Guide to Wireless Phones
Here are Things to consider when selecting a phone:
You have several options when selecting a phone that fits your price range, and with enough features to suit your lifestyle; there are many diverse styles of phones. The form, colour, and size of the phone you carry can serve as a reflection of your character and speak volumes to those around you as to what type of person you are.
As current general rules dictate, the most popular phones are extremely small, thin, or lightweight. These days, it seems that just as one manufacturer creates the smallest, lightest, or thinnest phone, there is another company developing a phone that claims to be even better.
In addition to phones varying in size and weight, many phones let you change the appearance of the phone by letting you change the faceplate. The ability to make such transformations makes it feel as if you have an entirely different phone, by spending only a small amount.
With so many options, the decision as to which style of phone is right for you is a difficult one to make. In this article, we explore the variety of options that are available, hopefully making the choice clearer for you.
Size and Weight
For the past couple of years, phones have become smaller and smaller, to the point where it has become almost miraculous that even smaller phones are being produced. In the 1980s, wireless phones ranged in size from 8 to 12 inches. However, as with all technology, engineers developed methods of creating even smaller phones, to the point we are at today, where we can tuck our phones away in a shirt or pants pocket and forget about it.
Large Phones: Surprisingly enough, any phone that is more than five inches in length is considered large. Additionally, these phones are usually the heaviest phones on the market, with most weighing more than six ounces. Larger sized phones may not necessarily be heavier than smaller phones, however, since several manufacturers are creating new phones that are long, but extremely thin and light. If size or weight is a strong concern for you, a small- or medium-sized, lightweight phone, which offers similar features in a much more manageable size, may be a better option for you. Some of the phones that are classified as large often are used in promotions as free phones, but others, like the Samsung, are the most advanced phones on the market today and can be as expensive as $500 - $1000.
Medium-Sized Phones: A phone that is four to five inches long and three to five ounces in weight qualifies as medium-sized. These phones are typically in the middle price range and have many of the latest features. Some exceptions are phones that include the latest and greatest features, like the ability to load and play MP3 music, video and camcorder.
Small/Compact Phones: Any phone shorter than four inches is considered to be small or compact. In addition to being the smallest sized phones on the market, they are usually the lightest. You will find many of the cutting edge features on these phones, including colour screens and the ability to load pictures that can pop up on the screen when certain people call you.
Networks Available
Most of the phones available today are digital phones, but if they operate only on a single digital frequency and not on the more ubiquitous analogy network, you may end up with a phone that works only in very limited areas. Phones on the market today fall into three categories: although there is a Quad mode, which is new to the market.
Single Mode: Some of the newest digital phones being introduced support only a single digital network because the manufacturer wanted to get it to market quickly to make sure they got the newest, coolest phone on the shelf first. All manufacturers produce single mode phones. But the problem may be that it's cool when it works downtown, but if you try to use it when driving to your house in the suburbs you may be out of luck. Before purchasing a phone, remember to check the phone's specifications, or ask a customer service representative to explain the phone's mode to make sure it will work everywhere you need it to work.
Dual Mode: Many digital phones are dual mode; that is, they work on two networks-digital and analogy. Some of the phones that are available as dual mode actually work on three networks-for examples, the 800 MHz analog networks, the 800 MHz digital networks, and the 1900 MHz digital network. These phones will allow you the most use, because they are most likely to find an available network wherever you are.
Tri-Mode: a small number of phones available today are called tri-mode. This means that they work on three frequencies: 800 MHz analogy, 1900 MHz U.S. digital, and another international digital frequency. Tri-mode phones are the ones that will work overseas in many countries around the world.
Case Design
In addition to varying dramatically in dimension and weight, wireless phones also differ greatly in their overall body style. All phones fall into one of two categories:
Traditional Roughly: 75 percent of wireless phones fall under the traditional design header, incorporating a one-piece design, with keypad and screen in plain view and accessible at all times. Nokia originally popularized the traditional body style and has incorporated this design into most of the phones it sells. The traditional-style phones vary dramatically in size in weight. But, I am not a Nokia Fan…I always stick to Sony Ericsson phones.
Flip Flip: style phones feature a cover that either partially or completely encloses the phone in the closed position. The flip feature can serve as an answer or end call function and protects the keypad and/or display screen, depending on the size of the flip. Almost all flip phones can be classified as compact or small in terms of their size and weight.
Colour
Bermuda blue, gecko green, red pepper, brushed aluminium? With so many options available, it is hard to decide which colour will suit you best. A phone that looks really fashionable when you purchase it may lose its appeal as the months pass. One consolation is that there are several phones available (i.e., Nokia 3360, Nokia 8290, and Kyocera QCP-2035) that allow you to change the faceplate of the phone, virtually giving you a brand new phone for just a fraction of the price.
Cost
Phone prices range from free to $1000, with most of the phones averaging between $100 and $200. The prices that you see are the retail prices, which include the requirement to sign up for a service plan when buying the phone. If you are looking to buy a phone without a service plan, the prices tend to be higher.
In fact, there are few places where you can buy a phone without the service plan attached today. Phones that cost $200 with a service contract typically carry a list price of $500 if you would like to purchase the phone without a designated service plan. Cellular service providers pay a rebate to retailers in exchange for a service contract and retailers pass on the cost savings to customers-as long as the service contract remains in the deal.
You pay a premium for tiny, lightweight models whether they are digital or analogy. Wireless phones that sell for under $100 are on the budget plan. These phones are typically larger and heavier, with minimal features, although they generally perform just as well as phones that are more expensive. Mid-priced phones in the $100 to $250 range are smaller and lighter, with extended-life batteries, alphanumeric text messaging, directory features, and more. High-end phones sell for $400 and up, and offer the latest features, the smallest designs, and the most attractive styling.
My advice to you is just to play the waiting game.
Talk Time and Standby Time
Depending on how often you plan to use your phone, talk time and standby time amounts are something that you should definitely consider when selecting a wireless phone. If you are travelling across Ghana, in Accra, do you want your phone to run out of power when you reach Tamale? Of course not. However, if you plan on using your phone only for short conversations and have the ability to recharge the phone every evening, and then talk time and standby time will not be as big of a concern for you. Talk time is the actual amount of time spent on conversation, and standby is the time a phone is on and ready to receive a call. Digital phones are more efficient and have longer talk and standby times than analogy phones. A battery that offers 110 minutes talk time/50 hours standby time in analogy mode might deliver more than three hours talk time or eight days standby when used with a digital phone. If the battery runs out, it simply turns off the wireless phone until you recharge it or you are able to replace the battery with a fully charged one. A longer talk time could save you a lot of time and frustration, but if you do not talk on your phone a lot, it could be unnecessary. Batteries generally have a range from 60 to 600 minutes for talk time. Standby time ranges from 2 to 484 hours.
Another thing to remember when you look at the talk time and standby time for a battery or phone-very seldom do you use only talk time or only standby time; you typically use a combination of the two. Just as your car's mileage is better on the highway, your phone's battery lasts longer while you are not talking (standby). But always beware, just like your car, "your mileage may vary" from what the manufacturer states in the specifications.
Summary
There are many things to evaluate when deciding on the wireless phone for you. The height, weight, features, and price are just some of the things to consider when making your decision. Please do your possible best to try all the applications in the phone as time and tide waits for no man.
Brian Buckson, a Mobile Application and Usability Manager, writes from Switzerland
www.bb2-consulting.com
10th September 2004
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