Want to know how to get the best mobile phone for you? There are so many mobiles to choose from that it can be complicated to know which is the best. Today we’re talking about how you can choose the best phone, and what you should be looking for. So before you shop, read on for the information you need to make a great decision.
How to Compare Mobiles…
In order to choose the best phone, you’re going to have to compare mobiles to see how they match up. This isn’t as complicated as you may think. All phones come with spec sheets that list the features of that particular model. The trick lies in being able to read the technical jargon on those sheets so that you know what you’re getting. Once you know what you’re looking at, then it’s pretty easy to compare mobiles and see which is the best. There’s a great variation when it comes to features on mobiles, even when two devices are around the same price they might have vast differences in performance. This is why it’s so important that you can understand a phone’s spec sheet.
All You Need to Know About Screens…
Obviously a screen is a pretty important part of a touch screen smart phone, and there are a few screen specs that you’ll want to take a look at. The first is size. A decent mid range phone should have a screen of around four and a half inches, bigger for a top end model and smaller for a budget model. The size of the screen is important because the larger your screen is the easier your phone will be to use. You can type more comfortably on the on screen keyboard and read internet pages without scrolling around too much when your screen is bigger. There will also be specs on the sheet for screen resolution and PPI. Both of these combine to show you how crisp and bright the phone’s display will be, and higher numbers are better. It’s not necessary to worry too much about them though, since most screens these days have great resolution. Finally, screens can be made from different materials. In order of quality those materials are: LCD, TFT-LCD, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, and Super AMOLED + or Retina. An LCD screen is perfectly fine, but if you watch a lot of HD video or like to take pictures with your phone, you might want to consider a better material.
Processors and Power…
You’ll also need to look at the kind of processor your phone has, which may also be listed under the heading of CPU. The processor is like the engine on your car, and the faster it is, the faster your phone will run. The processor will have both a name and a number. Look for numbers that are around 1.2 GHz (or 1200 MHz, it’s the same) on a decent mid-range phone. When it comes to the name, it’s not so important, but look out for dual core or quad core in the name, since that will make you phone a little faster and more reliable.
Both Kinds of Memory…
Mobiles have two kinds of memory. The first is called internal memory. This determines how much data you can store on your phone. The bigger the internal memory, the more photos, music, programmes and apps you can have on your device. Mid-range phones usually get between 8 GB and 16 GB of internal memory. Memory can be quite expensive, and getting bigger storage usually means paying a lot more. Look out for phones that list a Micro SD card slot. These models will let you buy a cheap memory card to expand the memory on your phone, and it’s usually cheaper to do this than to get a phone with a bigger memory. The second kind of memory on your phone is called RAM. This is the amount of memory that your phone keeps in reserve to use for every day tasks, things like opening apps, or keeping track of your schedule. The more RAM you have the more responsive your phone will be, and the better able it will be to multi task, or run more than one process at a time. If you have too little RAM your phone will lag, and possibly even freeze and crash. Look for around 1 GB of RAM on a good phone, and don’t ever go below 512 Mb.
Taking Photos…
Cameras are standard equipment for mobiles these days. On a middle range phone a camera is going to be around 8 MP. The bigger the number of MP (or mega pixels) the better your camera will capture fine details. If you want to print your pictures out or enlarge them, then you’re going to need at least 8 MP, otherwise you’ll get a square pixelated effect on your photos. If the device you’re looking at has two cameras, then the rear facing camera should be around 8 MP. Front facing cameras have lower resolution, because they’re usually used for video calling rather than taking pictures. A front facing cam will be only around 2 MP.
Operating System and Version…
Your phone needs an operating system, just like your home computer. There are four main systems on the market. All iPhone run iOS, and all Blackberrys run RIM. Other than that you’ll have a choice between Android and Windows. There’s no one operating system that’s really better than another, though many people prefer Android. It really is a question of personal preference. If you don’t know which system you want, it’s a good idea to go to a mobile operator and play around with their display models until you find a system you like. What is important is that you get the most recent version of the system that you can afford. The iPhone 5 and 4S run the most recent iOS, and the Blackberry Z10 runs the most recent RIM. The newest version of Android is 4.2, and the newest version of Windows is Windows 8.
Sam Jones wanted to compare mobiles but he did not have a lot of free time. Luckily he knew how to use sites like uSwitch and he could find a great offer in next to no time.
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