"Even though this web site is all about news and reviews of new phones, Do you know the most important facts?, that all the average mobile users should know."
The latest phones market is one of the most staggeringly growing, big money making industries in the world. Dozens of world famous giant companies are racing each other for domination. Literally hundreds or thousands of mobile phone designs are there for us to choose. As a result most often the end user could be reluctant and may even get lost when trying to buy a phone because of the variety of choices that confronts him. In this article I’m going to give you some useful tips and things that one should consider before buying a phone.
Lets look at the most important factor of all which is in most cases the commonly overlooked one too.
There are many different telecommunication techniques used in phones to network each other or to connect users. But only two standards are widely accepted and used by the telecommunication companies. First one is the famous GSM (Global system for Mobile Communication) and the other one is CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). The latter one is a bit new but getting very popular too.
So which is better?
You cannot use the same technologies together because they use different techniques. But GSM coverage is far greater than the other (in a global manner) so don’t go for a phone which only supports the CDMA (especially if you travel across countries). Anyway all the new devices include both technologies so you don’t usually have to worry while choosing a new one.
Before considering your pre, post paid or a family plan, evaluate your call usage. If you’re a business type individual who’s always busy with calls you might need to consider to go for a post paid plan. Also calculate your usual call duration too. Even though you make a lot calls but usually if they’re shorter ones going for a post-paid might hurt your budget. So the second rule is to – evaluate your phone usage and compare different services and charges.
* Always be aware of extra fees (taxes, peak and off peak, overtime etc.)
Now we are ready to discuss about the latest phones and their details. Most articles and news letters seems to consider the phones and their features the first hand. But forget to talk about the most important and common themes as we discussed above which directly affect you no matter what you buy.
Go for a test drive!
Anyhow, it doesn’t matter who or what type of taste you have, always, always make sure to make a test call before purchasing it. Test with and without a handset also. When it comes to the handset, make sure they hold on to your ears easily.
They also come in many varieties such as swivel-models, popular Flip-versions (Samsung Comback SGH-T559 for example) and slider types, you name it. The choice is entirely yours, but each of these models has their own “good” and “bad” characters. For example the flip type ones can come in handy if you usually put it in your pant-pocket without having to lock your keypad because of their design. And also after sliding, the overall length can also be very useful giving the user a comfortable reach for the ears and head. Whether you go for the either version, make sure to put the phone on your hand to get some sense of the weight and comfort.
Even though the latest phones tend to be more “thinner” than their predecessors which looks certainly better but the lean ones makes it harder to type using the keypad (especially the phones with physical QWERTY keyboards such as BlackBerry for example). So again put it on your hand and do some test-typing just to make sure. And remember this is another commonly overlooked main factor that most of the end user should not forget.
The display?
The display is another important fact. Look at the text on the screen and see if you can see them without any eye strains. If you’re going to use it as a frequent web browsing and video playback, etc make sure the color quality of the screen is 16 Million or better. Otherwise you’ll miss beautiful looking images and videos on websites and while playback. Also look for fast 3G or WiFi facilities for faster Internet access and for smooth video streaming such as Youtube. If you don’t really need those functions then go for a phone without those network solutions and it’ll cost a lot less than with the ones with them. Finally look for the GUI simplicity. The best ones are the ones with the fewer amounts of icons and menus, yet giving the user all useful functions without missing anything.
If you’re going to use the phone also as an image capturing device, then look for an in-built camera with at least 3 mega pixels or more. For video recordings, look for resolutions of 480x320 or more.
Almost all new phones (like the Nokia N900 for example) include a miniSD slot for external memory expansions. So note that too when buying a new unit, which can be really helpful if you frequently take pictures and videos so you can store them without a hassle.
Look also for Bluetooth availability (most include it as a basic feature) if you want to use a wireless hand-free device.
By choosing a latest phone with pre-enabled rich multimedia codecs support will be importent if you love music. The mobile phone could easily be converted into a multimedia player to enjoy some of your favorite audio and video songs. In that case go for a quality audio out put unit (quality hand-free set) and again make sure to do some tests. If available load your own song in to the phone, as some units come with pre customized audios (low quality) which may sound like top-quality audios. Remember to check for an equalizer and play-list support and ease of use too.
Finally consider the battery. Always be skeptical about manufacturer-printed details. So, how to test the battery? Well your best option in such cases is to do a bit of a research on the Internet and look for a review of the model (such as our web site – where you can find latest news and brief reviews). Anyway make sure the printed battery capabilities at least meet 3 to 3.5 hours of continuous talk time and 4 to 5 days of standby time.
Now at the end, you can consider the cost and make the final decision based up on your budget. But always remember if you’re patient enough and do a bit of reading and reviews, also including other factors such as the content of this article, you can minimize the “post-purchased” stress and enjoy your life with your phone.
*I hope this has been useful to you, if you have to add something you are warmly welcome to leave a comment. Thank you for visiting latest phones.
