I will show you here how to pick a Smartphone. Decisions are based on pure technical Data analysis based on user requirements and usage. Smartphone data till 2016 has been retrieved from all my domains and the same data will be used in this post, so next time you plan to buy a smartphone you know which features to check and decide accordingly. I will be covering the following aspects with technical breakdown
- Smartphones Research
- Operating System
- Screen Size
- Pixel Density
- Rear Camera
- Front Camera
- Camera Options
- RAM
- Talk Time
- Max Standby Time
- Battery Capacity
- Features
- Wireless Connectivity
- Sensors
- Smart Rating
- What to Watch for in Smartphones
- Stay Up To Date With Smartphones
Smartphones Research
As a consumer you should do as much research as possible before choosing between the vast options out there.
For beginners, it’s best to acquaint yourself with the 3 most popular mobile operating systems in the market : Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.
Smartphone Operating System
There is no single OS which beats another , every OS has its own pros and cons and every user has their preferences. The best way to choose between them is to try a phone which runs each OS. Keep in mind that the Android operating system offers the largest selection of phones, from the smallest feature phones to massive Phablets with screens as large as 5.5 inches. iOS is restricted to iPhones and Windows has only a number of models by Nokia and few outside of that .
- Android – Google’s Android operating system, first unveiled in 2007. Google’s Android operating system is geared more towards tech enthusiasts and power users, allowing for heavy customization of almost any aspect of the OS itself. This also opens up the door for manufacturers themselves to build custom operating system shells, commonly referred to as user interfaces (UI’s). The most noteworthy Android UI’s are Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense. Android also syncs seamlessly with Google products, and comes packaged with Gmail, Finance, Google+, Google Calendar, and more. If you use these products, syncing them to an Android phone is as simple as logging in using your Google account once. This is especially helpful for when you use Google’s suite of products in your job.
- iOS – Apple’s iOS, released in June 2007 with the original iPhone, was the first widely adopted mobile operating system. Its signature attributes are its intuitive design, attention to user interface, and highly controlled environment. While Android and Windows offers a bit more in terms of customization and flexibility there are many aspects of iOS which are not up to the user to customize.As its a closed system, there are limitations even with sharing content with non Apple devices which is a huge let down. But if you are not a techie or like your machine to work without errors and lack few features, iOS is a good option. iOS also syncs beautifully with Mac OS X and any other Apple devices, so it’s a plus if you’re a fan of Apple products.
- Blackberry OS – BlackBerry’s operating system, originally released in March 2002. BlackBerry, the company formerly known as Research In Motion Limited (RIM), was the most popular smartphone ecosystem on the planet in 2009 and 2010, when iOS and Android were brand new to the market. The small, durable phones with full keyboards were so addictive for work and personal use that they were given the nickname CrackBerry. Unfortunately they didn’t evolve with trends in the market. Consumers wanted touch screen models, and BlackBerry’s first offering was the Storm which was a total turn off. Even their Z30 and Z10 didnt give them the position they earlier enjoyed
- CynaogenMod – An open source operating system for mobile devices based on the Android mobile platform.
- FirefoxOS – Mozilla’s operating system, originally released in December, 2013.
- MeeGo – A Linux based operating system, originally released in May, 2010.
- Nokia – X Software Platform – A mobile software platform based off of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
- Palm Web OS – Mobile OS developed by Palm, Inc. for their line of PDAs. They represented a large share of the market in 2005 and 2006, before falling out of favor.
- Sailfish – Mobile-optimized operating system built around the Linux operating system.
- Tizen – Open source operating system born from Linux.
Screen Size
Pixel Density
Pixels per square inch (PPI) of a phone’s display. The higher this is, the better the image quality will be on the phone’s screen.So always see the PPI before getting a phone , denser PPI means more vivid and realistic colours of the display. Breakdown of users viewing my sites with various PPI
Rear Camera
We all know what this does and how important it is for all of us , if you are a snap snap person you need a camera with good megapixels and a fast shutter to quickly get your photos done. A factual analysis is that 90% users don’t need a camera greater than 8 Megapixels. Always look towards camera aperture and sensor data, sample pictures, and the DxO Mobile score. These provide unbiased specifications that more accurately reflect image quality than megapixels alone.
Front Camera
In this era of selfies and video chatting apps , Front Cameras have gone great attention aswell. 21 Megapixels is the highest front camera quality available
Camera Options
This is a very important factor , your Smartphone should support variety of camera options and features , even if it has 21 megapixels under the hood with limited options , your camera is of no use. Various Users of my services had cameras of these options
Random Access Memory ( RAM)
RAM is one of the most important aspect, although its a fact that some brands utilize RAM in such a manner that 1 GB RAM of certain smartphone will out do 2 GB RAM of the other , but it does not mean that you should not look for higher ram , unfortunately I had very few users with RAMs of 8GB in their smartphones. I wonder if it was only me surfing on my One Plus 3T
Battery Capacity
Do not take this aspect lightly , Battery capacity will render your most awesome phone in your hate list if it doesnt last a day. 2724 mAh was the most standard figure I had on my services with few users appearing as 7521 mAh (beasts)
Smartphone Specific Features
You should see if your phone has these features, the more features it has the better it is and you can use it for furthest number of years.
- DLNA – Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
- Memory Card Slot
- OTG Supported
- Wireless Charging
Wireless Connectivity
The types of connectivity your phone lets you make , it can be WiFI,Bluetooth,NFC,IR,LTE etc
Smartphone Sensors
Smartphone uses various sensors to measure things like movement, light, and sound. Sensor technology has come more into focus with the growing emphasis on battery life in modern smartphones. For example, Apple’s M7 co-processor holds an accelorometer, gyroscope, and compass all in one. The processor is separate from the A7, so using the sensors will draw far less energy than a typical phone’s SoC configuration.Some of the majority sensors are
New Sensors which are now appearing are Thermometer and Ultrasonic Sensor. Ultrasonic sensors generate high-frequency sound waves and evaluate the echo which is received back by the sensor, measuring the time interval between sending the signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object.
What to Watch for in Smartphones
- Don’t buy Smartphone which will soon be Outdated. Brands release their new flagship models annually, so before you go and sign a new two year contract for a new iPhone, make sure the next generation isn’t right around the corner. If you don’t care about the latest phone even in that case you should check if a new model is lined up because it will result in older models to drop their price.
- Don’t waste your money. Buy what you need, If you look for 4G LTE while the same isn’t covered in your area , whats the point ?
- The right plan. Some service providers will charge extra for text messaging and for data plans that provide smartphone users with access to the Internet. Evaluate your usage habits and get the right plan
This post was last modified on March 31, 2017 2:15 pm