Smartphone, Ipad, ephone touch pad et al - it's all Greek to me!! lol.

[5129frederick]

As I turn on my computer, BT tell me A....N are bringing out a new smart phone with a 3D concept.  How amazing - must remember to rush out and buy one!  As I said in the header: smartphones, Ipads, ephones, touch pads ... it's all Greek to me.  All this new fangled hi tech stuff would be wasted on me.  I have the very cheapest pay and go mobile phone you can get - it cost me £20.00 which included £10.00 credit.  The person in the shop had to set it up for and as I left, you could see the word contempt written right across his face.  He was SO keen to sell me the latest gizmo with every conceivable feature under the sun for a contract of  just £44.00 p.c.m.  I left him very disappointed The thing is, this thing works perfectly, makes and receives phone calls.  I can send and receive messages and texts, and it also tells me the time, and even plays a few games, not that I'm the least bit interesteed in them, so why pay a couple of hundred quid on something crammed with everything under the sun, which you'll never use?

So, am I really losing out?  This is not a joke:  in layman's language, what is the difference between a mobile phone and a smartphone, Ipad, touch pad etc. etc.  I've been left so far behind, it just isn't true.  When mobile phones first came out they were the same weight and shape as a car battery.  No self respecting doctor would ever be seen without one!

[saasher2012]

I'm a complete numpty when it comes to tech things as well& yet I wouldn't be without my IPad it's so easy to carry around far better than my laptop, as to phones same applies but I carry two at all times, one for personal use & one for work plus a pager. Trouble is ya can't hide anymore cos someone can always get ya on one of em!. lol.

[guardpig]

OH bought me a smartphone a few years back('cos daughter said it was the one to buy).  Still haven't used most of the stuff on it but certainly wouldn't be without it. It is so useful at times.  was up the lock up the other day and wound it up to check sales before leaving.  Then last year on holiday we just carried on sellig and despatching from the back of the car. Went to Gloucester the other week, ran into traffic, booted up the phone and took a diversion on the way back(and no we can't listen to local radio on the car set up).  Daughter got bluetooth working for an exchange of photos the other day - don't ask me.  I've been addicted to gaming since i discovered the atari!  Have a sim only contract which is cheap, basic, saves me money and does everything I need. It found a warm place to get a cheap breakfast when picking somebody up before an appointment in the wilds of Wales.

Worth the money - for the business - yes, it has become essential, for me - probably not.

Understand it - NO. After all that is what all those nice men in phone shops are for.

[leoleoleo123]

I love my gadgets!

The thing i like is having the internet on the move, GPS for directions,shopping, keeping in touch via social media.. all of this and more you can do on an iphone or android phone... and i only pay ten pounds a month on pay as you go, for all of it.. yes, the phone is a big investment, but for me, its worth it!

They do, however, use lots of battery life, so i have my trusty old nokia, in my bag for a spare.. thats really only good for calls or texts, but battery lasts for ever!!

when at home, if you have wifi.. you can use the phone without eating into your credit.. but mostly, i use the ipad or laptop .

[saasher2012]

I forgot to add I also have a computer at home in the office but I only ever use it for work I enter my office in trepidation cos I'm sure it's out to get me! lol.

[rose2008-2008]

I used to be quite up with techie things but i cannot fathom them now. Like Fred i have a cheap phone ,just to text and phone with and take calls. I used to like games but cannot be bothered with them anymore seeing as most you have to pay out to download them. I can do things on a pc as long as its not too technical. I am more interested in computers and their workings though. I think theres hardly a breath now before a new model comes out of everything with new apps and such on. What with these phones come i pads that you can wear on your wrist now !!!. What next?. Beam me up somebody??. Dont answer that!!!!!!!!!.

[2017clearout]

I have a very basic mobile - all I want it to do is make calls (not receive them: I'm anti-social :-D) and send texts of necessary.  I try to avoid gadgetry as much as possible - because of things like this http://bloodinthemobile.org/ and the huge problem that much of it comes fom China, where it's very difficult to be sure that it hasn't been made by forced labour.  (I don't buy anything made in China for this reason)  It's inevitable that there will be some injustice and abuse within a supply chain, unfortunately, but I do try to limit my personal exposure to it - and there's a lot of it in gadgetry.  

And yes, I do know that my limiting of use has no overall impact on the problem, before anyone kindly points that out!  That said, it's probably easy for me to be comparatively disengaged:a computer is only a glorified typewriter, as far as I am concerned 😄

[cookiecookuk]

i am not very techie.so i have a very basic cheap pay as you go phone it calls out recieve calls and text thats it.but i also have a 10 inch android tablet thing which i mostly use for my kindle and a few games but it can go most places with me apart from the bath because knowing me i would drop it in.but mostly love my kindle app as my eyesight is not what it was so i can make the letters bigger or smaller.and change font and backround colour.

[stroppy*cow]

I refuse to carry a smart phone, the mobile that I carry with me cost £5.00 and you can't get any more basic - it is a small red clamshell, will make and receive calls, and if you have half an hour to spare you might manage to send a text. It has no internet, no camera, is on pay as you go and never has more than £5 credit.

I have been mugged too many times in the past, and I refuse to make myself a target.

I do have a smartphone - given by son-in-law (who got it free at work), on a very basic sim only contract which son-in-law gets me a discount on. This is so that I can stay in contact when in hospital without worrying if I have enough credit - if I manage to use my allowance of minutes, I can send texts instead.

I have an i-pad mini, I don't really get on with it, but it is great for facetime with daughter and the grandchildren. A very kind junior doctor took pity on me at Xmas and stored the hospital broadband code in it, so that I can use it to access the i-player etc. as the tv doesn't work in my hospital room (hasn't worked for the past 18 months).

I use a lap-top at home, getting to grips with Windows 8.1 - can't say that I am keen on it, but I have to keep up to date with technology because I write and sell computer software and have to be able to test it on a variety of operating systems. I also have to be familiar with various operating systems, as I often deliver training in how clients can get the best out of the computer software and hardware that they already have. I have clients all over the world. I have 4 lap-tops and a net-book all running different versions of windows. I use the computer a lot at work, and I am usually the person that staff come to with problems and questions - strange as my job description and person specificaion don't even mention computer literacy!

[5129frederick]

FOUR lap tops!!  OMG!   

Four laptops

A fifth one at home

A  net-book

An I-pad

A smartphone and a cheap pay and go

My G-d, you must be more IT literate than Bill Gates!  

[stroppy*cow]

Bill Gates isn't actaully particularly computer savvy, he's just very good at employing folks who are! His skills lie more in ideas that in putting them in to practice, and he is very good at marketing.

[bankhaunter]

My main PC is on the blink so I'm using an old laptop and really miss the 22" screen.

How people use silly little screens is beyond me, plus sometimes it's nice to be on your own and not to be in communication with the rest of the world.

If the moon landings took place today, instead of making a carefully considered statement (and still getting it wrong) would Neil Armstrong's first act have been to see if he could get on to Facebook?