It’s easy to get lost in the mire of broadway dance moves and unicorn humor, and forget to pay attention to specs when buying a phone. Buying your first smartphone or upgrading your old one can be a difficult choice, especially now that new brands are becoming more important than speculations
I once asked a 17year old girl what she does with her Samsung S4, she said, "I take pictures, watch movies and chat with my friends". Samsung S4 is equipped with Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15, HTML5 browser with 4G network, 4128 x 3096 pixels, 2 GB RAM, 2600 mAh battery, 13MP - you've got to do more than just watch movies and take selfies for instagram.
So briefly, here are some of the important specs to consider before making a choice of which phone to go for.
1. Operating System OS
Choosing the right operating system (OS) and software used on a smartphone is crucial, as it defines the user experience you’ll have on your phone. The most popular platforms are Android, Apple, Windows and Blackberry.
The choice you make is a personal one, which is why it heads our list. It depends on what you’d like out of your phone as a user, the general style and functionality offered by each system, and the apps which are available to you.
2. The Processor
The CPU (central processing unit) is next on our list. This little chip determines the processing power of your phone, and how fast or fluid the processes are. It may be small, but this is the spec that will decide whether your phone will fly when you open a lot of apps, or overload and crash.
There’s a lot of different processors out there, but here are two basic things to remember when it comes to your CPU: frequency and number of cores.
The general rule is the more cores there, the better. A decent phone will have at least 1GHz and run more smoothly the more cores it has. For example, a phone with a 1GHz dual-core processor will run better than one with a 1.5GHz single-core processor. A top range CPU would be a quad-core 1.4GHz processor.
3. RAM and storage
Similar to computers, a smartphone’s ability to run multiple applications is dependent on the amount of RAM it has. This means, if you like doing a lot of things at once - invest some time in researching phones with a lot of RAM. You can never have too much. If you think you’re destined to be a heavy app user, aim for phones that have about 512MB as their minimum RAM figure. If you are a gamer like me, you should go for a 1GB RAM phone. Nokia Lumia 1520 and Nexus 5 are also cool for gaming.
Internal storage is another important spec to consider when choosing your phone, especially if you plan to store a lot of apps or photos. Internal storage ranges from about from 8GB-64GB. Usually, 16GB is plenty (especially if your phone also gives you an option to insert an SD card for external storage).
4. Display Size
Displays are something you should really pay attention to - not just for the quality of their resolution, but also their actual size. These days, size matters a lot more than it used to. Some phones out there, to put it simply, are absolute giants. If you’re a first-time buyer, a phone that’s difficult to hold in one hand, or too large to fit into your pocket, probably sounds less than ideal.
If you’re looking to play games or watch videos, look for display size of 4 inches or larger. 2.5 inches is sufficient for managing email and basic web browsing. You should also pay attention to your resolution, or the quality of your picture. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is an example of an Android powered gaming phone. The display screen measures in at 5 inches which make it ideal for playing games. When the screen gets smaller, it makes it more difficult to see the game and have an enjoyable time.
5. Battery life!
You don’t want a phone that’s constantly running out of battery. It’s annoying, inconvenient, and in some cases, can completely negate the reasons why you bought a smartphone in the first place.
So, it’s important to check how long your battery is going to last. Most of today’s phones run on lithium-ion batteries. Capacities range from about 1400mAH to 2500mAH (milliampere-hours), depending on the size of the phone. Larger phones often have a higher capacity due to their screen size. Mostly, your battery is used to power your screen, so the larger your phone - the higher the capacity.
It’s also important to consider, the talk and standby times that are given with phone are often dependent on factors such as the apps your phone is running, screen brightness, WiFi, or whether your 3G/4G is turned on.
6. Camera - Mega Pixels
They might not be replacing the compact digital camera any time soon, but smartphone camera use is still high. Even if you don’t become a rampant Instagram user, you will probably use your phone’s camera at some point. If you’re not planning to blow up your photos and hang them on a wall, you should be fine with a 3-megapixel or 5-megapixel camera.
Although a higher megapixel count will usually make a difference when printing photos, it’s important to remember that a higher megapixel count does not automatically guarantee a better image quality. Other factors such as lens type, shutter speed, and auto-focus can affect a picture’s overall quality.
Next time you need to get a new mobile, make sure to pick a smartphone you actually like. We’re serious - read all the reviews you want and do all the research you feel necessary, but make sure you’re happy when you finally purchase.
