subject: 3 Things To Look For When Buying A New Smartphone [print this page] When mobile phones started to become popular in the early 1990s, they were devices that were particularly cumbersome and were capable of carrying out nothing more than a straightforward phone call.
Over the past two decades, however, mobile phones have evolved in such a way that they are, to all intents and purposes, mini computers.
Allowing you to do everything from watch HD films to browse the internet, these types of mobiles phones - known as smartphones - are useful for a whole range of different individuals, such as people wanting to keep in touch with their friends online to business people needing a reliable device.
If the time has come for you to upgrade your phone and you're now looking for a new smartphone, keep in mind these 3 points that you should look for in any smartphone.
1. Aesthetics and ergonomics - when mobile phones started to explode in popularity after the turn of the millennium, the aim by most manufacturers seemed to be to get their devices as small as possible.
Whilst they were without doubt the better option to carrying around a mobile from the early 1990s, it got to the point where they were becoming so small they were ergonomically poor.
Things have changed in recent years and with many smartphones in particular, a lot of time has been spent on how the phone both looks and feels.
If you can help it, don't buy a phone offline without trying it first (or without some guarantee that you can send it back). It might do everything you want it to do, but if it doesn't feel right or you don't like getting it out in public, it's going to be a waste of money.
2. Camera with video capabilities - having a camera on your mobile phone a decade ago simply wasn't a possibility. The software and hardware was there, but it wasn't until 2001 when the world's first commercial mobile phone with camera technology was released.
Today, however, one of the first points people look for in a mobile phone is a camera. If you're on the search for a smartphone, though, you should go one step further and look for one that has both good quality video recording and playback capabilities.
You might not think you'll use them, but it will soon become invaluable for catching everything from those funny family moments to helping you record a document to read at a later date.
3. Internet accessibility - in a world that is somewhat dominated by the internet (according to Internet World Stats, data taken from 30 June 2010 shows that there are in excess of 1.9 billion internet users worldwide), one of the most important features for a smartphone to have is internet access.
There are two main types available - 3G internet and Wi-Fi - and whilst the first, 3G internet, is the most common and that allows access from anywhere, it is Wi-Fi that is the fastest, but which can only be accessed when you're in range of a wireless internet connection. Fortunately, more and more models are being released that have the capability of both, so look around and you should be able to get the best of both worlds.
