Tip: Text to speech on smartphones

— -- Question. I'm partially blind. I'm about to buy a smartphone, but I don't know whether there are any apps that will help me. What are my text-to-speech options on a smartphone?

Answer. Both Android and iOS have built-in text-to-speech menus and other features. Android's menus come in the form of an app called Talkback. You can download it by going to Settings>>Accessibility on your Android Phone. Apple's mobile devices have an equivalent of the Voiceover feature you may recognize if you use a Mac. You can turn it on by going to Settings>>Accessibility. If you haven't decided which phone to buy, I would recommend picking up an iPhone. Not only does it have a much friendlier user interface, it has more apps made for people with vision problems than Android.

Share kids' photos privately

Q. I just took a bunch of photos of my daughter's ballet recital. I want to share them with other parents — should I upload them to Facebook?

A. No! Sharing them on social media opens you up to a host of sketchy privacy concerns. The safest way to share would be to put them on a flash drive and pass it around to each parent. This isn't the most convenient way, though. Try zipping the folder of pictures with a program like 7-Zip to compress its size. Then, use a service like WikiSend to share the .zip file. Once you upload the file, WikiSend will give you a link that you can email to all of the other parents. Only people with the link will be able to access and download the photos. For additional security, create a password and set the file to expire after a few days. You may have to make multiple uploads, because WikiSend allows only 100MB uploads.

Breaking down Microsoft's new tablet

Q. I heard Microsoft released its own tablet called the Surface. What do you think of it?

A. I'm not too optimistic about the Surface. It has decent hardware, and Windows 8 should work OK — Microsoft designed it for tablets, after all. Two Surface versions will confuse people. The lower-cost ARM version uses Windows RT, which isn't compatible with any of your current Windows software. The more expensive x86 Surface is basically an Ultrabook, and it will be priced like one. Overall, I think people are going to pass it up.

Unlimited Internet?

Q. My cable provider just put a data limit on my Internet. Is there still a service out there that offers unlimited Internet?

A. Sorry, but the answer is "no," or at least "not for long." Every provider is moving to limit Internet data use. Still, most Internet data limits are reasonable for the average user. You should be able to play games, surf the Internet and stream dozens of hours of online video. If you really want the closest thing to unlimited, however, check out Comcast. For a limited time, it is testing new data-limit policies that could allow you to buy more data after you reach the limit. Until it figures out what methods to use, however, it has suspended its data limit for most users. If you want virtually unlimited Internet, it seems like your best shot for now.

Save money with a prepaid iPhone?

Q. Now that prepaid companies are offering iPhones, do you think I should go prepaid to save some cash?

A. It depends. You will save money in the long run — the long run being two years or more. However, the phone you buy won't be subsidized like it would be with a two-year contract. A prepaid iPhone will run you $500 or more. Android isn't much better — an unlocked Galaxy Nexus S straight from Google costs $400. So, your up-front cost is going to be a lot more than it would be normally. If you're coming up to the end of a contract and still have a phone you love, you could switch it to prepaid. Otherwise, don't expect the savings to be immediate.

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Kim Komando hosts the nation's largest talk radio show about consumer electronics, computers and the Internet. To get the podcast, watch the show or find the station nearest you, visit www.komando.com. E-mail her at techcomments@usatoday.com.