The cost of a smartphone can be as much as £1000 these days, but after you’ve unboxed your latest toy, do you use it to its best advantage?

We talked to some of our April community members to find out how they make the most of their phones.

For most, a phone is really about connecting to loved ones.

“Whatsapp has been a life-changer for me” says Patricia from Cookham.

So, Whatsapp can reduce your monthly bills for calls and texts. But Patricia has discovered other benefits too:

“We have a family Whatsapp account and it’s how we stay in touch with the whole tribe, maybe with a picture or a joke or a little message now and again. It means we stay in touch every day rather than just at the weekend. I feel so much more part of their lives now.”

Using your wifi-connected phone in this way can be priceless, especially those with little ones who have a short attention span. On the April site we’ve got a help video for setting up WhatsApp for the first time, a step by step guide to sharing photos and an overview of why WhatsApp is better than sending texts!

Paul in Essex confesses that when he bought his new phone he wasn’t thinking about keeping in touch with others at all.

“It was about the speaker. I listen to music and podcasts all day long, and I don’t need to listen through headphones if the speaker’s good”.

A whole back catalogue of music has opened up to Paul through the Spotify app. “I just can’t believe it’s all free. I’ve found stuff I haven’t heard for decades on there. It would have cost me a fortune to buy it all”

Sound good?  Just use our guide to the different music services, sign up and start finding the artists you love, for free.

With self-employment an increasingly popular career option, using your phone to promote your work is one way to make the investment on a device pay off.

Roz from Harrogate runs a catering business called “Pinnies and Pearls” with friends,

“I think the camera on my phone is better than my actual camera so these days I use it all the time”

She set up a page for the business on Facebook and an account on Instagram and uses them to update her customers regularly

“ it’s a brilliant way to show off what we’re up to behind the scenes and how we decorate our party tables.. And there is nothing like seeing a beautiful cake being served to a real party to get people excited about having their own!”

Getting started on Instagram is a lot easier than you might expect.

See our guide to getting started on Instagram here.

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April is a new service designed to help you get the most out of your everyday tech. To celebrate our launch we’re offering a three month free trial, with unlimited access to our friendly telephone support team and our online help library. Find out more and sign up here or call us on 020 3056 9391.

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