How did we ever live without cell phones? Obviously, people did without them for thousands of years, but somehow they've become indispensable in less than two decades. The wheel and the Internet notwithstanding, the convenience, timesaving and even lifesaving features of this tiny piece of plastic and circuits has arguably had one of the biggest daily impacts on the way we live in the entire history of humankind. As such, few shopping endeavors in life carry so much weight and offer this much selection.
Types of Cell Phones
What a selection there is! With or without a camera? Flip, slide or swivel? Basic and durable or tricked-out and elegant? You're tempted to seek psychic counseling - or at least consult your favorite IT guy - to figure out which phone to buy. Cutting-edge techno-wizardry aside, stay grounded with the following essentials:
(Alternatively, if techno-wizardry is what you're looking for, read our breakdown of Smartphone features.)
Key Features
Ease of Use Features and overall geek-factor frequently overshadow important basics like style and personal preferences. Some consumers live to regret this. Don't be afraid to play around with a prospective phone. Are your fingers too big for the buttons, or are they not responsive enough? Are the characters on the display large and clear enough for you? Are you a rollerball, scroll wheel or touch-screen fan? Put the phone to your ear to see if it feels comfortable. If the phone is going to live in your pocket, you're going to want a flip or slide phone to protect the keypad from unintentional dialing. If you work in a harsh environment, the more durable candy bar style will probably serve you best. Sort out your physical preferences before agonizing over nuances like the browser interface.
Cameras and Media While cell phone video technology remains jumpy and grainy, still photos have vastly improved with some phones shooting at five megapixel resolution. That's a sharp picture by any standard. Indeed, if cell phones came with a reasonable flash and zoom, you'd never need a standard camera again. Additional multimedia options invariably include a basic MP3 player and video recording and viewing capabilities, though these features are usually limited to the upper-echelon phones discussed in the Smartphone guide.
3G Third-generation technology is essentially what allows high-speed data transfer at the cell phone level. With download speeds of up to 7 Mbps, music and video downloads become something your phone can do. Right now, 3G is an additional service (with additional charges) and only works reliably in urban areas, but a nationwide rollout is in the not-so-distant future.
Short Message Service (SMS) is a standard feature, though not always a standard service. Some providers require a separate agreement (and charge) for SMS service. If you opt out of this, you will be charged per message sent and received.
Speakerphone Using the speakerphone in public won't win you any friends, but it can be a lifesaver when you're caught changing the baby (or changing the oil). You probably won't be able to test this function in the store, so collect testimonials from friends.
Battery Life While you're at it, take a battery poll. One of the biggest gripes with new high-functioning phones is the meager battery life. The more stuff a cell phone can do, the more one tends to use it and the faster the battery dies. Though most phones will list battery specs (three hours of continuous talk time and five or more days of standby time is a good benchmark to start with), real-world performance will vary greatly and the only way to assess this is to talk to people who have put the phone through its paces (online reviews can be invaluable in this regard).
Push-to-talk is a walkie-talkie-like function that allows an instantaneous connection with other users (no dialing, ringing, etc.), usually used in a mobile business environment for both individuals and groups. Pro: this form of communication does not count against your standard calling minutes. Con: not all carriers offer this feature.
GSM Travel much overseas? Memorize these letters: G-S-M. The GSM network is only slightly less stout coverage-wise in America than its counterpart CDMA (for now); however, GSM is growing as a global standard, particularly in Europe. Alternatively, if you spend most of your time in rural areas, you may have no choice but to get on the CDMA network.
GPS Though it may not be a necessary feature for everyone, cell phones will often come with Global Positioning System (GPS) capability, including the kind that gives audible instructions so you can concentrate on driving. This will most likely be billed as a separate service through your cellular provider.
How to Choose
In an era where the phone is often thinner than the user manual, the phone-on-the-shoulder maneuver is begging for a spinal injury. Will you use the phone a lot while on the go? If so, kiss one free hand goodbye. Better yet, make sure your phone has a hands-free interface — either a physical headset jack or Bluetooth technology for those space-age wireless earbuds. If you're a heavy hands-free user, you'll also want to ensure that your phone has voice dialing.
The number of features available on new cell phones is both exciting and a little alarming. While carrying around all of that technology in such a cute little package is admittedly tempting, don't allow yourself to be dazzled into forking out extra cash for features you're not going to use. You'll almost certainly use one-touch dialing, but things like the direct-purchase and download music store will only get regular use from one person in a hundred.
Almost all phones will come with rudimentary calendars, calculators and address books, but if you truly want an all-in-one device, consider upgrading to a smartphone, which will offer far more dynamic and practical versions of these applications.
Finally, though this subject falls somewhat outside of our cell phone topic, sadly, your cellular service provider may limit which cell phone you can buy and vice versa. If you're carrying over service from an existing provider, make sure that your new phone is compatible. If signing onto a new service contract, you'll want to research and choose the best service plan for your individual needs before getting you heart set on a phone, lest it not jive with the provider's service.
Ultimately, call quality should take priority over everything else. You'll need to do a little due diligence to assess which network/provider offers the best call quality in your area. Dizzying factors affect call quality, including geographic location, the number of calls being made on the network at any given moment and even the weather. Again, tap friends for their feelings on the subject. You can also request a working model at many phone shops for your own testing. Take note of any static, cut-outs or volume issues. A final fail-safe is that service providers have grace periods allowing you to cancel your service contract should the service displease you. This interval is usually not very long, so take special note of the grace period cut-off at the time of purchase.
