New technologies enrich our lives with interesting inventions all the time. The mobile was invented and became the luxurious communication facility. But today a lot of people have a mobile, and it is no longer a luxury. Even children use mobiles, but for them it’s more like a toy. Mobiles are in popular demand. Producers constantly present new models, so that you can choose any phone from the cheapest one to the most expensive stylish model with various functions and additional facilities.
Types and sizes of displays
When we are thinking what mobile to choose: with color or monochrome display, it seems to be very easy. If you don’t need a color display, then it is actually so. A mobile with two-color display costs less, and its energy consumption is also lower. Besides, there are no problems with sun glares. But the number of such phones is gradually decreasing.
Producers use color displays even in the simplest models that can only make calls and send messages. The most widespread types of color displays are STN, UFB and OLED, more expensive models have TFT displays. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. It may be useful to know them if you are going to choose a mobile.
STN displays are the cheapest, that’s why they are used on the cheap models. Such displays don’t use a lot of energy, but they don’t have a qualitative image either. The disadvantages of these displays are low brightness and observability. Besides, long reaction time doesn’t allow watching video. Many producers, including Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG and others have models with such displays.
UFB displays have better brightness, then STN, and their price is almost the same. Their advantages are also low energy consumption and quite acceptable viewing angles. That’s why it is better to choose a phone with such display. They can be found among the models by Sony Ericsson, Samsung. The maximum colors displayed on the UFB display are 65000.
OLED displays have a high brightness and contrast, and the energy consumption is low. You can choose a mobile with such display only among Samsung models. OLED display is used only on Samsung SGH-X120. It is also used as an additional display in mobiles of some companies. This display has a good viewing angle; it doesn’t have “broken” pixels, unlike TFT displays. But this display isn’t very popular because of its high price and short life.
TFT displays are usually used in the high class mobiles. They have a wonderful brightness, contrast and color rendering. Viewing angles are also acceptable, i.e. if you change the angle a bit the picture quality won’t change. The disadvantage of these displays is high energy consumption. So if you choose a mobile with TFT display, be ready for often recharging. Besides, separate display dots may become disabled. But still, TFT displays are widely spread on the business class mobiles, and smartphones of all famous producers.
Selecting a mobile you will of course pay attention on the display size. This characteristic depends on the display readership (size of the letters, number of text lines). If the telephone has a lot of different multimedia functions (photo, video), then the large display size will be very necessary. Though it won’t be right to choose a mobile by the principle “the larger, the better”. The quality of the image depends on the resolution. Even if a mobile has a larger display, but the number of dot is the same as in the smaller one, you should take the smaller one.
Accumulator
Choosing a mobile, it is important to consider the type and capacity of accumulator. The type of the accumulator will affect the time from one recharge to the other. The level of energy consumption and the activity of use will also influence the working time. The most popular mobile batteries are nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lithium-polymer batteries (Li-Pol).
Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) accumulator batteries have a large capacity and low price. You can choose a mobile with such battery, if its sizes and weight are not important for you. Usually, these are cheap mobiles with minimum functions. Their price is more important then their sizes. Their only minus is that sometimes Nickel-metal-hydride accumulators should be completely discharged, so that it could get the full power during the charging. If you choose a mobile with NiMH-battery, few first times you’ll have to discharge it completely.
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) accumulator batteries are widely spread because of their compactness and large capacity, though they cost more then nickel-metal-hydride ones. The life of Li-ion accumulators is limited by 1,5 – 2 years, irrespective of term of use. It isn’t recommended to use such batteries in low temperatures or to keep them discharged for a long time. It will negatively affect their life term. Producers have chosen these batteries as the main ones for their models, because it isn’t necessary to recharge them only after full discharge.
Lithium-polymer (Li-Pol) accumulator batteries are a little bit cheaper then lithium-ion, but have a larger capacity. Such accumulators can work up to 200 cycles from recharge to recharge. Such batteries are usually used in Sony Ericsson mobiles.
If you want to choose a mobile with a long working time from one recharge, then the indicated characteristic in ampere-hour is important, but not the main. You should pay attention on the number of working hours indicated by the producer, in different regimes (talking and waiting). Mobiles with accumulators of came capacity can work different time. The duration of the work is also influenced by such characteristics as the type of the display, keyboard light and other facilities, which use additional power. But remember that the time indicated in the characteristics is heightened, because it corresponds to the regime with minimal work.
Monoblock, flip or slider
Which mobile to choose - classic monoblock, fashionable flip or extravagant sloder – depends only on your preferences. But your choice will affect the convenience of use.
By choosing a monoblock, you choose compactness. Such mobiles are checked by time and are widespread. The only detail is when the monoblock is small, quiet dynamic or microphone with low sensitivity will be inconvenient. You’ll have to keep the phone closer to the mouth or to the ear all the time.
Flip is not only a fashion. In this mobile dynamic and microphone are exactly near the ear and mouth. Besides, it is very convenient that you can answer the phone with opening, especially if the top panel has additional display, where you can see the number of caller. The disadvantages of this type are its construction of closing/opening, which is estimated for exact number. Besides, it is fragile in the case of falling.
Slider also has its advantages. Their first advantage is large display. Besides, you can use some functions (call receiving, music player) without opening it. These models are more durable then flips, but they are a bit thicker. Besides, sometimes it isn’t very convenient to open some slider models, because the height difference of the upper and lower panels is slight. It isn’t very comfortable to type sms on such mobiles, because the main weight is on the upper part.
The rotary mechanism has all those advantages and disadvantages as flipper. The difference is only in the principle of opening. You can choose it only if you’ll feel comfortable using it.
Mobile producers always try to create a new form. Just look at Nokia E70 or Siemens SK65! But before choosing exact model, try it and make sure that you’ll feel comfortable using this mobile.
Built-in camera (photo and video)
It isn’t unusual no more that the mobile has a camera. You can find a mobile without it only among the cheapest models. Qualitative photos, which can be at least printed for the family album, can be taken by the camera with no less then two megapixels. Other mobile cameras are used for the photo exchange with other mobiles. For such purposes, it is better to choose a mobile with minimum 1,3 megapixel and with built-in flash.
If you want to choose a mobile that can make video, then you’ll be disappointed. Nowadays there are no qualitative mobile cameras. Video is made for entertainment, but not as a useful facility. You can watch this video only on your phone, because its resolution is to low to watch the video on computer.
Nowadays among the business class mobiles there are models without built-in camera. In these mobiles there are communication facilities (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EDGE), which are more important for them, and you don’t have to overpay for the camera.
Memory
If you want to use your mobile for the storage of different information (music, video, office documents), then you should have a necessary memory. If you are going to store text documents, then 10 MB will be enough, but to use multimedia functions you should have a larger volume. Mobile memory can be built-in or can be use an additional memory stick.
Some mobile models have only built-in memory. You should know beforehand what are you going to store. There are some models with large memory, that will satisfy any consumer, for example, Sony Ericsson W950i with 4 GB. Such models as Nokia N91 (4 GB) and Samsung SGH-i300 (3 GB) have built-in hard disk (consumes a lot of energy). If it won’t be a problem to recharge the mobile every day you should choose among these models.
If you want to have additional memory, you still should choose a mobile with large built-in memory. It will lower the energy consumption, which is higher for additional memory. You won’t have problems with transferring files from one stick to the larger one.
Memory sticks of the same volume differ in price. For example, memory stick for Sony Ericsson will cost more.
Class
If you are choosing a mobile depending on its price, then you’ll be restricted by its class. The price highly depends on the mobile functions and construction. So it is recommended to choose a mobile of the corresponding class, so that you won’t have to overpay for unnecessary functions.
So-called budget phones have minimum functions. If you are going to use the phone only for calling and sending messages, then you may choose such models. It has large weight and sizes, ordinary design and black-and-white display. But they are cheap.
Mobiles with color display (even TFT) and polyphony belong to the middle class. Here you can find a mobile with different types of cameras and built-in memory. You can also get an mp3 player and a radio. This class of mobiles has GPRS, which allows downloading new pictures and melodies. This class is made for youth.
Image mobile models have extraordinary design of the case and color. These phones may have different function, and the price will depend on it. A bright example of this class is Motorola RAZR V3. It doesn’t have a lot of qualitative functions, but it became popular because its thin metal case. If you don’t need a lot of functions, you may choose a stylish mobile that will just emphasize your image. But sometimes (Nokia 7280, Nokia 7380) you’ll have to sacrifice the convenience of use.
Business class mobiles have a lot of useful functions. If you want to have a good set of communication possibilities, and you are ready to pay for it, then you can choose a mobile from this class. For example, Nokia 6230i was the best for a long time. Such mobiles have severe design, use memory sticks, EDGE and Bluetooth. Besides, their sizes are usual.
For the multimedia mobiles the most important are its musical facilities and functionality. They have other functions too. The examples of this class are Nokia 3250, all Sony Ericsson model from Walkman series, and other Samsung models. There is a built-in memory to store the multimedia files (Samsung has the largest). They also have additional memory sticks, which can go with the phone.
Smartphones is a class of mobiles, which can be compared by their functionality with pocket PCs. Such functionality isn’t cheap. Depending on the characteristics, you may choose comparatively cheap (Nokia 3230), or maximum equipped (Sony Ericsson P990i). Their price also depends on the processor frequency, which is between 100-400 MHz. Smartphones use different operating systems, the most popular are SymbianOS and Microsoft Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition. The first needs less operating memory. The second is an analogue of the computer version and is more habitual. Smartphones usually have large display with corresponding resolution. There are also phones with touch display. It makes it easier to type, but needs accuracy in use. Nowadays there are models with full keyboard layout. Of course such functionality can’t be compact, so all the smartphones have large sizes (except for Samsung SGH-i300).
Before choosing a phone, think about the functions you want and need, consider an approximate price, you are ready to pay. The variety of mobiles will allow you to choose an appropriate model. We would like to pay your attention on the mobile producers. Nokia is evaluated for its reliability, but their price is higher. Samsung have qualitative displays. Sony Ericsson mobiles combine good price and functionality.
As for the rest, the choice of the mobile depends only on your preferences!