TECH TALK
Jump On the Information Highway
Next Stop: Smartphones
By Tak Sato
Smartphones are a hot topic in my classes for people 55 and older.
Those who’ve taken our free “Discover Digital Literacy!” program want to know about smartphones and how they work. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that many Boomers and older adults, especially first-time buyers, are confused about the sea of provider options.
Easy-ish
Younger generations have grown up immersed in technology fueled by the internet, also known as the cloud. Because they use technology throughout their day, digital literacy comes naturally. That’s not true for older adults who often feel like they’re drowning in an alphabet soup of technology jargon.
One of their most frequent questions? How smartphones use Wi-Fi and mobile data.
The lion’s share of monthly cell service invoice charges is calculated through meters that measure minutes spent talking and, when family and friends prefer to communicate through texts, on messages sent. Smartphone plan carriers say yapping and tapping (talking and texting) is free. We know nothing is free, so let’s just say it’s included in the overall pricing. That means most of your monthly invoice comes from metered mobile data use.
Smartphones need to be always connected to the internet, so when a user taps on the email app icon, the smartphone can get to the email inbox in the cloud (internet). Simply put, anything other than talking or texting on the smartphone uses the monthly mobile data allocation.
Cell phones and smartphones connect to carriers’ towers to make/receive phone calls. Your smartphone also connects to the same towers to reach the internet (the cloud). That’s why in addition to getting a smartphone—Apple’s iPhone or one of the Android smartphones —you’ll need to buy mobile data from a carrier of your choice.
You could buy a smartphone and use only Wi-Fi to connect it to the cloud but that defeats the purpose of having a phone that can be used anywhere. Wi-Fi coverage is limited, so your smartphone use will also be limited to a specific Wi-Fi area (your home if you have Wi-Fi, for example). Think of it this way: smartphones have two onramps—mobile data and Wi-Fi— to get on the information superhighway.
With good old cell phone plans, the choice boils down to guessing the number of minutes and messages you’ll need each month. Most mobile data plans offer a choice of gigabytes of data per month. The top tier, and most expensive choice, is an unlimited plan that eliminates the guesswork of calculating your phone use and messages.
If you already have Wi-Fi at home, regardless of whether you chose a limited or unlimited mobile data plan, I recommend connecting your smartphone to the home Wi-Fi. Why? Using your smartphone while connected to your home Wi-Fi, will NOT use mobile data when you use the apps on the smartphone and their services in the cloud. This way, if you have a limited plan, you save the limited mobile data allotment per month for when you need to use the smartphone when you are out and about, like getting turn-by-turn directions from Google or Apple Maps app or checking your email on the go. Even when you have an unlimited mobile data plan, your Wi-Fi may be faster than the mobile data connection, depending on where you live.
You can also connect to free public Wi-Fi at coffee shops and other places, but that can expose your private information to others. That’s why I don’t shop or bank when I’m connected to public Wi-Fi networks.
Explaining technology requires a lot of words and more space than this column allows; demystifying smartphones is no exception. If you need more information, email me at [email protected]. Put “Tech Talk” in the subject line so I can tackle the subject in another Tech Talk column.
