they run getting to know your gadget events - which cover a lot of ground quickly but if the store is handy, that can be downright helpful.

Will you use it? Well, they can be addictive, and also people can find they make life more difficult with tiny screens, questionable sound & generally the assumptions. Also, a recognisable iPhone may be a theft for theft. (Always worth a getting a good case for these things, they can be gruesomely fragile.)

That said, it's a powerful tool for communicating and having google in your pocket is a bit heady when you think of all the things you don't have to remember. Pinger, diary, audiobook, kindle, camera - all in one little package.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy the thing or it is just an expensive toy. That can be sold again, so not every tuppence is lost.

<poster is an iphone addict with teenage sons & a pack of scouts to lead me astray>

grumbler

sewyjan wrote: »

Do I need one really because would I use it?

Free Money Mantras Card

To help you stop spending when you shouldn't

- Skint?: Do I need it? Can I afford it? Can I get it cheaper elsewhere?
- Not skint?: Will I use it? Is it worth it? Can I get it cheaper elsewhere?

If you are asking these questions, you don't need a smartphone. Remain happy without it. It's PITA - big, fragile, requires frequent charging, ...

Cisco001

The only thing you missed would probably be Whatsapp?

Is anyone around you use Whatsapp to communicate all the time?

toshi

sewyjan wrote: »

Hi
Can someone please help me. I am not stupid but I am getting to the point where I could scream. Why does everyone think that we all have smartphones or whatever you want to call them? I have an ipad which I use regularly and it has come to the point where I think I better buy myself a smartphone because I feel very alone not having one. But..... where do you start. I hardly make any phone calls on my old antique mobile, just emergencies. Do I need one really because would I use it? How do you know where to start when you are looking for one. Help please.

So far, you don't have any problems without a smartphone, then you don't need it, a friend of mine who does not like telephone call uses only her iPad with data. You enjoy your tablet (iPad), which is great.

The difference between Tablet and smartphone


1) Size
Do you need a smaller size than iPad ?

2) Data (always On) without WiFi internet connection
(I assume that you have WIFI only iPad)

Do you want to have always internet connection ?

If 1) and 2) are yes, consider a smartphone.

If 1) no and 2) yes
Mobile Wifi or Tethering

If 1) and 2) No
Leave it, you just enjoy your iPad, but your iPad can communicate with various communication Apps, as some suggested here already.

If you are really keen to have a telephone number, you can get an UK landline number free with your iPad. (sipgate)

As you have observed, the most people have a smartphone nowadays, but it does not necessarily they use and enjoy the technology as you do with your iPad... Enjoy yourself