posted by admin on Jun 25
With so many different cell phones on the market it can be hard to decide which is the model for you. Too often people will select a new handset based on factors such as how attractive it is or what their friends say.
But everyone’s needs are different, and in order to select the best cell phone, you need to carefully consider your own needs. Once you have these clearly in mind, selecting a phone becomes much easier. In this article we’re going to take a look at some of those features and how they relate to how you use your cell phone, therefore hopefully giving you a better guide to go on.
1) Handset Size
Many people prefer a smaller handset so that it can easily slip into a bag or pocket but surprisingly other people prefer a chunkier handset either because they find it easier to hold and hence use, or because the tiniest of phones can get lost in a bag easily. Also, appreciate that in looking for the smallest handset you are likely to be sacrificing features. Looking at the iPhone or the Nokia N95, both popular and technically advanced phones, they both have a large footprint.
Of more importance than the actual size of the handset itself are the buttons and the screen resolution. Younger readers should be able to select virtually any screen though test out the buttons and try to send a few text messages (SMS) to ensure they’re not too small for comfort.
More mature readers may like to check the font size on the screen, plus the colors of it, to ensure text is as clear as possible. Very few handsets will allow you to change the font size on a screen (some Blackberrys, Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones do however) so selecting one you can read to begin with is an important step.
The same goes for buttons, which can be cumbersome for the less agile-fingered. Choose large buttons with clear numbers on them in order to make operation of your cell phone as easy as possible.
2) Features Required
These days it is harder to find a cell phone without a camera than with but many handsets come with a range of additional features from radios to music players, organizers to GPS navigation. The more features your handset has, in general the quicker the battery will be used up and the more expensive the phone will be, so unless absolutely necessary try to select a handset with only the features you need.
3) Battery Life
This varies massively from handsets that need charging every day to those that may go 4-5 days of standby before requiring a charge. Sony Ericsson and newer Motorola phones tend to be particularly good at battery life whilst “smart phones” that allow you to create Word documents, access your emails and generally manage your life use up far more power and may not survive a single day of heavy use without a recharge.
Also, have a good look at the charger. Some handsets are very easy to charge up, others have tiny little fragile pins that stick into tiny holes on the phone and can be fiddly and break easily. Nokia’s latest chargers are the worst of all.
4) Ease Of Use
What are you realistically going to be doing with your cell phone? Actually have the person in the shop show you how to do these things (don’t just rely on the handbook!) and then do them yourself a few times. If necessary try the same on a few different handsets that have already passed the previous points to see which is easiest. Consider how to find your contacts, make a simple phone call, send a text message etc.
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