How to Choose The Right Smartphone For Your Needs

A smartphone is perfect for people who are tired of lugging around a cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA). The functions of those devices have been neatly combined in sophisticated smartphones (along with a bunch of other features). Everybody's communication needs are different. Fortunately, a wide variety of smartphones is available to meet the challenge. Here are a few tips on how to pick the right smartphone for your needs.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Access to the Internet

1. If you're a business person, your primary need might be to stay in touch with your staff, team, or boss. You might also need quick access to business applications, like MS Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, in addition to e-mail, Web access, GPS and WiFi. In that case, a Palm Trēo Pro, Trēo 800w, or one of the Blackberry Curve 8300 or 8900 series devices might be just what you need.

2. Maybe you don't really care about downloading a spreadsheet to your phone, but you do need to do a lot of text messaging. In that case, you'll want to take a look at phones like the HTC Touch Pro and the Nokia E71. If you're more interested in having powerful multimedia (graphics, video, etc.) capabilities, consider the Nokia N95, T-Mobile Wing, Helio Ocean or Apple iPhone 3G.

3. Already locked into a cell phone service provider? These guys around the world typically offer several different smartphone options and service levels. Start by checking out what your current provider is offering. If that's not enough, move on to the competition. If you're new to cell phones in general, check out the top ten providers, ranked here from 1 to 10: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, Qwest, AllTel, U.S. Cellular, Cricket, Virgin Mobile, and PowerNet Mobile. See which phones they offer and the type of service you want and can afford.

4. Don't ignore the smartphone operating system, because that's what determines the functionality of your phone. There are several operating systems on the market. The one with the biggest world market share is Symbian OS (Symbian Ltd.), though how long that dominance will last is anybody's guess. Almost half the smartphones around the world are running under this OS, mainly those made by BenQ, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. Other operating systems include: Palm OS, found on the Palm Centro and Trēo models; iPhone OS (Apple Inc.) for the iPhone; the RIM BlackBerry operating system (still considered the gold standard for business users worldwide); and Windows Mobile from Microsoft, the latest version of which is Windows Mobile 6.1. Phones using this operating system include the Verizon and Sprint HTC Touch Pro, T-Mobile Shadow, Palm Trēo Pro, LG Incite, Samsung Omnia and Saga, HTC FUZE and Touch Diamond, and EPix.

5. Windows Mobile smartphones are a safe choice for business users because they integrate smoothly with most Microsoft business applications, like MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., via Microsoft Exchange. And there's a lot of third-party applications available to choose from.

6. If unfettered communication is your primary consideration in buying a smartphone, look for devices that offer these advances: 3G technologies, such as UMTS and HSDPA (T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless) and EV-DO (Verizon Wireless and Sprint), providing seamless e-mail, messaging, and downloads; Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), enabling phone use all over the planet; Bluetooth-enabled phones, letting you use a headset to communicate; Wi-Fi-enabled phones, allowing you to connect to wireless 802.11b or 802.11g networks to access the Internet or share files with networked computers; and USB smartphones, allowing you to transfer data to and from a desktop or laptop.

7. 
    
   iPhone Keyboard

   Consider ergonomics. Decide whether you want a phone with a QWERTY (typewriter style) keyboard or a number pad for text messaging and other applications. How about a touchscreen? If so, do you want to use a stylus, your fingers, or both?

8. Other features to consider: Amount of built-in storage space for programs and data; acceptance of media cards; display screens that are well-lit and easy to read; speakerphone; digital camera; multimedia playback; Internet browser; Global Positioning System (GPS), and car chargers in addition to the standard charger provided by the manufacturer.

Tips & Warnings

• It all sounds complicated, but your search should begin with an analysis of what you really want in a smartphone.
• Technology changes daily. Research the smartphone vendors before making any decisions. For example, Microsoft is rumored to be on the verge of releasing its own smartphone. Why not? It already has a successful operating system. Well, maybe you'd rather go with a phone with a few years' worth of bugs already ironed out?

[momose]

on 5/21/2009 So many choices - good points made here for choosing the right smart phone. *****