I am a member of Verizon’s Influencer Team – #VZWBuzz and I receive phones and other accessories from time to time to review. This post has not been monetarily compensated. Please note that, as always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own.
What kind of cell phone do you have? Is it an old school phone like my hubby has? Or is it a smart phone? Everyone is different. Some people like to upgrade their phones often. Some prefer to wait for any amount of reasons, such as contract or just the desire to stay with an older phone they’re comfortable with. Inevitably the day does come that a new phone is needed. When I’m in the Verizon Wireless store, or actually any store that sells mobile phones, this is about the time that I hear people day “what phone should I get”. I can help you a bit with that question. You don’t need to use this info today (unless you want to), just bookmark it for when the time comes that you or someone in your family need it.
Basically, every week there is a #VZWBuzz Twitter chat, it takes place every Friday at 3pm EST. Tech experts, along with bloggers, meet up every week and chat about one common topic. It can be lots of fun and very informative. The topic this past Friday was “How to Choose a Smartphone.” Here’s the highlights of what I picked up from that chat.
There are a ton of smartphones out there. As soon as new ones come out it seems they’re replaced by something else. Knowing what you want can be confusing. Here are a few questions to consider before purchasing a new smartphone.
What do you need in a smartphone?
Like cars, different phones have different features and capabilities. Features that are commonly found important include:
- Screen size
- Internal storage space and ability to use a memory card
- Operating system
- Battery life
- Camera quality
- Weight and size
What are you going to do with your smartphone?
Is the phone for work, pleasure or both? You need to have an idea of what you’re going to do in order to get an idea of what you’re going to need. Decide what features are a must-have for you. This means, consider what you need it for, what activities are you planning to do with it. This includes taking pictures, accessing email, texting, surfing the web, streaming movies, playing games, making calls and a ton of other things.
If you’re considering getting a new phone be sure to visit the Verizon Wireless site. On the site there’s interactive online simulators of some of the most popular phones available today that let you take a virtual test drive that will give you a birds eye view of a hands-on walkthrough of commonly used functions. If you’ve never had a smartphone before you might find some of the terminology unfamiliar, so use the VZW Insiders Guide to Smartphone Camera Terms.
Is the operating system important?
There are four major operating systems – Apple iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry. There’s a great guide to smartphone operating systems on the VZW site. Does the new phone need to connect with anything else, like a computer? Along with what other things you might wish to connect with or share files with you should also consider apps. Each operating system has their own apps, and not all apps are available on all operating systems.
I’ve been a happy iPhone user for a while. Two weeks ago I got a new HTC One M8. The HTC’s camera puts the iPhone camera to shame. Each handles the photo gallery completely differently. Moving around in the new phone is a bit different. Keep in mind that the way apps behave isn’t always the same, if you can even find the same app.
Ready to buy?
Think you’ve decided which phone you want and ready to buy? Don’t just yet. Go to the Verizon Wireless store near you and touch it. Put your hands on it. Ask the VZW rep questions about anything you aren’t sure about. Many of the reps use the same phones for their personal use and can answer your questions, some will even take out their own phone and show you right there! Obviously you can’t learn everything there is to know in one visit. Which is why it’s great that Verizon Wireless offers free classes on new phones. Each time I’ve gotten one they’ve asked if I needed help learning how to use my new phone.
If you haven’t had a smartphone before, or are upgrading, pay close attention to your data plan. What you had before may no longer be available. You can get a fair idea of how much data you’re going to use through useful tools like the online data calculator. Do not move into a plan that doesn’t suit your needs. If you get a plan that doesn’t meet your needs you can pay a fortune in overages. Sure, you can usually get a notification if you’re approaching a data limit, but in my opinion it;s just smarter to get the right plan to start and avoid that. Always, always, always, understand all info on the data plan and pricing. Ask as many questions as you need to. Every time I go into the local VZW store I ask literally at least four or five times before doing anything. The Verizon Wireless reps in the store never mind, they’re just consumers like you and I and totally understand the concerns when it comes to monthly bills and overages.
One final thing to consider before purchasing is the purchase. Think of your phone like clothes or shoes. Do you hang on to them for a long time because they’re fomfy? Or do you get new ones all the time? If you like to play with the newest tech toys (including mobile phones) the Verizon Edge plan offers a great alternative way to purchase the phone that could save you some money. The plan enables consumers that love new tech to upgrade to the newest devices more frequently with no finance charges, upgrade or activation fees.
I think price and plan are my two biggest concerns when I get a new phone. Storage bad phone size are also huge for me.
I need to show this post to my dad. He’s getting his very first smart phone!
I love my iPhone but I wish I did more research. Thank you for the tips I will keep them in mind when I upgrade.
Camera quality is a really big deal to me. I also look for operating system and wifi teething.
The only smartphone I have ever had is an iPhone, so I don’t know anything else.
Great article. I’m an uber geek, and I’m all about gaming. So I knew I needed a super powerful phone with internal storage. I ended up with a Galaxy S5 which I then threw a 128GB MicroSD card into. Nerd heaven!
I had to think really hard about what kind of phone I wanted. Then I had to get the phone I needed. They’re a big purchase, so you have to be sure you get what’s right for you.
Great tips.. we are in the cell phone market right now and these will come in “handy”.. BTW in germany we call the cell phone “Handy”..lol… there are soo many to choose from, makes it hard to pick the one that fits me.. thanks for sharing
This is such a great list of things! So many people get a new phone because it’s a trendy model but they don’t really investigate or think about what they’ll actually use the phone for.
You should also consider what models your friends/family have already. It may be important when you need tech support or assistance learning all the features!
Great tips! Whenever I buy any “techy” thing I make sure to do my research and ask friends/family.
All great things to consider!
Functionality, and expandable memory, are most important. I had a ‘smart’ phone that couldnt’ load more than one app without maxing out the internal memory due to mandatory bloat-ware. It was awful. Now I have and love my Galaxy S4!
The very first thing I look for is the camera quality. The screen can be big or small, I honestly have no preference, but I always have to focus on the camera. If all other features are awesome and the camera sucks then I move on to the next phone.
Camera quality, storage space and durability are my top features in a smartphone.
Battery life and screen size are important to me. I like a larger phone, since I sometimes have to work from it.
These are definitely good things to keep in mind when purchasing a smartphone. The camera quality is one of my bigger concerns, since I’m always snapping pictures with my smartphone.
I am all about the camera and the size. I have to have a great camera and a large screen for work.
I can’t wait to upgrade my phone. These are great tips that I will be taking into account.
These are great tips! The battery life and camera quality are the most important features for me!
I just phone–no text, messages, internet, etc. Hubby uses his for work and everything. Therefore, I pick a phone like his so if his breaks he can use mine for backup OR when his breaks he gets another and passes his on. BEWARE: some companies attempt to change plans with any change without telling the customer justifying it with this was a better plan. However, it is not their decision to make.
For me I like my smartphone to have a good camera. Battery life is also important for me.
Great post and Great tips! I love a phone that is intuitive – I hate when I get a new phone and it takes me months to figure out how to operate it. But I also need long battery life and a great camera. Seems our phones are now our primary cameras!