Choosing the Right Cell Phone Essay

Consumer Reports assert â€Å"cell phones are evolving to allow faster texting, Web surfing, GPS navigation, and social networking while keeping up with their day job—voice calling† (Consumer Reports, n.d.). When walking out the door this morning the average person picked up three things; a wallet or purse, their car keys, and their cell phone. The cell phone, though often taken for granted has become a form of life support to many. Before just rushing out to purchase the latest and greatest here is what consumers should know before purchasing their next cell phone. Take the time to prepare and review before going out to purchase a phone. Many often take the word of a salesman they do not even know to decide what is best for them or let a commercial convince them of what device and service they should choose. Picking the wrong cell phone and plan can cost a large amount of money. Everyone has probably made a purchase, and then gotten their next bill to find they were totally surprised. To begin the search for the perfect cell phone one should start with what type of phone he or she is looking for. Would a non-flip (candy bar style phone) or a traditional flip phone (clam shell) better suite their needs? Flip phones had been the choice for most throughout the years but candy bar phones are making a come back with touch screens such as Droids and iPhones. If the phone will be spending a lot of time in ones purse or pocket, one may want to consider a flip phone to avoid unnecessarily scratching the screen and random dialing. If one is looking for a PDA and fully functional QWERTY keypad then a candy bar phone would be the best choice. One should also decide if he or she prefers a touch screen, a standard keyboard, or a QWERTY keyboard when making the decision on they style of phone that is best for them. After deciding the style of phone next one should consider what technology they need in a phone. Do they need text, Internet, e-mail, GPS navigation, walkie-talkie, apps, international service, or just voice calling? There are so many options and possibilities that can make one feel overwhelmed during this process. This can be avoided by doing the proper research ahead of time. The fast pace of today makes email on the go a necessity for most. If needing e-mail one should not pick a phone that is not Internet ready, and may want to consider a full QWERTY keyboard for faster composing of e-mails. Another feature available is walkie-talkie if this is something that was of interest; he or she would want to make sure that is a feature the phone offers. The majority of phones can call out internationally, but if one needs to use the phone abroad he or she would want to check to make sure the phone is world compatible. If voice calling is all one needs it does not make much sense to buy a phone with all the extra bells and whistles. If apps are needed, one might choose an Android or an iPhone because these phones offer the largest selection of apps available. In figure 1.A, based on the latest and greatest technology out today, here is a list of the top three mobile phones. All three of these phones have full access to the Android Market, and are the same in price with a qualified upgrade or new customer pricing. Now that one has decided on the style of phone and what features are needed he or she will make one of the most important decisions in this process. Before deciding on a specific phone one must choose a network. In the past it was easier to choose a network/provider because only one company generally covered a certain area. Providers now have nation-wide networks, and the major companies Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon cover almost all areas; making this decision a challenging one. When choosing the right service one should take advantage of the 30-day trial offers that most providers offer to new customers. With taking advantage of the trial one can use the phone in areas he or she would normally be in to make sure service is sufficient. This gives them the ability to make sure it will work in their home, office and see if there are any dead spots in their area. This will allow them to determine if this service provider will be beneficial for their needs before being held to a two and with some providers a three-year commitment. The 30-day trial also pertains to equipment, so if one is not happy with the phone he or she can take it back and try a different model. Say if they thought they could access Facebook, then during the trial realized the phone they have did not support web; it could be exchanged. Perhaps if camera was a big factor on deciding their phone, but when they take pictures they come out fuzzy and not clear; the 30-day trial gives them the freedom to change their mind. Once all these decisions have been made one must then choose his or her calling plan. When choosing a phone plan there are many factors to consider. How many minutes are very important. Chicago Tribune states â€Å"to figure how much talk time you will need, count the minutes you spend on your current phone in a typical month, then add 25 percent to 50 percent as a buffer to avoid hefty overage fees† (Choosing the right cell, 2007). Cell phone providers offer additional services for a set monthly cost. Without the correct information and consideration of what he or she may be using the phone for one could pay a per use fee for additional features he or she failed to have added. If text messaging is something that maybe used, it is far more cost effective to pay $15 per month; rather than $.20 per single text. With data there is also a pay per use charge of $.03 per kilobyte or a monthly data package ranging from $15 to $30. A data package is something that will be needed if one wants to use email, social networking, picture services, apps, and GPS navigation from the phone. Figure 2.A is a chart of some of the main things people are doing on their mobile phones. If the consumer plans to be using any of these features he or she would want to make sure they have the correct plan and features to avoid high bills.