Following the theory of survival of fittest, the cell phones are also getting smarter day by day. Apart from being a receive-dial instrument, they have substituted cameras, ipods, video games and are now eyeing the computers. Smartphone is a mobile phone equipped with enhanced features like address book, calendar, games, notebook, internet, e-mail, web browsing, applications of office, etc. Every Smartphone has an operating system that provides a platform for supporting all these features. This being said, they still have some way to go before you can use them for general computing.
In my previous post’s, i shared with you “Top 10 Things To Look For When Buying A New Mobile Phone” and “6 Things To Look For When Buying Music Phone”. In this post, i am going to share with you Top 5 points to keep in mind while buying a smartphone. Here are the points :
1. Operating System
This is no brainer. The most common operating systems are Palm OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian. The choice of operating system will affect the functionality and applications that the phone runs. It is the operating system that you are investing in and not the handset. Keep this in mind while buying a smartphone.
2. GSM Network
Smartphones use the GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) network for voice communication and the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and 3G networks for data transmission. Smartphones have 2 type of frequecies :
- Tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) &
- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
If you are frequent traveler make sure you buy a smartphone that has Quad-band. This will allow you to use your phone in countries other than your home country.
3. Internet Speed
Most smartphones also offer EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) connectivity, which provides faster data transfer than GPRS, particularly for Web and multimedia over the GSM network. However, the latest 3G and HSDPA-capable smartphones offer enhanced multimedia capabilities offering high data transfer’s rate.
4. E-mail Integration
E-mail is widely used medium of communication these days. Therefore, it is one of the defining characteristics of a smartphone. Smartphone handset use their own e-mail client for sending and receiving email from the e-mail server over the internet. An easy to use email client providing basic functionalities should be the minimum requirement of a smartphone buyer.
5. Ability To Synchronise
A smartphone would be useless if it didn’t synchronize with a desktop computer to update contacts, e-mails and other files. Smartphones come with pre-installed software enabling them to initiate data transfer with desktop computer. Synchronization may be done using :
- Cable or
- Wireless
Wireless synchronization better as the user isnt limited by the availability of its desktop computer or the cable. The synchronization can be done on the go!
Besides the above mentioned points, other features too should be kept in mind while buying a Smartphone and getting a nice mobile phone deal providing you maximum satisfaction. For all the other features, refer my previous post :
Hopefully nOObs will benefit from these articles 🙂
very good articles for a newbie to smartphone