So, you’ve finally decided to try your hand with a new smartphone and leave your old analogs behind? Good for you, but then, don’t get caught up with all that frenzy about screen beauty, brand name, or hyped up cameras. Take a good look first and think about what you really need in a smartphone before making that purchase.
Phone shape and size is important
This is one of the most overlooked topics when buying a smartphone for the first time. In the race to produce bigger screens, most manufacturers gave up on the quaint notion of a comfortable phone to walk the fine line between “the screen is beautiful” and “I’m holding a walkie talkie against my cheek.” However, when you’re sliding the phone in and out of your pocket or purse two dozen times each day, holding it up to your ear on a long phone call, or attempting to text someone, and discover that the phone feels uncomfortable, no quad-core processor or 3,000 GB expansion memory slot is going to make up for the fact that you hate holding your phone. When shopping for a phone, hold the various phones you’re considering. Swipe the screens around, open some apps, check out the phone/text message interface and hold the phone up to your ear.
Stop thinking about RAM, dual/quad-core processors, megapixels, and other technical stuff
None of these things will make much of a difference when it comes to your basic smartphone needs. While this may be good for teenage and 20-something geeks, the simple fact is that smartphone hardware has dramatically outpaced the average consumer’s needs and almost none of these features will vary enough to be noticeable for the average user. What is important to the average user is:
- Can it make a call sound clear and not choppy?
- Are other communication functions like text, e-mail, or MMS easy to use?
- Can it browse the web and access Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn easily?
- Can it take photos and shoot video?
Apps might matter
There is an app for almost everything, but don’t get bogged down worrying what apps are available for your brand line. If you think you need an app for something specific, most likely it’s available in the iPhone or Android stores, or probably free as an open source app.
Brands will matter
It is always a safe bet to stick with well-known brands over the bottom-shelf brands when making this important purchase. While a knock-off smartphone from China might seem like a good deal, don’t overlook the fact that when your phone crashes after less than 6 months and you lose all your important data in the middle of an important business trip, so do avoid those bargain basement China phone deals. Stick with the most popular, reputable manufacturers and you’ll save yourself big money and big headaches down the road.
Even if your needs can be somewhat complicated like if you’re purchasing a smartphone to improve your travel agency services, it all boils down to getting a phone for your needs and not for its looks. Likewise, go for need and feel first rather than trend and technical stuff.