Cell Phones Buying Tips - ConsumerGuru
What to Look for When Buying Cell Phones
GURU says this about buying an Cell Phone!General
To a large extent, the single attribute that people care about most in a cell phone—signal quality--has nothing to do with the phone itself. This is because geographic coverage, dead spots, dropped calls, slow data speeds have more to do with the investment the cellular carrier (the largest ones being AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile) have made in your area. And although there are surveys (for example the JD Power report found here) that rate the average nationwide signal coverage of each carrier, the results in each individual city can vary dramatically.
As such, the reviews covered in the cell phone section will focus on the features and performance of the phone itself, with the caveat that the performance rating will not be able to predict how good the signal quality and coverage area is for each reader.
Popular Uses for Cell Phones
In the wireless industry, the device that is simply a “phone”—a device that allows you to talk to someone else—is rapidly disappearing, replaced by a multifunction device for which voice communications is but one of many features. Today, almost all cell phones come with text messaging capabilities and a digital camera, and increasingly wireless internet, music and video, and navigation. The introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 finally showed consumers how a device with almost the same functionality as a PC could fit elegantly into a form factor that fits in a shirt pocket.
However, the iPhone and subsequent rivals also demonstrated that although every feature could be crammed into a small device, compromises usually have to be made. Using the iPhone as an example, the large touchscreen that makes web surfing and video watching a delight comes at the cost of a keyboard and battery life. On T-Mobile’s G1 and Sidekick, the combination of a large screen and a keyboard results in a much thicker, heavier phone. Devices with Windows Mobile software integrate well with Windows-based PCs, but are generally a little more complicated to operate. And many less expensive devices with all the hardware features skimp on software which decreases usability.
As a result the decision on which phone is right for you largely depends on what functions are most important to you, with some of the most popular ones listed below:
Talking - If all you want out of your phone is to talk, then you may want to look for a simple phone that is smaller and has a longer battery life. If you don’t use the additional features, all they will do is add size, weight, and make using the device more complicated, and drain the battery faster.
Messaging and Email – For people who do a lot of typing, the keyboard decision becomes critical. The main decision is whether you want a full QWERTY keyboard, and whether you want it to be a physical or a virtual keyboard on a touchscreen. A physical keyboard is by far the best for typing, but will make the phone bigger and/or the screen smaller.
Music – More and more phones have basic playback capabilities. But the usefulness of this feature depends on how much memory the device has, whether the device has a memory card slot, and whether it easily integrates with music on your PC. For people who use iTunes and or have an iPod, clearly the iPhone by far is the most capable music device, as it seamlessly integrates with both (in fact for most people it becomes the iPod since it has all the features). But for those who are not part of the Apple music ecosystem, a phone like the Samsung Trance also has a wide range of music management capabilities. Or if you are comfortable with just putting on some songs without much music management software, most phones reviewed will suffice.
Pictures and Video – For viewing photos and videos, a large screen brings a more enjoyable experience. For streaming video, 3G speed is important, though it’s important to understand what content your carrier will offer (or block), and what the price is. Sprint’s $99 unlimited plan that gives unlimited voice, messaging, data, and live TV stands out as an especially attractive offer for people who want to download or stream a lot of video. For taking pictures, none of the phones reviewed can match the quality of digital camera (and even less so a camcorder), but check the resolution of the camera.
Web browsing – Although most phones have data and internet capability, the quality of the experience will depend on the web browser, the connection speed, and the screen size and type. On basic phones, the web browser may format pages in difficult to read ways, and will not be able to read many pages (e.g. pages with Java). The best browsers can be found on the iPhone and the G1. In addition, depending on the types of pages you live to view, a fast 3G connection will make an improvement in the experience, much like broadband does over dial-up. And a larger screen makes reading web pages easier, and a touch screen makes navigation much more simple and enjoyable. Just remember that all these capabilities usually drain battery life much faster, so bear in mind that tradeoff.
Major Phone Types
To accommodate these functions, manufacturers use an array of designs. These include:
Slab – Both screen and keyboard are on one side of the device. Also referred to as Candy Bar or Chocolate Bar design.
Flip – Screen and keyboard are separate pieces, and connected by a hinge that allows the user to flip open the device and access both. In some cases, there is a screen and/or keyboard the user can access even with the device is closed. Also referred to as a Clamshell design.
Slider – Screen and keyboard are on separate pieces, and connected by a mechanism that allows the screen to slide up or to the side to allow the user to access both. In some cases the screen is also a touchscreen that contains a virtual keyboard, allowing the user the option of typing without sliding out the keyboard.
Touchscreen only – Like a slab, except the face of the device consists of a screen with no physical keyboard. All typing is done using a virtual, electronic, on screen keyboard, which is touch sensitive.
Key Phone Features
Key specifications that may be important, depending on what you use the phone for:
Size and weight – People who keep phones in their pockets, rather that on a belt clip or in their purses or bags, may care more about the width, thickness, and weight of a device. In general the more features a device has the larger it will be
Battery life – Typically, a increasing number of features reduces the battery life, for some devices to the extent that a fully charged phone has trouble making it through an entire day. In addition, devices that use more battery tend to run noticeably hotter.
Keyboard – Those who do a lot of typing, whether it be for SMS messaging or for email, may prefer a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard instead of having to employ a “multitap” method on a traditional phone keyboard to punch out letters. But the best keyboard for typing, a physical keyboard, takes up space and make the phone thicker and/or wider, and using virtual keyboards on touchscreens can prove difficult for many.
Screen size and type – A large screen is beautiful for looking at photos, watching videos, and makes surfing the internet a pleasure rather than and ordeal. Touchscreens allow a larger screen to be used, since much of the navigation can be done with the screen rather than requiring space be used for buttons. And touchscreens are particularly useful when combined with a high quality web browser, since you can navigate the page by moving your fingers across the screen and click on links by tapping on them.
Smartphone capability – In general, a smartphone uses an advanced software operating system that allows new applications to be installed, just like a PC. An example of such an operating system is the iPhone OS from Apple, which not only enables the iPhone to run all the sophisticated software that comes with the device out of the box, but also allows the user to download an install third party applications. Other examples of advanced operating systems are Blackberry OS, Palm’s WebOS, Google’s Android, and Symbian. As a note, many devices without an advanced operating system have software that enables all the typical functions people want, but it may not be quite as sophisticated, or does not allows the user to access new applications.
Network Type – For those who travel overseas, a phone that works on GSM/EDGE/UMTS networks is important, as these networks are used in most countries around the world, and can be accessed via your carrier’s roaming agreements. For phones that work only on CDMA networks, there are relatively few countries outside of the US where it will work.