First it was the organizers who were in fashion. It was essential to be with the crowd. Then it was the best full-featured mobile phone, now its smartphones with as many features as possible!
So what can smartphones do?
1. Make and receive phone calls
2. Organize your personal data; such as appointments, notes and tasks
3. Send and receive email
4. View websites (mobile format websites are best)
5. View and/or edit MS Office documents
6. View Acrobat files (PDF documents)
7. Take pictures
8. View images,
9. Take/watch videos,
10.MP3 player
11. Log in to office networks,
12. GPS units.
Some smartphones are capable of doing all of the above. The advantage is that it allows you to switch between life and work. One moment you can be checking your emails and the next you can be taking a picture or watching a video! There are many practical uses. Using a smartphone means you can have a phone, PC, camera, video player, MP3 player all in one. Some engineers find them invaluable as they can take pictures of faulty parts and email them to their technical departments.
What should you look for when choosing a Smartphone?
(1) Check the coverage maps. Your network coverage is important. Not all networks provide good coverage Traveling abroad? Use a GSM based network. Then prepaid SIM cards can be used in different countries.
(2) WiFi is useful, especially if you use hotspots often.
(3) QWERTY keyboards are useful for checking emails.
(4) Check your data plans carefully. Prices vary a lot.
(5) The applications you can use will be determined by the operating system.
(6) Some smartphones support memory expansion.
(7) 3G will speed up web browsing and email.
(8) Check connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Infrared and Wi-Fi
Now, it’s important to find out which features are vital to using your smartphone for work and play. Then take a look at the reviews and choose your phone!
These are the 4 main recommendations:
Apple iPhone
nokia n95
BlackBerry 8800
sony ericson p1i
