Help me catch up

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I am old and getting older but may want to take a step into the tech world. I would like to know the names of all the devices that are on the market that have screens and what they can do, today such as Ipads, notebooks, lap tops and such. What makes them different. I know about Iphones and do not want one of them. Too big for my pocket. Like my flip phone to clip on my belt. But I may want to start using Square readers to take credit cards at shows. Do not need something too large or elaborate but confused with all the gadgets because they all look the same except for sizes. Not to be used often but often enough. Want to have some knowledge when going to talk to the Geeks in the stores. Thanks.

[WayneMahler]

Square has been good to me. As far as the other gadgets I can't answer. I have a smart phone but and it does what I need it to do but have no idea of it's limits. 

[amazingkevin]

1 hour ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I am old and getting older but may want to take a step into the tech world. I would like to know the names of all the devices that are on the market that have screens and what they can do, today such as Ipads, notebooks, lap tops and such. What makes them different. I know about Iphones and do not want one of them. Too big for my pocket. Like my flip phone to clip on my belt. But I may want to start using Square readers to take credit cards at shows. Do not need something too large or elaborate but confused with all the gadgets because they all look the same except for sizes. Not to be used often but often enough. Want to have some knowledge when going to talk to the Geeks in the stores. Thanks.

This will be an interesting topic i'm sure,so I'll stay tuned!!!!!

[kmmcrafts]

I'm not real educated on these portable devices myself.. but if the main focus would be for using it at shows for using the square app.. I would think just a cheap tablet would do the trick.. not sure how they work as far as getting internet to the tablet.. with these cheap $50 -100 ones.. as opposed to using a ipad or samsung tablet.. both of which kind of pricey.. You may find you would like it to use at home as they are very handy to just browse the net with.. Wife has a cheap ( think I paid $28 black friday deal two years ago ) RCA tablet.. she uses the thing all the time to read electronic books etc on it while laying in bed or just lounging on the couch etc.. 

I think if you buy one you can purchase wifi and can connect to it's own hotspot type deal much like a iphone etc.. I've never done this so not too sure how that all works.. but I believe you can buy this by GB transfer... ie buy 10GB of data and the thing works until you use up the 10 gig of data.. You can buy data I believe from Straighttalk wireless through walmart.. or from the straighttalk web site.. These things work much like a smart phone or computer..

The cheaper tablets I believe have a older slower processor.. probably fine for doing card transactions.. the processors very from one type of machine to the next.. all tablets etc will do the same basics.. just some are faster.. more GB of storage etc etc.. 

Probably about the extent of my knowledge on these..

Personally, I'd probably bite the bullet and go with a smart phone. I'd go with a iphone se.. this phone has the latest processor of the newer phones packed into the smaller sized iphone 5 body.. I'd get this from straighttalk through walmart.. they are a prepaid phone ( I've been doing this for 10 years now ).. Straighttalk service has several options for minutes and data.. They now have a $35 plan that gives 2 gig of 4g or 5? high speed data then after the 2 gig drops speed down to 2g you always have data just not always high speed.. $50 plan is 10 gigs of high speed.. these are 30 day plans.. so if you have a month with many shows and need the high speed.. buy the $50 plan.. then the rest of the year use the $35 plan.. want to keep your flip phone? just put service on the straightalk phone for the months you'll be needing it.. but doing this might be better to just go with a tablet and buy service cards when needed.. they do work off your home wifi as well.. so it can be used anywhere there is wifi to connect to.. Same with the iphone se.. I have the old iphone 5 and I am almost always connected to wifi.. and typically use less that 1 gig of data per my 30 day plans..      

[ChelCass]

I will help with what little bit I know.

Laptop...............lap size computer. Period!

Table..........smaller version of the two above. With  My tablets  HP and ASUS I can make phone calls and it doesn't cost me anything.

Smart phones comes in many sizes and abilities with a good plan it can do anything a laptop or desk computer can do.  You don't need a really expensive SP to do what you need.  Shop around.

The primary thing is your service :  My BF has AT&T on his smart phone and can use it anywhere, anytime. He gets 4 gs and never need that much, pays 40.00 a month.

My smart phone is a cheap Walmart one, it is defective and wall have to be replaced.  I have tracfone and pay 17.00 every three months.  My plan also rolls over the minutes every month.  It works for me because I only have it for emergencies.

You will need to decide exactly how you want to use your device, check out all the different plans and then go from there.

 

 

[bandaideman]

My wife updated her phone a few years ago and got a Verizon tablet for 99 cents for me. It came with a blue tooth key board. I used a Square with it without trouble. I have not used for over a year but is used daily for personal things no problem. I just have not been to sales. Also wasn't sure since I really do not have enough sales to worry about I haven't used the square

[OCtoolguy]

My recommendation here is: find someone who is going to upgrade their phone. The old ones aren't worth much. I gave my old one to my best friend and he took it to a Verizon store and got it cleaned and put in his name. He doesn't use it for much but he has the ability to make phone calls, get on the internet, email and use the GPS for mapping. So far, all it has cost him is the monthly DATA fee of about $30. Now, in your situation, I have no idea what all you might use your phone for but if you just want to be able to accept credit cards, make phone calls and do mapping, that's all you need. I use mine for Facebooking, Scrollsaw Villaging, keeping track of my finances, email, and sometimes I even use the actual phone part of it. It's a handy thing to have and once you have it you might find that there are many other things that you can or want to do. I have a couple of solitaire games on mine so I can waste time while waiting for my wife or ?????? Anyway, don't go spending a bunch of money on one until you figure out what you actually are going to do with it. Used phones are a dime a dozen and you don't need the fastest one going simply because you aren't going to be doing much with it. Oh, something else is the camera ability. My wife takes tons of pictures with hers and I have been known to do it too. My new phone is very fast in that respect and I do like it. Mine is a Samsung Galaxy S-7. I got it at Walmart last July. It was on a sale that I couldn't pass up. Otherwise, I would still be using my old Galaxy S3. Good luck with whatever you decide on but if it were me, I'd go find a used phone for a while. The hardest part is parting with that neat old flip phone and then paying the DATA plan cost. No way around that.

Ray

 

[Chiloquinruss]

Cheap anything in the portable world is short battery life in most cases.  If the reason you are getting a device is to be your cash register at shows, then make sure you know the battery life of the device, charging times, etc.  We use a Square on a notepad that has a keyboard, much faster data entry.  OK, that's it, my 2 cents, spend wisely!     Russ

[tgiro]

On 1/10/2018 at 11:15 PM, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I am old and getting older but may want to take a step into the tech world. I would like to know the names of all the devices that are on the market that have screens and what they can do, today such as Ipads, notebooks, lap tops and such. What makes them different. I know about Iphones and do not want one of them. Too big for my pocket. Like my flip phone to clip on my belt. But I may want to start using Square readers to take credit cards at shows. Do not need something too large or elaborate but confused with all the gadgets because they all look the same except for sizes. Not to be used often but often enough. Want to have some knowledge when going to talk to the Geeks in the stores. Thanks.

The best tablets are the iPad and the Samsung Android tablets. No, you do not need to buy the $700 Samsung tablet. There are a dozen cheaper Android tablets on the market that will accomplish most of the same things.

Laptops range from $200 dollar Chromebooks to $2500 dollar Macbooks or Windows 10 Surface pads. Decide what you want to accomplish on the internet before spending the money. If you are just doing some internet surfing and email, the tablets are just as good as the laptops. If you plan on doing a lot of documentation, picture editing, finance spreadsheets and such - then a Macbook or Windows 10 laptop is best.

For the Square readers - The SquareUp app requires the IOS (Apple's iPhone) or Android OS (the rest of the world) to work. And you need a good touch screen on the device to use the app effectively. Then there is the connection to Square's website. I have not sold at any shows that provided me with wifi, so I need the telephone connection to get to SquareUp. I'm using LG G5 phones so that is not a problem. If you use a tablet, you will need some kind of communications with SquareUp, which is wifi or telephone. The big cell providers, AT&T Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc, - all have tablets with the phone connection built in. Or, you can get a hotspot device, which connects to the net via telephone, but provides local wifi for your tablets or laptops.

It all depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend to accomplish it.