How to - How to Decide Which Cell Phone to Purchase

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	Device News How to Mobile Telephony FAQs Cell Phone Review Curriers Preview	How to Decide Which Cell Phone to Purchase Answer Whetheryou’re just making the jump to cell phones or if you’re looking for anew cell phone, the choices can be daunting. There are so many tochoose from and so many variables to take into account includingfunctionality, look and feel, rates, etc. Here are some tips on whatyou should consider... Step1 Thefirst thing you’ll need to consider is the main purpose of the phone.Are you planning to use it mainly for calling purposes? Will it be usedfor business where you’ll need email capabilities? How important aremultimedia capabilities? Do you want to play games on it? You need tostart asking yourself these kinds of questions so that you can startlooking in the right category of phones. Step2 Ifyou’re just using it for calling purposes, then just about any phonewill do and you might as well try to get one looks good. There shouldbe a lot of phones out there that you can get for “free” with a signedcontract. Step3 Thelook and feel (or form factor) may be an important consideration sinceyou’ll need to consider how you’ll be carrying this thing around (e.g.,in your pocket, purse, etc.). Some people like the flip-open phones, inpart because it results in an overall smaller phone (at least inlength). Others like the straight candy-bar type phones. Step4 Interms of functionality, do you want to be able to take pictures? Keepin mind that pictures from a cell phone (at least for the cheap phones)will only be good for posting on a web page or delivery over email.They will NOT be good for printing. You’ll need to check to determinehow many megapixels that phones camera offers (obviously megapixelsaren’t the only determining factor, but it’s the most significant) – a1-2 megapixel phone should still be able to give decent (not great)printed pictures. Step5 Ifyou’d like multimedia capabilities, then you’ll need to consider thespecific features you’re after including playing music (e.g., mp3player), movies, and viewing photos. Try to get a phone that gives youenough storage possibilities including the use of external memorycards. The more storage capabilities you have, the happier you’ll be.Storage capabilities in the 1 GB+ area should be OK, but the more thebetter. Make sure you play around with the user interface for thesefeatures so that you feel comfortable. You want an interface that iseasy to use and clear. Step6 Howabout games? Would you like to be able to play some decent games onyour phone? I could think of a hundred different times when I’ve had5-10 minutes (or longer) to spare waiting for someone or something tohappen (e.g., waiting in a movie line, waiting for the subway, on thesubway, waiting at the airport, etc.). Step7 Ifyou plan to use it for business, then you’ll likely want one of theseso-called “smartphones.” And even if your just using for personalneeds, you may still want to consider these as they can provide theaforementioned multimedia and game-playing capabilities much better.Example phones in this category include those from Blackberry, Apple(iPhone), Samsung, etc. Think carefully about the features and the lookand feel before you buy. Some have keypads and some have touch screens,and others use combinations. Some also have tactile feedback(vibrations) to indicate when you’ve pressed a key or some other actionhas occurred. In any case, you’ll definitely want to try these outbefore you buy. Step8 Askthe carrier (e.g., Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc.) about theircoverage area. Make sure that the carrier covers areas that you intendto make most of your calls. Be reasonable though. No carrier will beable to cover every single area that you’ll ever be in. Step9 Finally,spend some quality time thinking of the monthly rates and the contractlength. A 1-2 year contract is usually considered normal. Don’t signcontracts longer than this as technology and pricing strategies move ata rapid pace. You may find yourself longing for better phones or betterrates during your contract period. Do some comparisons among variouscarriers to see what the differences are between the costs of voice anddata (e.g., email and internet) features. Try to get the most hours (ifnot unliminted) as you can without breaking your bank. And ask forflexibility concerning any changes to your plans. Ask what the fees are(if any) for making changes. Category How to