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Now that I am retired I am more focused on helping individuals - rather than corporate entities - with their various computing needs. This is quite difficult as many technologies are unknowingly in use by individuals. They do not want to have to learn a whole bunch of IT just to decide what phone or PC to get. Many state that the just want a phone to make calls and not acknowledging that a mobile phone has much more to offer.
Many do not consider what to use and which services to use or purchase. They end up with a load of potentially incompatible kit and are on their own in getting them to work together. None of the suppliers will help with what they consider to be third party equipment or services. People struggle to get their kit to work together. It is complex and this does nothing to assist them to adopt technologies that could help them.
I have thus given up on trying to explain how to get disparate kit to work together. I set out below what I consider to be the best hardware, software and services for personal use. Fortunately one supplier 'has it all'. That is Google. So, your ideal system will be as follows: Google account (Gmail), Android mobile phone, SIM Only phone tariff, Android Tablet or Chromebook, Fibre Broadband with or without home phone.
Gmail: this offers a great email service and access to Google Workspace, maps, calendar etc. It is the most comprehensive and integrated of all the currently available systems and gives 15 Gb storage all at no cost.
Android: Android is a phone operating system from Google and so it is a perfect fit with your Gmail account. I always advocate that you buy a handset rather than get it included in a tariff. NB: not all Android phones are equal. For instance Samsung phones use Android but include inferior Samsung software components. Motorola and Nokia offer 'true' Android phones and I would advocate that you get one of these.
SIM Only: SIM only phone contracts offer the best price for calls and data etc. They can be low cost whilst also being on a 30 day rolling contract. A £6/month tariff will give unlimited calls and texts with 5 Gb data per month which is easily enough for a 'beginner'.
Broadband: Your home Broadband should be Fibre and from a reputable supplier. Search for reviews of those that offer service in your area. Avoid the costly options from BT and their tie-in whereby they charge for continued use of their email should you move to another Broadband/home phone supplier.
Home Phone: When asked for you phone number give your mobile number only. Stop making outgoing calls with your Home Phone and cancel any expensive calls packages that you have. Ask callers to your Home Phone to use your mobile number in future. With calls included in your SIM contract you should always use your mobile.
Notes:
I am not a fan of Apple and avoid their costly devices and inferior and incomplete cloud services.
A Microsoft account could be used in place of a gmail account. You will need to install the Microsoft Apps on your phone and use a browser on a laptop to access Microsoft cloud services. You do not need to buy Microsoft 365 to get access to MS Office applications as a hotmail, live or outlook.com account will suffice.
If you want a larger screen then get and Android tablet. If you want a laptop experience then get a Chromebook.
yahoo, btinternet and other such email accounts do not include any cloud services; get a gmail account and migrate.
btinternet will charge a monthly fee to retain the account should you change your broadband to another supplier; get a gmail account and migrate.
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