Jargon-free guide makes sense of your smartphone

THESE days, days smartphones — mobile phones that th can connect to the internet and carry out a host of tasks — are everywhere. You might have one, or be thinking of getting one. A smartphone enables you to do so much — browse the web, use it as a satnav, take photos or videos, see images friends have taken, play games, make video calls, the list goes on! Oh, you can use it as a phone as well, of course — for calls or text messages.

But the catch is, it’s only easy to use a smartphone if you’ve been properly shown how. Guessing or trying to work it out can be almost impossible. And like most modern gadgets, you don’t usually get a manual.

You could ask a techsavvy friend to show you, of course — but they might whizz through it too quickly. And then you can’t easily go back and check things. That’s where a new book, in two versions, comes in — iPhones One Step At A Time and Android Phones One Step At A Time. The guide, from

The Helpful Book Company, is proving hugely popular with many who have a smartphone, but aren’t expert at using it.

Whether you are frustrated with the very basics, or wish you knew how to do some of the slightly fancier things, it might be just what you need. It explains everything in plain English, without jargon, and has pictures that show exactly what to do — where to tap the screen, and so on. If you’ve ever been frustrated with a phone, it’s worth finding out more by ordering a free pack explaining what’s covered in the books, who they’re suitable for and how to get hold of one.