Choosing a device | Imamother

anonymom

Sun, Aug 02 2015, 7:08 am

I am so technologically challenged. And nervous about this.
My home computer is slow, heavily filtered and totally frustrating.
My iphone 4 is a dinosaur.

I need a new phone plus either an ipad or laptop that can be linked or synced and share a data plan.

That is all I know. There is so much I don't know. Can I just walk into BestBuy and they will help me? Can they set me up with different carriers? (I think my contract is up) Should I buy a device at a wholesale club first and then walk in for them to help me set it up?

I have no clue what to buy and I am overwhelmed with the choices and features.

Amarante

Sun, Aug 02 2015, 8:00 am

What devices do you want?

If you are technologically challenged and just want your devices to do what you want and need, I would recommend staying with all Apple devices -- iPhone, ipad and and Apple computer.

I recommend this because they are extremely user friendly. My grandfather and his caretaker who are NOT tech savvy by a long shot zip use them. :-) as do I

Beyond being user friendly, they are all made by the same company in terms of the hardware and the software so they work and play together well. This means that all email or pictures whatever I use icloud for is available on all devices. I can send an email from my computer and then it's also on my iPhone as will be the responses.

I don't know where you are, but if you are in NYC or any other large metropolitan area, the Apple store have resident "geniuses" who take care of problems and teach you how to do things.

You can buy at the Apple Store but I bought my phone at AT&T who is my carrier because I thought it was simpler since the cost of the phone was tied to my AT&T plan. Buying an iPhone is so easy because you would just decide on the screen size and you probably want the smaller iPhone 6 and not the iPhone Plus and decide on the capacity. If you want to keep pictures, videos or other stored on the iPhone, I would recommend spending the extra $100 and getting 64 mgs of storage. Otherwise the smallest capacity is $199 with 16 mgs.

And unless you are in desperate need of a new phone, I would hold off on buying an iPhone until September because that is when the new models arrive. At that point, you can either buy last year's model at a discount or get the latest model. If you buy now, you will be paying full price for a model that is soon being updated. I had to buy my last iPhone in July and I was so sad when the new models came out in September but there wasn't a choice because my old phone didn't work. My current iPhone is getting on in. Years so I am waiting to see what new model is like.

If you want advice on ipad or computer, let me know or have other questions.

Amarante

Sun, Aug 02 2015, 1:54 pm

If you have an iPhone 4, you are definitely eligible for a free or discounted IPHONE. But if you possibly can wait until September when the new models are released, you should do so because all of the older models will be discounted so you will pay nothing or much less for what is now the most expensive newest model. Am I making sense? If you can't wait, so be it.

F you want to stay with Verizon, go there for the iPhone because they can transfer your account and number right away.

When you are ready to buy the Apple laptop, go to the Apple store and they will help you select the best for you. Also, they can help you set up your email and other stuff so that your phone and computer work seamlessly.

And if you have issues in the future, it's so easy to bring your laptop and phone to the Genius Bar at the Apple store and have them fix and or show you how to do stuff. You can make an appointment online which is very convenient.

As I wrote, the best thing about Apple is that the hardware and software are designed to work together and the Genius Bar is there if you encounter problems even if the device is not under warranty.