ELM Bulletin - September 15, 2009
Choosing a Cell Phone
You most likely know someone who ordered Apple’s newest iPhone …or considered upgrading their cell phone in response…or ordered an iPhone seven weeks ago and wonders when it will arrive. In this ELM Bulletin I offer some advice to those in the process of upgrading their cell phone. I do not intend to tell you whether the iPhone, or any other phone, is right for you; I merely want to offer some guidelines so that you can make the best decision.
Aside from the printing press, no device in history has had as great an impact on personal communication as the cell phone. Even the computer, with its access to email and social networking sites, cannot compare to what the cell phone has done for businesses (and teenagers) around the world. Clients and associates, friends and family are now accessible no matter where or when they are…and so are you…as long as the phone has coverage.
Choosing a cell phone, however, is somewhat complex. So many different cell phones exist, available from so many different providers and offering so great a variety of features that it can be overwhelming to chose just one. Below is a list of some of the things that should be considered when buying a cell phone:
1 – Coverage – The single most important issue when choosing a cell phone is its coverage area. With cell phone providers it’s all about coverage but whether they cover Canada or just its major cities its pointless if they don’t cover the area where you’ll be using the phone. Check the phone’s carrier to ensure that coverage is available where you will most likely need the phone to work. Coverage on vacation and business trips may be important but day-to-day coverage of where you live is essential.
2 – Call Quality – As important as coverage is the ability to understand conversations on the phone. Many cell phones these days come with an abundance of additional features, some of which are cool (important in a cell phone, except if the phone is more cool than competent) and some of which might detract from call quality. Some recent cell phone reviews rate cell phones by their features (camera, audio & video capability, web browsing & etc.) but ignore their usefulness as phones. Having a great camera on a phone is great but not if your phone can only photograph your wrecked car when you’d really rather call a tow truck.
With that in mind, making sure that your phone’s camera is of good quality does mean that you will be able to take a picture even when your real camera is at home. Having a good media player on the phone removes the need to carry both a phone and an MP3 player with you. These are both nice features, but they shouldn’t come at the expense of the phone’s primary purpose of conversing with others.
3 – Convenience – One issue that may often be overlooked is how convenient the phone is to use for what it’s been designed to do. Even the greatest phone can be tiring after a very short time if it is overly difficult to do what you want to do with it. I have listed some questions you might want to ask yourself below (not all will be important to everyone, though anyone with teenage children may have to learn how to text):
- Can text messages be easily entered and sent?
- Can the phone be “shouldered” and does the phone hang up when you “shoulder” it?
- Can telephone numbers be easyily dialed, is there a searchable contact list?
- Can the phone be backed up to a secondary device?
- How long does the battery last?
- Can you carry the phone the way you want to?
- On Internet capable phones, is browsing a chore or a pleasure and what are the data rates?
4 – Computing – Cell phones today are vastly more capable than computers were a mere decade ago. And less expensive. Some of the great advantages of computer phones are:
- You always have a moderately powerful computer with you.
- Data on the phone can be synchronized with a master computer back home or at the office
- You can carry your favourite software (astronomy, Bible study, calculator & etc.) with you wherever you go.
While not nearly so easy to work on as a full fledged computer, a computer phone does give you the ability to work where or when it might not otherwise be possible.
5 – Cost – Cell phones can range in cost from free (with multi-year plans or from providers such as Koodo) to several hundreds of dollars (for the latest and greatest pocket computer phones). While rates are important to consider it is also important to remember that over the life of cell phone (yes, they die) you will ultimately spend hundreds of dollars simply for the convenience of the service. When you realize that this handly little tool allows you to talk to almost anyone, from almost anywhere, at almost any time, the cost will probably become irelevant.
Especially the first time you use it to get yourself out of trouble.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Past issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website, feel free to forward them to anyone you wish.
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Peter Rhebergen Telephone |
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