Scary Smartphones

Retro lady: I’m so glad you’ve raised this subject. Not having a good phone is beginning to limit my life. I don’t have satnav in my car and need a phone that I can use. I’m scared to go anywhere with a car park because of not knowing how to use parking apps. I do have a very basic phone but am worried about how secure it is. As I use my Apple iPad all the time I’m planning to get an iPhone as I assume I can put everything from my iPad onto it and it’s quite secure. I did join an Apple iPad U3A group to help me with my iPad but they were very cliquey and I stopped going, so I worry about finding somewhere that would help me with a phone. I just feel very stupid.

*minutes not mind 😊

If you are confident using an iPad you’ll quickly master a smart phone and won’t look back. I can’t remember when I last used my laptop. I do everything on my iPhone.

My advice would be to shop around and be careful not to be talked into an expensive contract as it can often work out cheaper to buy the phone on interest free credit and buy a cheap sim only deal with no contract.

I bought my iPhone in the apple shop on interest free credit and have a £5.99 lebara sim which gives me 15GB data and unlimited texts and mind and 100 international mins per month. I only use a fraction of the 15GB as I’m mostly on home WiFi.

This is a good source for up to date deals.
www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile-phones/sim-only/

When I have a new phone I use my laptop to search YouTube for videos showing functions,and shortcuts for my particular model. There are also some showing unpacking and setting up from scratch. Using your laptop enables you to follow the stages on your phone, pausing when necessary.
Good luck!

A new phone will start up and ask you to fill in your details step by step.
The phone will come with the icons for Internet browsing, Facebook and email already on the screen. You'll need to go in and log in with your details.

If I'm in doubt I just google "how do you.....??...on a Samsung smartphone."

It’s really worth learning step by step to use a smartphone. It has so many advantages eg

Access the weather
Download lots of free games Classic Word being my favourite
Download BBC Radio to listen live, through earphones or through hearing aids
Downloaded NHS Squeezy in order to do daily pelvic floor exercises
Download RingGo to be able to park your car
Use Google maps as a Sat Nav
Use Find My app to locate where my grandsons are
I’ve downloaded most of the main TV channels

I could go on but just learn one at a time would be my advice.

Thanks everyone. That's all really helpful. Mr RLW has a Samsung so I'm thinking that I'll probably get the same one. I like the advice to do the most important things first - phoning and texting obviously, then moving onto emails. The QR thing is something I also feel I need to know, plus taking photos and emailing them to others perhaps. Mr RLW hasn't managed to master QR codes, so when I learn I can help him out!

Feeling a lot more positive now so thanks again Gransnetters. I'll report back when I've been to the shop tomorrow. It's a little local shop with a friendly person, so I should be fine.

Then ... I can find a really pretty case!

PS Just remembered that they do a tech drop-in at our doctors every month, mostly to get people to use the NHS app, but also for other techie issues.

I buy new Apple phones and iPads but always the least expensive. They run both online courses and courses in store to help you get the most out of your iphone. They will set the whole thing up for you and give you some tuition. If your technology goes wrong that will try to sort it for you. e.g. my iPad was losing charge. They couldn’t repair it but for £100 I bought a new one the same model. They set it up for me as well by transferring most of my stuff from one to another.

I feel they are expensive but very reliable. I do have a windows laptop but I rarely use it these days. It is a big nuisance that the systems are totally incompatible.

I agree with Gymstagran - learn one thing at a time, starting with the most important and adding the things that are useful to you a bit at a time.

I check emails on mine, but hate sending them as typing on the small screen annoys me; I don't do Gransnet on it, or banking but I do text, take photos and sometime use the maps and What3words. Anything I don't have a use for I ignore.

My advice is to take your time. Master one thing at a time, eg. Learn how to make and receive calls, then how to text. Next you may want to set up your email. It will be your phone to use as you want and to add more when you want. As you say it is a tool for you and your needs. Good luck.

You asked about QR codes. They are everywhere. You just point the camera at them and basically the phone reads them and does the rest. I also like the way I can take a screenshot easily.

You will get there. Good luck in the shop tomorrow. If the person you speak to does not make things easy for you to understand, find someone else. Don't be afraid to ask what you feel is a simple question . Hope your visit to the phone shop goes well.

I can’t say I am familiar with “ all the functions”, but I happily use email, text messages, WhatsApp, torch, camera, photo album, maps and a few games. I do not use my phone to pay directly for anything, though I do occasionally place online orders. I do other things on my tablet because it is bigger and easier to read and to type.
I do occasionally ask for help from one of the family.

I was a latecomer to smartphones too. I walked into a big electrical store and basically threw myself on the mercy of the assistant. I told her my budget and asked what she recommended, without a contact. She recommended a Samsung. The first week I just used it as a phone, then I connected it to my wifi (very easy), then I put my email details in, then I started using it for browsing the Internet at home. A few weeks later I was out in the car, looking for a shop that was supposed to repair my satnav. I couldn't find it. I parked at the side of the road, turned on mobile data for the first time and clicked on Google maps. When I found out the price for repairing the Satnav I decided that Google maps would suffice. Most things I discovered when I needed them. It really isn't hard, just look around at all the very young children using them.
I wouldn't be without mine now. I discovered how to connect it to my printer too for photos, postage labels etc. In fact when my laptop died I didn't bother replacing it. I get notifications from the bank whenever money comes in and out of my bank through the banking app. It also now controls my wi-fi.
Just one word of warning! I find that if I can't sleep, sitting in bed browsing the internet (shopping) on my phone is dangerously addictive.
I no longer need a camera, satnav, torch or laptop.
After over five years I dropped it on a tiled floor. I was back in the phone shop within the hour to treat myself to a replacement, another Samsung.

The advice to check out whether your library offers support.

Our library (which we took over when it was threatened with closure) has drop in sessions.

Most smart phones come with a number of pre-installed apps. For example, here’s a list of apps that are pre-installed on an Apple iPhone.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_built-in_iOS_apps

You will see it includes a Mail app, a Safari browser and a camera which is all you need to scan QR codes. Just open the camera app and point it at the code. You will see a frame appear round it as it focuses and once it has and it will automatically open the website it links to in the Safari browser.

The Settings icon is one of the most important when you get a new phone. There you will find a Mail option to Add Account. It’s all self explanatory.

What apps are not pre-installed you will be able to find in the pre-installed App Store. For example, whoever you chose as your phone network supplier e.g Three, O2 etc will have their own app. These often have rewards and special offers for their network users: free coffee, pizzas, discounted cinema tickets etc

Honestly, whilst it’ll take a while to get used to it and familiar with all the functions you will be absolutely fine!

Boz

Practise is the thing. I now use my phone to tap and pay. The first couple of times I needed some guidance from a young assistant but now I am 'cooking on gas'. So quick, convenient and a ready receipt on your phone.
Use and practise all the time. Good luck.

"Cooking on gas" - that's a phrase I love. My dad always used that. I intend to visit our local (very friendly) phone shop tomorrow - watch this space!

Something which occurred to me after I typed my original post was that phones are meant to be a tool, and that we control them not the other way round.

Meanwhile, I've managed to make myself feel better by searching out some very pretty cases online ... that's the fun part and I can deal with that!

First you must decide if you are going for Android or an iPhone. If your PC is a Mac you should sitick to Apple and get an iPhone. You will be ab!e to synchronise your accounts between the two devices. also you will recognise the symbols and commands. If you use Windows you will be best off with Android.

Then you need to find a provider who you can afford and who you trust.

Buy your first phone in a shop and find an assistant who has the time and patience to exp!ain the basics.

Those would be the first steps. More later if you need it!

You could also see if your local library (if you still have one) run courses for learning about smartphones.

Practise is the thing. I now use my phone to tap and pay. The first couple of times I needed some guidance from a young assistant but now I am 'cooking on gas'. So quick, convenient and a ready receipt on your phone.
Use and practise all the time. Good luck.

You are one better than I am. I don't have any sort of mobile phone. I have a landline and a PC and that's it.

My neighbour, age 93, has all the latest gadgets and gizmos which he uses with ease and he assures me that you just have to have the right mind-set and go for it.