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Smartphones are phones which share some features with personal computers, such as the ability to connect to Internet, Word processing software and e-mail access. There are several options on the market and it can be hard to choose between them. This page is a guide on how to pick a smartphone.
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Introduction
- Smartphones provides several advantages to regular cell phones, including the option to access Internet, send emails, use GPS navigation and more. Many smartphones come with virtual keyboards which makes typing on them much easier. Some smartphones have touch screens instead of a regular keypad and many come with larger screens than typical cell phones.
Step 1: Determine Your Budget and Plan
- Smartphones come in different price ranges depending on the services and applications they offer. Before you start shopping around for a phone, determine how much you want to spend on it. Cell phones providers typically offer great discounts both on smart phones and other phones if you are willing to sign up for a two-year contract for a plan. If you are willing to sign up for a plan, you can often get a better deal if you buy the phone through another store, such as Amazon, instead of buying it directly from the cell phone provider.
Step 2: Prioritize
- You should also think about what features and applications are important to you. While smartphones offer many fun and practical features, they might not be features you need or would use. On the other hand, some features might be important to you. Don't buy a phone with cool features to impress your friends. Instead, decide if you would use:
- GPS navigation
- Word processing software
- Internet access
- Virtual keyboard
- Personal organizer
- Media software
- Capacity to read e-books
- A large memory
- The option to expand the memory
Step 3: Options
- Next, familiarize yourself with the different smart phones currently on the market. Some of these are:
- BlackBerry: Most BlackBerry phones are smart phones, including BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Storm and several other BlackBerrys. BlackBerry is only available through Verizon in the United States.
- iPhone: iPhone is manufactured through Apple and available through AT&T. The phone has Internet access and a media player. iPhone 3G supports 3G wireless networks.
- Palm Treo: Palm Treo is sold by Palm and can be used with several cell phone carriers.
- Nokia: Nokia offers several smart phones, including Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia N95.
