These days, the power and functionality in a
palm-sized smartphone would have taken up an
entire storage room in the 1960's. Today, your
cell phone is a constant companion, a pocket-
sized link to the news, entertainment and social
circles that color your world.
It's your office assistant, your bank, your game, your book, your
radio, your music player, your source of
entertainment, your bible, your qu'ran, your
weight loss monitor and so much more.
That's why it's so important to find the right
mobile phone that best fits your needs.
At BambooNaija, we focus on making sure you
take informed decisions and as such have
created a buying guide to advice you on the
things to consider before buying a mobile phone.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
1. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO USE IT FOR?
Do you want to use your phone just to make
calls and receive calls? Or do you need your
phone to send text messages only? Alternatively,
do you want to use your cellphone to take
pictures? Browse the internet?
The thing with smartphone technology these
days is that there are so many phones in the
market and they are all the 'best' at one thing or
the other. Some phones have the best cameras,
the best internet browsers etc. In choosing your
mobile phone, focus on what you want to use it
for. If you understand exactly what skills and
capabilities you'd like to see in your new phone,
it'll help you avoid paying too much for features
you don't want or need.
For a good balance, we like the Samsung Galaxy
Note 4, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8,
Huawei Ascend Mate 2, Nokia Lumia 1520. For
iPhone loyalists, consider the iPhone 6 Plus. For
monetary considerations try the Tecno Phantom
Z and the Blackberry Z3.
2. WHAT'S THE BATTERY LIFE?
With many smartphones having dual-core, quad-
core (hardcore any time soon?) processors and
big screens, smartphones have never been more
powerful–or more power hungry. Yes, specs and
apps matter, but what good are they if you’re
looking for a charger by midday?
One way to tell how much battery life your
smartphone will provide on a charge is to take a
look at the battery capacity. Typical phone
batteries start in the neighborhood of 1,700mAh
and go all the way up to 3,500mAh. Generally,
the closer you get to 3,000 mAh (milliamp hours)
— or above the better. In The Laptop Mag battery
test, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 topped the list
and lasted for 14 hours and 43 minutes. Other
phones that put up a good showing in the test
include the Sony Xperia Z3 (12 hours , 9
minutes), Nokia Lumia 1520 (11hours, 28
minutes), Samsung Galaxy S5 (10 hours, 50
minutes), HTC One M8 (10 hours, 50 minutes),
and Apple iPhone 6 Plus (10 hours).
3. DOES SIZE MATTER?
All pun intended. Big-screen phones are growing
on shoppers. In fact, phablets (phones with
displays 5 inches or larger) now account for
about 20% of all smartphones sold in the
Nigerian market. Bigger phone screens give you
a lot more real estate for watching movies,
playing games and enjoying photos. The trade-off
is that the phone isn’t easy to operate with one
hand, tends to be heavier and can be a tight fit
for front pockets.
Large (Over 5.1-inches): So-called
"phablets" (phone + tablets) have bigger screens,
which provide a generous viewing area and
easier on-screen typing. But they can be bulky.
Standard Size (4.5 to 5.1 inches): The
mainstream size for flagship phones like the
Galaxy S5, Nokia Lumia and HTC One.
Compact Size (Below 4.5 inches): Many phones,
including the 4-inch iPhone and the 4.3-inch HTC
One Mini provide smaller, more pocket-friendly
form factors.
4.WHAT OPERATING SYSTEM SHOULD YOU
USE?
If you're buying a smartphone, the operating
system can make a big difference in how you
use your device. At the moment there are four
major operating systems vying for your attention.
Here's a brief overview of what each one has to
offer.
Android
Open source platform that allows third-party
developers to create apps and tools
Designed as a consumer- and social
network-centric platform
Easy to customize to match your needs and
tastes
Over a million apps available via the Google
Play store
Apple iOS
Integrates iTunes app and Safari mobile Web
browser
The same technology powers all Apple
devices for seamless communication
between Apple devices
Thousands of officially approved apps
available via the App Store.
BlackBerry
Created for business users for easy access
to e-mail and text messaging
Updated BlackBerry 10 operating system
creates a more interactive, user-friendly
experience
Ideal for international use
Windows Phone
Personalized, user-friendly experience that
communicates seamlessly with Microsoft
computers and other devices
Easily customizable touch-screen interface
SkyDrive app allows easy management of
documents, photos and videos
CAMERA
A phone's camera depends on a whole host of
variables. Though you might think that more
megapixels is better, that's not always the case.
You can get sharper images from a 5-megapixel
camera than from an 8-megapixel shooter, so it's
better to concentrate on other specs such as the
quality of the lens as well as the camera sensor.
STORAGE & EXPANSION
Given that you’ll store everything from photos
and music to videos and apps on your
smartphone, opt for as much internal memory
and upgradable memory as you can. We
recommend you choose a device that has a
microSD card slot.
http://bamboonaija.com/blogs/buying-guides/18269799-buying-guide-mobile-phones-smart-phones
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