How to choose a device

Choosing a device is a very personal thing depending on what you are most likely to do online. The main things to consider are:

What do you want to do with your device? For example, education, video calls, accessing services, watching TV shows.
Screen size. Is the screen big enough for the things you want to do?
Where you want to use your device? Will you only use it at home or will you be taking it out and about?
Accessibility and how you interact with it. Devices have different ways you interact with them. For example, touchscreen, mouse, keyboard or touchpad.
How it can connect to the internet. Some devices can use sim cards which lets you take them with you, while others will require Wi-Fi.
Cost. Prices vary depending on the kind of device you want. It’s also possible to buy refurbished devices for a lower cost than a new device.
Operating system (OS). This controls how you interact with your device and how the content is displayed. Common examples of an operating system are Windows, Android and iOS (which is used on Apple devices). You may find it useful to check what your friends and family use if they’ll be helping you learn how to use your device.

Types of Devices

Smartphones

Smartphones are mobile phones which can connect to the internet. They are pocket-sized and use touchscreen. Smartphones are useful if you want to be able to connect to the internet when you’re out and about as they use sim cards for connecting to the internet. If you have Wi-Fi at home they can also connect to this. Screens are quite small on smartphones so they aren’t the best option for some tasks such as watching TV shows, education activities or searching for employment.

Tablets

Tablets are portable devices larger than a phone. They have a touchscreen, which tends to be 8-13 inches. Tablets are useful as they are light, portable, easy to use and have a screen large enough for video calls and watching films. A tablet battery can be charged so you can take it with you and use it for a few hours without having to plug it in.

Tablets can be useful for education, watching TV shows, searching for jobs and accessing essential services. Some tablets can use a sim card so you can connect to the internet outside of your house, but these tablets are often more expensive. Usually, a tablet would be connected to Wi-Fi at home or public Wi-Fi in a community space. An iPad is an example of a tablet made by Apple.

Laptops

Laptops have a keyboard and a larger screen, so they are useful if you want to write a lot of text. They have a built-in keyboard for typing and a ‘touchpad’. A touchpad is a small surface on the laptop that you move your finger across to interact with the screen.

Basic laptops are sometimes called "notebooks" and one commonly used is the Chromebook by Google. They are still portable but are bigger and heavier than tablets. Laptops are useful for education, searching for employment, accessing essential services and working. A laptop will usually connect to the internet through a Wi-Fi connection at home or public Wi-Fi in a community space

Personal computers/PCs

Personal computers are sometimes called PCs or computers. They have a separate hard drive (sometimes called the base unit) and screen (often called the monitor). PCs will usually require a keyboard and a mouse to interact with it. They are useful for graphic-intensive applications such as computer gaming or photo/video editing, education, working and searching for employment.

Most PCs will use an operating system called Windows. PCs are not portable so they will only be able to connect to Wi-Fi at home.