DigitalQuirk's no-nonsense cell phone buyers guide
Jan 15 '06
The Bottom Line Pass up on the wallet and battery draining features, find the right provider, and know what features you should really look for.
Introduction
It is now the year 2006, and cell phones seem to be as common as landline phones. In some cases, it can be cheaper to own a cell phone than it costs to have a landline phone. They're certainly more convenient, and almost a necessity in today's world of ever-changing careers. Often, a job change means a residence change, and it's certainly nice to be able to keep the same phone number and an active phone during these moves! In this guide, I'll attempt to help you in choosing the right cell phone for you.
Shop for a provider and plan
Before you start looking at cell phones, you must investigate and shop around the various providers. Be sure that you get a chance to compare their coverage maps. Does the provider offer analog service as well as digital? The provider that seems to offer a better rate than the others may not have near the coverage. This may not be important to you if you never venture outside of a cell phone providers "Hot spot," but will make all the difference in the world if you venture outside of the hot spot more than once. Examine their contract lengths and terms. It's also a good idea to see what kind of cell phones they're offering for "Free," and the length of contract necessary for each cell phone. For most people, good coverage should be the number one priority.
Pay as you go
Another option to consider is "Pay as you go." If you have a very poor credit rating, this may be your only way of getting a cell phone. If you don't plan on using your cell phone very much at all, this may be a viable solution. Just be sure that you keep track of your minutes, and again check the terms of the agreement. If someone dials a wrong number and it's you, are you going to get dinged for an entire minute for a five second call? Pay as you go is a good "Gift" solution if you'd like to get someone a cell phone as a gift; they're also good for concerned parents to give to their teens for "In case of an emergency." You know that if the teen abuses the cell phone, they'll only use up the prepaid minutes and you won't get stuck with a huge bill next month.
Choose the cell phone type
Next, it's time to choose the type of cell phone. There are basically two types to choose from; one is the flip phone style, the other style does not flip. Flip phones generally cost more and/or mean a longer contract, but after using the other non-flip style phones in the past (Nokia,) I have to say that the flip phones are definitely worth it. With a flip phone, your buttons are protected from being pressed accidently, and the screen is protected. Who hasn't heard of the horror stories where someones cell phone accidently dialed a number unbeknowest to the owner? Yes, you can lock out the keypad, but that can be a pain to deal with. There's also the fact that when unfolded, a flip phone is longer, easier to hold, and contours to the shape of your face. The microphone that you speak into gets placed closer to your mouth. If you are financially strapped, the non-flip style cell phones do work; just be sure to learn how to lock out the keypad and invest in a good case for it.
Features
Now, on to the features. Camera phones are neat, but the image quality still won't be as good as a cheap digital camera. MP3 players are innovative, but will run down your batteries. Video games will also kill your battery quickly. Almost all new cell phones today feature a web browser and the ability to download ring tones and screen savers, but these come at an additional cost that, at least to me, really is difficult to justify. Of course, these features are heavily advertised and promoted, because it's this is where the cell phone providers make their big bucks! There are some lesser-advertised features a no-nonsense get-'er-done type of person should look for to make your cell phone more useful as a practical piece of equipment rather than a toy:
-Dual Band/Tri-mode. In simpler terms, this means the phone will work on the analog and digital cell phone networks. Digital gives you clarity and protection from eavesdroppers (anyone with a scanner can listen in on an analog cell phone call). However, it doesn't have the coverage that analog has, and even digital hot spots don't always offer consistent service. When you're out in the "Fringe," having analog service can mean the difference between having a cell phone and having a worthless piece of plastic.
-Extendable antenna. Yes, the salesperson is correct in stating that modern cell phones don't need an extendable antenna in order to work. However, they do help. Signal strength is usually measured in the number of bars extending from the icon of a cell phone tower, and when the signal is weak, extending an antenna can improve reception by as much as a bar. In the fringe, this can mean the difference between making a call and getting static.
-Non-proprietary charger and headset connections. Proprietary connections means that the cell phone manufacturer can charge as much as they want for a car charger and a headset because only they make these items that will work with their phone, and quite often, they will charge significantly more. Just because you may be locked in to a service provider for a year, two, or three, doesn't mean you shouldn't have choice when it comes to accessories.
-Advanced voice recognition. If you think you'll ever use your cell phone while driving a car, get a handsfree headset and be sure the cell phone offers advanced voice recognition. This means you simply tell it to dial a number rather than fumble with the dialpad. The manufacturers have come a long way with this technology; I use it on my Samsung and as long as I speak clearly, it's very accurate.
-USB cord to connect to your PC. As a general rule, cell phone service providers will not sell the cord necessary to connect your cell phone to your PC, or if they do, it may be a special order item and overpriced. There's good reason for this: They want you to download ring tones and screen savers using the browser on your cell phone so they can make more money that way. Search eBay with the make and model of the phone you're interested in to see if it has an inexpensive USB cable available to hook up to your PC so that you can upload your own ringtones and screensavers, and also synchronize your address book and appointments a lot easier.
-Scheduler application. Time is at a premium these days. Often, we use our phones to make appointments. Why not get a phone that has a scheduler built in? That will certainly be a lot more useful than some cheezy game of tetris!
-Durability! This is easy enough to overlook. Does the phone look like it will survive a few drops? Will the hinges last after thousands of flips? Remember, if you're in a contract and something bad happens to your cell phone, you're still responsible for making those payments every month. Check epinions.com reviews to get an idea as to which manufacturer has a reputation for durability and quality.
-Caught between two similar phones with similar ratings, but still can't decide? Occasionally, the sales reps know their stuff. It doesn't hurt to ask them which one they recommend; you never know, you might actually get one that really wants to help you make the right choice.
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Member: Paul Quirk
Location: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
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