Smartphone Buyer's Guide

Smartphone's have become more of a necessity than a luxury these days. We all need to be connected irrespective of where we go. Our lives have become data-centric and we depend on the Internet as much as we depend on the oxygen. We all know that we need a smartphone, but we seldom know what to look for when buying one. The blogosphere is flooded with old outdated advice, no longer applicible in discussion forums. However, this Smartphone Buyer's Guide intends to explain some the most important yet underrated factors that you should look into while buying one.

Choosing the right carrier is more important than the make of your phone. The choice of your carrier will decide how much you will be able to use the features of your phone.

Data Usage

We tend to get carried away while surfing, downloading, or even while sending attachments through email. The data usage tariffs and caps should be your foremost concern. With Tesco you will have to pay 35p/min in the United Kingdom and some other EU countries. For other countries they charge up to £1.49. However, if you are using WAP over GPRS, Tesco will charge £4/MB in the United Kingdom and EU, and £8/MB for other countries. O2 on the other hand claims to provide unlimited data usage on all of its top-ups (£10 to £30). But there are some caps on data usage under the fair usage policy. So that isn't exactly unlimited.

Text Usage

This is where you will have to assess your needs and then choose a suitable plan. O2 gives you 300 texts for £10 to £14 top up and 500 texts for £15 to £29 top up. For any top up above £30 you get unlimited texts. Tesco gives you unlimited texts for just £10, but only on a year's contract on "pay monthly" basis.

Pay Monthly & Cashback Deals

Contract length should be carefully chosen lest you get stuck with unwanted and heavy monthly bills.

Every company will offer you free gifts and other cheesy stuff. You should never make a decision based on these marketing gimmicks. You should ask yourself if you really need those things and if they are worth it.

Quick Links: iPhone Buyer's Guide | Free iPhone (Contracts)