Marsha Collier - Android Smartphones For Seniors For Dummies

I hope you appreciate the fact that I’m sparing you a long diatribe on the technical aspects of your phone’s radio frequency usage. At best, an explanation would be wordy and confusing. And it’s unnecessary.

The simple explanation for those letters and numbers associated with your smartphone’s signal is this: The higher the number in the radio frequency designation, the faster the data signal can communicate with your phone. The G stands for the g eneration of the device. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution (basically, industry and marketing jargon), and 4G VoLTE means that you can make vo ice calls over the LTE data network.

Each leap in technology represents more signal capacity. The faster newer-generation technology also means less latency (lag time) between the signal source and your phone. It takes less time to get a signal response, which, in the case of 5G, can mean useful advances in personal medical devices, such as remote monitoring, and more. Also, if you live in a home with lots of people using the Internet simultaneously, the 5G signal has more capacity and will improve buffering (latency) for everyone sharing a single signal.

You don’t need to run out and upgrade your phone unless it’s so old that the carrier no longer supports it in the country where you reside. Just FYI: 2G is gone, and 3G is on its way out, too.

I find it annoying when legitimate publications (online or in print) feature articles that spread fear about using the Internet. Such articles prey on those who aren’t tech savvy. Here, I offer solutions on how to keep your phone safe (also, check Chapter 4for more information).

Remember that there’s no free lunch in the digital age. Nothing is free — neither websites nor (especially) apps that you load on your phone. For example, those free apps can share your information and result in sometimes invasive — and always annoying —advertising. You might feel that viewing ads is “payment” for accessing free sites and apps. That’s only partially true: Your usage data is what the company needs and is “buying” from you. Many phone manufacturers, apps, and websites learn about you from tracking your actions on your device.

If you pay for an app or a service on your smartphone — instead of opting for the free version — there’s less chance that your data will be taken advantage of.

Every time you start up a new device, introduce a new app, or visit a new website, you’re presented with the opportunity to agree to the app’s t erms o f s ervice (ToS) and/or privacy policy. You may even see a sentence or two and be prompted to click through to read the entire policy. When did you last read the complete ToS? This document usually spans many pages and is brimming with legalese.

In 2016, a research group set up a fictitious social network website and invited 543 undergraduate university students to a prelaunch evaluation of the social network.

While signing up for the network, the students were presented with a privacy policy, which said (buried in the legalese) that their data would be given to their employers — and to the NSA.

Also, the ToS said that the participants would have to give up their first-born child as payment. Even if they had no children yet, the clause would remain active until 2050. What happened? Ninety-eight percent (that’s 98 percent! ) of the participants skipped over the legal jargon, agreed to the ToS, and signed up for the website.

As illustrated in the nearby sidebar, “Nobody reads the terms of service (ToS),” virtually no one actually reads the ToS. Most existing policies would take around an hour for the average Android owner to read!

I strongly suggest that you go over the terms of service and privacy policy when you’re presented with them, or at least search the documents to see what they plan to do with your data. The fact that your data may be shared with a government agency or insurance company (now or in the future) is a real possibility.

Being able to confidently assume that every provider on the Internet follows its privacy laws to the letter would be nice, but you know the truth in your heart: There’s always a bad egg.

Do you want to know the most important pieces of advice I can give you?

Never share information on the Internet that you wouldn’t tell anyone except your closest circle of friends and family — not even your year of birth.

Don’t use free Wi-Fi networks without the protection of a VPN. (See Chapter 16for more information on VPNs.)

Beware of texts that want you to click a link to attend to an online transaction or an account. Go directly to the website on your phone’s browser, log in, and find out if there really is a problem.

Do not add free apps to your devices until you’re ready to use them. For example, I load the airline’s app on my phone only when I’m traveling, and then I delete it when my trip ends. Apps like these can fill up your phone and may drain your battery even when not in use.

Look for more security tips throughout this book!

Chapter 2

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting the feel of a phone

Figuring out which options are important

Knowing where to buy a phone

Targeting accessories you want

Making a decision on a new smartphone is a big job. You’ll probably depend on this little device for the next five years. Because phones are personal tools, when you find the right phone, you don’t want to let go. That’s okay, too. You can find many uses for older phones — even when you buy a new one.

As you do with a car, you can buy, directly from the manufacturer, a used phone that’s “certified preowned.” Also like a car, a smartphone loses value the minute you walk out of the store. But a flagship (top-of-the-line) phone from a couple of years back may fulfill your every need at a quarter of the new-phone price.

In this chapter, I help you center your search on which phone features and options you need to look for and how to make a solid decision.

You’ll find a dizzying assortment of smartphones to choose from in the Android world at varying price points. My goal is to help you narrow the choices, decide where to make the final purchase, and secure the best deal.