These days, most of us cannot even imagine not having a mobile phone, they have become an absolute necessity in our lives. But with the wide range of devices now available on the market, it can be a daunting task to figure out which one will be best for you.
The following guide will make your life easier by giving you the main factors to consider when comparing, so you can be sure to get the mobile phone that best suits your individual needs and preferences.
Easy to use
While it’s important to research user review and price comparison sites when shopping for a mobile phone, it’s equally vital once you’ve narrowed down your selection to give them a physical test to see which device best suits your individual tastes. While a mobile may look good and have great features, this will pale in comparison to the difficulty of navigation and use in practice. Also, unless you’re using the phone, you won’t be able to tell for sure if there are other errors: try factors like ease of making a call, handling missed calls, ease of reading or writing texts, using the music player and the camera.
Battery duration
The battery life of a mobile varies depending on the manufacturer and your usage habits. Two other factors to keep in mind are that some phones take much longer to charge than others, plus different mobile models can give low battery warnings too early or too late, which can be very frustrating.
camera feature
If the camera is an important feature for your mobile phone, make sure it has good lenses in addition to the quality and size of the sensor, as these have a great influence on the sharpness and color accuracy of your images. For example, a 3Mp camera phone like the Apple iPhone 3GS can provide much better image quality than a 5Mp camera. Also test the camera in different simulated light conditions and test how the camera rigs move.
MP3 player function
Some mobile phones are designed to really excel when it comes to playing music. It’s a good idea to try out different genres of music, with and without headphones, to fully test the quality and distortion levels on a variety of sounds.
Internet and email
The latest generation of 3G mobile phones makes it easier than ever to access and use the Internet from a handheld device. These smartphones have faster speeds than previous GPRS models and can download an audio track in about 90 seconds. The other option for Internet on your mobile is WiFi, which provides cheaper and faster online access than standard mobile phone rates, however, there are currently only a few mobile phone models that offer this feature.
Prices
The cost of your mobile phone will naturally depend on the level of technology you expect and need. Basic phones are extremely affordable these days: you can pick up a pay-as-you-go mobile phone for less than £10, and even standard phones from Best Buy can be as little as £20 at PAYG. For that you’ll get entertainment features such as an FM radio instead of an MP3 player and a VGA camera (0.3Mp) instead of a high-end 8Mp version. For those who mainly use their mobiles to make and receive calls or text messages, this will not be a problem.
Sure
Mobile phone insurance can be quite expensive: coverage typically costs around £6 per month, which adds up to £108 on an 18-month contract. In the same way that you agree to an extended warranty, you could end up paying almost as much as the cost of the device itself. Be sure to read the fine print, as there are exclusions in many policies that are not eligible for coverage if they go wrong. It’s a good idea to check if your home insurance covers your mobile phone.
conclusion
Ultimately, choosing the best option from the range of mobile phones currently available depends not only on the features that are important to you, but also on your individual tastes and usage habits. In addition to thorough online research, you’ll save yourself any disappointment by physically trying out the mobile devices you’re interested in to see how they really work.