Should we have done this feature at all? Do you — an ‘aware’ generation that has grown up flipping through touchscreens, YouTubeing and Tweeting more than talking — care for a reckoner on buying a phone? Frankly, no! But the fact is — no matter how much you know about phones, you are still not sure about your next handset. Dheeraj lists out some of the most common dilemmas of a phone buyer and how to overcome them. Just to be in-sync with your cool quotient, we have memed it
1. Buy a phone that’s affordable, not cheap
There is a difference between a cheap phone and an affordable phone, which you must know. A cheap phone comes with high-end features, but makes you a regular at the service centre. On the other hand, an affordable phone may not spoil you with ample features, but you can be rest assured about its build quality and shelf life.
What’s the way out?
Spend on a phone that you need, and not the one that you desire. Also, don’t compromise on important features for a modest cost difference. First, decide whether you want to buy a smartphone in a low end, mid range or high-end segment. If you only want to make phone calls, text, browse and play games, buy a 10-13K phone, nothing more than that.
2. Read reviews, it helps
Don’t believe your friends’ feedback on handsets that they use, they will never give an honest feedback because they have bought it after a lot of savings and critiquing their own phone will create a dent in their image. Isn’t this the reason why a BlackBerry admirer suddenly becomes an iPhone diehard once he/she gets his hand on an iPhone.
What’s the way out?
The best feedback about a phone will come from someone you don’t know, and the best way to get hold of them is the Internet. Most of the e-commerce websites have review sections that allow customers to share their experience of a particular product and read others’ feedback too. Also, take the help of websites that let you compare two or more phones. Simply Google!
3. Phone cameras vs DSLRs
These phone makers want you to believe that phone cameras perform at par with digital cameras, but please don’t fall for this marketing device because there is lots more to photography than just megapixels, and if you have used a DSLR or a simple digital camera, you would recognise it. But, yes, the phone cameras have become much better with time and there is no one is denying it.
What’s the way out?
First, don’t look out for a camera phone that will replace your DSLR. Secondly, don’t be too caught up on megapixels as it has little impact in producing a higher quality photo. Also, apart from checking the camera resolution, check whether the camera has a flash, zoom quality, auto focusy and other camera modes like panorama, HDR, etc. Also, HD videos will be a plus. A decent front camera is also a must for selfie lovers. The easiest is to find and compare photos taken by different mobile phones by users that uploaded them to the internet. A really good site for comparing every detail from colour to shapes to text is GSM Arena’s Photo Compare Tool.
4. Hardware is king
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More RAM means that your app will run without a lag, you will be able to switch between apps much faster and large files will open easily. On the other hand, you will need a faster processor for background processes and the apps on the system to run faster. Without these two things, your phone is as good as a walky talky.
What’s the way out?
The answer lies in your needs. If you want to play High definition games like Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger 2, Frontline Commando 2, Injustice: Gods Among Us, then a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor coupled with 2 GB of RAM is recommended. However, if your usage is limited to browsing, e-maling, texting and calling, then a dual core processor with 512 MB RAM should be sufficient.
5. Screen size and display
When it comes to size of display or screen, different people hold different views. For some a device that fits into the pocket and can easily be used with one hand does the trick while others prefer a larger screen irrespective of whether it fits into the pocket or not.
What’s the way out?
Gone are those days when 4-inch phones were considered a big phone. Now is the time of 5-inch devices even the 6-inch ones are catching people’s attention. Thus depending on the purpose you should select the size. Currently, the 5- inch is most comfortable in the hand while 6 inch is more of a tablet as it hardly can be operated by one hand. Besides the size the quality of the screen too has an important role to play. A smartphone with low resolution may not be able to play those HD videos, while those videos may not look good on a smartphone with a large screen in excess of 5 inches but a low PPI (pixel per inch) of 200 something. You must look for a smartphone that offers the right balance of screen size and screen quality within your budget.
6. Operating System
This is one of the most important questions you should ask yourself, mostly because the software largely dictates your experience of using the phone.
What’s the way out?
You can choose among iOS, Android, Windows Phone or BlackBerry. Android run the bulk of smartphones and is apparently the most customisable platform of the lot. It offers a smooth user experience. While iOS of Apple offers the most polished and sophisticated look and feel of the lot. The iOS tends to get the latest apps and games even before Android. However, the iOS only comes with the Apple phones and tablets and does not have the kind of variety enjoyed by Android. Windows Phone being the product of Microsoft, the only benefits that come along with it is the support for Xbox games, video and music, as well as Office and Outlook integration. The Blackberry OS has fallen back a tad in popularity since its inception due to the release of other Operating systems but it is still a major player among smartphones, especially when it comes to using your phone for business. Blackberry’s main strong point is its email capability. When you send an email on a BlackBerry phone it doesn’t matter if the person is standing right next to you or on the other side of the world they get it pretty much instantly, it’s amazing.