How To Get A Great Mobile Phone - Cheap

Not sure what you're looking at when you see a mobile phone spec sheet? Don't worry, you're not alone. Spec sheets list the technical specifications of a phone model, and they're supposed to help us decide which phone is the best one to choose. But they're so full of abbreviations and technical jargon that it can be tough to know what exactly it is that you're looking at. Today we're telling you how to buy the best mobile phone for an average user. So if you want something that's decent, but don't necessarily want to spend over five hundred pounds on a top of the line device, then here's what you need to look for.

When in Doubt, Go for a Cheap Android Phone...

We're going to get in to individual specs in a moment. But first, if you really don't know what to look for then the best advice we can give you is to go for a cheap Android phone. There are plenty of choices when it comes to Android phones, meaning you'll get lots of options when it comes to how your phone looks and feels. But there actually isn't that much difference between one cheap Android phone and another. You're likely to get a very satisfactory experience no matter which model you choose to go for. We recommend any of the Sony Xperia series, of the mid-range HTC models, or even the cheaper Samsung Galaxy phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S II, as decently priced and decently functioning models. With that being said, we will know show you exactly what you should be looking for on that mysterious spec sheet.

Screen Specs...

There will be several items on the spec sheet that talk about the screen on the phone. The one that should most concern you is the screen size. On smart phones the size of the screen you're getting is important, and not just because you'll get a better video and web page viewing experience. Most smart phones no longer have physical keyboards, meaning that you'll have to type on an on screen keyboard. The bigger your screen is, the bigger the on screen keyboard will  be, and the easier it will be to type. You should be looking for a screen that's at least four and a half inches. You'll also see a listing for screen material. In order, from normal to exceptionally good, those materials are: LCD, TFT LCD, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, Retina. There's nothing wrong with an LCD screen, you'll simply get a slightly better picture with more brightness the further up the list of screen material you go. The other two screen specs that you'll see are resolution and PPI. Resolution will tell you how bright and clear the picture will be, whilst Ppi (or pixels per inch) will tell you how crisp and defined the picture will be. The higher the numbers, the better the display on your phone will look. You shouldn't worry too much about these numbers, since almost all smart phones have great displays nowadays.

Processor Specs...

The processor on your mobile phone is like the engine in your car, and the more powerful it is, the faster your phone will be. Processor specs are sometimes also listed under CPU, but it's the same thing. Don't worry too much about the name of the processor, it's the number that's important. For an average phone you should look for a processor that's about 1400 MHz (or 1.4 GHz, it's the same) for a good phone experience. Also look out for processors that say they're dual or quad core, since these tend to be more reliable.

RAM Specs...

Your phone needs to reserve a little bit of memory to perform every day functions, like opening apps, connecting to the internet and sending messages. This is referred to as RAM. If RAM is too low, your phone won't be very responsive, and it might freeze often, or even crash. You should look for at least 1 GB of RAM on a decent phone, which should be enough to make sure that everything is running smoothly and without problems.

Camera Specs...

All modern smart phones will come with a camera. Camera specs are measured in megapixels, or MP. The higher the number, the better your camera will be. Cameras of 5 MP or below will not take pictures that are good enough to print out or to blow up to regular size, since you'll just end up with a photo made up of little squares if you do this. You need a camera of at least 8 MP to take a good picture. The more MP you have, the more detail you will get on your photos.

Internal Memory...

Internal memory, or internal storage, refers to the amount of stuff you can store on your phone. How much you need really depends on how much music and data and how many photos and games you want to keep on your device. For an average user, around 16 GB is enough, though if you want to put your whole music collection on your device you should go for 32 GB instead. Extra memory on a phone does end up making the phone much more expensive, of course. A good tip is to look for a phone that has a Micro SD slot. This will let you go to any electronics store and buy a relatively cheap Micro SD card. You plug that card into your Micro SD slot, and you get more memory on your phone. This is usually much cheaper than buying a phone with a larger internal memory.

Connectivity...

Finally, you'll want to look at connectivity. All phones nowadays will have Bluetooth and WiFi. When it comes to internet connectivity you should have at least 3G. HSPA+ will get you faster internet speeds, and 4G will get you even faster internet speeds- though you'll need a special 4G mobile data plan with your operator to take advantage of this.

Author Bio:
Cheap android phone deals were advertised online, and Sam Jones was interested in the money they could potentially save him. Before committing to any of the offers, he searched the online price comparison site uSwitch, just to make sure he was getting the very best deal available.

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Getting A Great New Mobile Phone

If you find the process of choosing and buying a new mobile phone a little overwhelming, then you're not alone. There are simply so many handsets on the market nowadays that choosing between them can be extremely difficult. On top of that, the spec lists that you see that are supposed to help you choose the best phone are full of technical jargon, and are hard to understand. Today we're talking about specs for new mobiles, what you should be looking for and what isn't so important. We're here to take the mystery out of getting a new mobile, so the choice will be simple...

Specs on New Mobiles...

You might be wondering exactly what a spec list is. Below we'll talk about some specifics that you should be looking for, but as a general idea a spec list is kind of like a recipe for a mobile phone. Underneath all the technical talk, the jargon and abbreviations, all a spec list does is tell you what a phone can do, what it's capable of. The list will tell you what's inside the phone and therefore what kind of performance you can expect. Once you know what kind of specs you're looking for, then you can find a list of phones that fulfil your spec needs and choose from them based more simply on price or design.

Screens are Important...

One of the most important parts of your phone is the screen. This is particularly true if you're buying a touch screen smart phone. Whilst the screen on all new mobiles, smart phone or not, needs to be clear and bright, touch screen phones have special screen requirements. You want to have the biggest screen you can possibly find and conveniently carry around with you. Firstly this is because you'll spend a lot of time on your mobile reading internet pages and messages and watching videos, and you want to have a great viewing experience. But this is also because on a touch screen phone you need to type all your messages and emails on a keyboard that appears on the screen. The larger the screen is, the larger your keyboard will be, and the more comfortably you'll be able to type. Screen size on top of the range new phones is generally around the five inch mark. For a touch screen phone you'll want a screen size of no less than about four inches. For non-touchscreen phones screen size isn't quite as important, but you'll still want something that you can clearly read.

Along with screen size the other screen specs you often see have to do with material, resolution and PPI (pixels per inch). Material doesn't matter too much to you, although screens made from anything other than LCD will cost more, for an average user screen material won't make much difference. The same goes for resolution and PPI. These two things determine how crisp and bright your screen is, the higher the numbers the better the resolution and PPI. However, screens are so good nowadays that unless you spend your time making or watching high definition videos or games these numbers aren't particularly important.

It's All About Power...

The power, speed and responsiveness of your phone are determined by two specs, the processor (sometimes listed as CPU) and the RAM. The processor is basically your phone's brain, and the bigger and faster the processor the faster your phone will be, letting you watch videos with less buffering, access web pages faster and play high end games. On smart phones especially you should be looking for processing power of around at least 1.2 GHz (also written as 1200 MHz, it's the same thing). Anything more than that is great, but unnecessary for general use, and you'll pay more too. Processors that are dual core or quad core will be faster and more reliable than single core processors, but it's the speed that really matters rather than the number of processors. RAM is the memory that your phone keeps for performing everyday tasks (as opposed to the memory it uses for storing information). Every process on your phone requires that your device use some memory power to operate. The higher the RAM the faster and more responsive your phone will be. On smart phones the minimum amount of RAM that you can get away with nowadays is around 1 GB. More than that is great, and will just make your phone even faster and better at multi-tasking or running more than one process at the same time.

But Memory is Nice Too...

RAM is one kind of memory, but internal memory is another kind. Internal memory, or internal storage, is the memory that your phone uses to store information. The amount of internal memory your phone has will determine how many contact numbers you can save, how many photos you can store, how much music you can keep on your device. It's important that you have enough internal memory because as memory starts to fill up, your phone starts to run more slowly. If you don't have enough memory you can find yourself spending time deleting photos and music just so that your phone will run better. For the average smart phone user around 8 GB of memory should be fine. However, if you like taking pictures on your phone, or listening to music, then you might want to look for more memory than that. Mid-range mobiles usually come with around 16 GB, whilst high end phones will come with 32 GB or even 64 GB. The amount of internal memory is a big factor in the cost of devices, with those having more memory costing a lot more money. But it might not be necessary to shell out a lot of cash for a phone with a huge memory if you make sure that the device you're buying has a Micro SD card slot. This slot will allow you to purchase extra memory on a small card (these come quite cheaply from regular electronics shops) that you can fit into your phone for more storage.

Author Bio:
Sam Jones advises anyone looking for new mobiles to shop around before settling on any contract deal. Online price comparison websites like uSwitch are a great place to find a wide range of deals.

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HOT ZTE Grand S Review - All Show And Disappointing Action

ZTE is a phone manufacturer from China. The company is attempting to break into the top tier premium end of the Smartphone market with its new phones; the ZTE Grand S is their current flagship handset.
The phone is being rolled out this first quarter of 2013 in China, and then to other geographical areas at yet to be announced times. ZTE have already released the Grand Era and the Grand X but this phone is the best yet.

Specifications

The specifications of the phone are certainly compelling. It has a full HD 5 inch screen, quad core processer at 1.7GHz, 13 megapixel camera, 2 GB of RAM, 4G connectivity and sports the Android Jelly Bean Operating System. All this fits into a body which is just 6.9mm thick. This phone by specification is right up there with Samsung Galaxy 3, iPhone 5, Sony Xperia Z and other top phones.

The phone has a microSIM port on one side and a microSD card slot on the other. With many phones eliminating the microSD card slot , this is, I guess, a bonus nowadays. The phone's internal memory is 16GB and this can be expanded significantly with the addition of an SD card.

The specifications of the phone suggest that the phone should be lightning quick and snappy. In reality the Jelly Bean system is somewhat sluggish and even unresponsive when put next to the likes of Huawei and Sony. Certainly the delays waiting for screens to load and the sluggishness are not serious in terms of a lower specification mid-range phone but when considered as a high-end premium phone it is frustrating and below expectation.

The keyboard on the phone's screen is an Android keyboard, which has been altered. It is ok but not as good as SwiftKey from Google Play, which has a much better typing experience.

Camera

The phone has a 13 megapixel camera, which doesn't have that great a shutter speed making photos in quick succession nigh on impossible. In addition, the pictures aren't actually as crisp as you would expect. As for the video, it is not what one would expect from such a high specifications phone. The video and camera experience are both somewhat disappointing.

Overall

In summary this phone disappoints, it flatters to deceive. The specifications suggest it should be a top class phone and blow other phones out of the water, but in reality it ends up being slightly annoying, a bit disappointing in the screen and camera departments and leaving the user baffled by how such amazing specifications can amount to such lackluster performance. If you are looking for a high end phone then look to Nokia, Apple, Samsung and you will get a better value proposition right now. ZTE need to go back to the drawing board and redraft their ideas about what constitutes high-end smartphone performance and indeed how they are going to produce a phone that meets expectations rather than disappoints. In short, do not be fooled by the spec in the advertising blurb!

Author Bio:
Phil Turner is looking at new mobiles at the moment, both for himself and his family.

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Looking For A Phone That Makes Everything Simple? Try The HTC Sensation

HTC are really coming into prominence these days on the smartphone market, with their excellent range of Android and Windows phone devices that cover just about every area of the market in terms of price and design. One of their most talked about phones, which certainly helped raise their profile above competitors like LG, was the HTC Sensation which was launched in 2011. With a few upgrades, allowing it to run the latest form of the HTC Sense UI with Android's Ice Cream Sandwich build, the HTC Sensation is still going strong. In this article we will look at what makes this phone special, and whether it will prove to be a mobile phone that you have been looking for,  if your in the market for a new Android device.

License: Creative Commons image source

Convenient And Flexible User Experience

While users tend to have their own priorities when it comes to phones, depending on what they use them for most and how much they value things like the device's physical design and the standard of the camera, every phone user wants their phone to be easy to use and to make the things they do most simple. The HTC Sensation is a phone that does this really well, largely thanks to the HTC Sense user interface. The name “Sense” really suits the UI, which is so intuitive you'll feel like they designed it just for you. The menu systems are easy to access and everything is exactly where you would expect it to be, and it is also very easy to customize the views you get on the phone, allowing you to choose which apps and features take the most prominence. The messaging interface is great, with modern thread style texting, and the on screen keyboard is one of the better ones on the market, making it easy to text, email and so on without horrendous mistakes blighting everything you write!

Comfortable, Attractive Design

For a larger, slate style device, the HTC Sensation uses design to look deceptively compact, with its smooth curved finish and light feel. This means it sits a lot more comfortably in your hand than squarer phones, and yet you still get the benefit of lots of screen space to read and look at things on. The screen quality is great, and so you can enjoy watching video and reading pages on it, even for long periods of time.

Keep It Charged

The only downside to the HTC Sensation is that the battery life isn't great. This is not so much a negative about the HTC Sensation itself, but about Android phones in general – there are very few out there you aren't going to want to charge every night. It does charge pretty quickly, and you'll get a day of fairly intensive use out of that charge, so don't let this put you off buying the Sensation, just make sure you remember to plug it in when you are at work or overnight so it doesn't frustrate you by running out of juice when you need it.

Author Bio:
Writer Laura Ginn, who is passionate about mobile tech, took a look at the cool HTC Sensation Android smartphone to find out if this attractive device lived up to the hype around it. Laura is a keen reviewer of smartphones and other mobile technology, and aims to help her readers get the most out of their phones.

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The IPhone 6 - When Will It Launch And What Will It Look Like?

The iPhone 5 smashed on to the market with 5 million sales in just 3 days, and around 45 million sales in a quarter. It was one of the fastest, if not the fastest selling phone in history. It was met by consumer delight and critic dismay. Critics stated that Apple hadn't innovated as far as it should have and that there were some serious issues with the operating system compared to Android. It is interesting to see the phone’s success in light of the significant analyst criticism.

The iPhone 6 looks to be a pivotal phone for the iPhone series. With so many consumers having automatically chosen the iPhone 5, Apple had incredible brand loyalty, but do they still have it? Only time will tell whether more consumers will shop around cutting in to the 20% market share that Apple currently enjoys.

The iPhone 6 launch 2014

We only have rumors at the moment, but according to Peter Misek, a very well-known and lead analyst from Jefferies and Company, the phone will come around mid-2014. Misek has stated that Apple are struggling with development and manufacturing, and that this will delay the release and could even force the price up beyond what Apple had originally intended. The production levels required for an iPhone release are amazing and certain bottlenecks in the manufacturer process certainly could be a problem.

Misek says, for example that TSMC, the company that Apple use to make chips will struggle with the production requirements of the processors. Misek states that there will also be problems developing the Oled or IGZ technology that looks to replace the Intel LCD Screen. The manufacturing again could be a problem.

The operating system is also looking to get a complete overhaul and revamp, and this is going to take time.

iPhone 5S and a budget iPhone

There are more rumors that iPhone is to release iPhone 5S over the coming months and also a budget iPhone to appeal to the mid-range or even budget market.

Certainly, Apple cannot wait until the middle of 2014 for the next release. They will simply be out of the market by then with the pace of technology advancement and all the new phones that are coming onto the market. Certainly, people are looking at other options more these days and we have an increasingly tech savvy consumer base that are getting to know what they like and this could spell disaster for iPhone if there is  a long wait for the next release.

Samsung Galaxy S4

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 coming over the next month or two, some analysts are predicting that a hundred million handsets will be produced. With Samsung such a super power, they are certainly the major contender to the Apple iPhone series. A good release now could be timely considering the amount of negative attention that Apple have had over recent times.

A summary of what we guess the iPhone 6 will look like

We are expecting an Apple iPhone 6 that will have a 4.8 inch screen that stretches close to the sides. The display will dominate the phone and will retain its skinny nature around 7mm. It will be light and will also retain the iconic Apple look. They will be available in black and white. It will have a four or even eight-core processor, and because of increased screen size, they will include new technology to cater for the dimensional demands.

Author Bio:
Phil Turner is looking to buy a new phone and has looked at the iPhone. Unfortunately he is limited by the poor network coverage where he lives and is limited as to which networks he can look for deals on.

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Apps Your Android Phone Deserves After You successfully Root It

It feels so exciting and refreshing to be finally able to root your android device. For such a device, the options are limitless and if you cannot wait to dive into the sea of online apps and other services made available at your disposal, please do go through our list of 5 apps that you must download right after rooting your phone. These apps will ensure higher and more efficient backup and performance of your phone and will enable you to draw the best out of the potential of your smart phone device.

Top 5 Apps to Download After Rooting Your Android Device

1. ROM Manager

Right after rooting their phone, any android user will definitely enjoy the features provided by ROM Manager. This app allows the users to combat flashing ROMs, back up the device for a later use and also download the modified version of applications belonging to the system. No matter what you would like to do next with you android after rooting it, this app will make the process smooth as a breeze.

2. LMT Launcher

An amazing launcher to have in place, LMT provides you with almost instantaneous access to any file or folder which may exist on your phone. It also makes available a herd of customizable gestures for your smart phone device and also provides you with a number of swipe areas which are kept invisible and trigger the launch of apps specified previously. To download this fabulous app, you may visit the forums for XDA developers or go through the instruction manuals from its official download page. The reason why we are fretting about the download is because this platform is not supported by all of the devices and hence you might want to check its compatibility with the device that you are currently using.

3. Network Log

For all the users who oftentimes try but fail to keep a tab on the internet data their phones use are going to thank us for sharing this app with them. Network log is an amazing app to have in place for keeping a strict tab on the amounts of data usage as it provides you with thorough information regarding each of the apps using the data or the band width on your device. And in addition to that, the app also enables you to view the same under various graphs and charts and if you are really obsessed about keeping the data usage under control, and weeding out the notorious elements that have come to inhabit your phone, the app also provides you with live updating notification. What more can you possibly ask for from the app dedicated towards streamlining and optimizing the data usage to their phones?

4. Root Explorer

Giving the basic and elementary levels of file management a break, we have root explorer, an amazing app which allows you to reach to the lengths of anything that you may have in the backend storage and also allows you to proactively and profoundly administer the entire system. For efficient management of your android devices, you would not want to miss out on this app.

Root explorer is just one of the many blessings that come along with rooting your smart phone device.

5. Titanium Backup

Titanium Backup is the ultimate app available for backing up the data. Ever single file and piece of content in your android gets a back up with this app and hence this is the best tool to use, if you were to migrate your phone to a different deployment system, format it or even generally.

Once you have rooted your device, there is not dearth of options. Should you have any problems with the same or require efficient android and iPhone development services consider contacting a company providing cost effective and technically sound offshore mobile development services.

Author Bio:

Steve Graham is a celebrated author who has been writing for a leading Mobile Development Company. He provides concrete information about Mobile Development Service. If you are looking for iOS Developers India, he recommends Xicom Technologies as the best Mobile Development Company.

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How To Choose The Best Mobile Service Contract

Mobile phone operators don't exactly make choosing a service contract easy. And with so many operators to choose from, and so many plans with each operator, it can be tough knowing which one is right for you. Today we're talking about how you choose a mobile contract to make sure that you're getting the best deal around. So, if you're in the midst of shopping for a new service contract, then read on to find out how to decide...

Image Courtesy: geekcurrent.com

Pay As You Go Phones are Still an Option...

First you need to decide if you really want a contract. Pay as you go phones are available, and don't require that you sign any contract at all. You just buy a SIM card and top it up with credit. The disadvantage of these plans is that when your credit runs out your phone stops working, so you'll have to track your credit use. Also, rates tend to be higher on pay as you go phones than on contracts. However, light phone users will benefit from a pay as you go plan. If you don't use your phone too much then a contract is going to end up costing you more, since you pay the same monthly price whether you use all of your calling plan or none of it. With pay as you go you only ever pay for what you use.

How to Check Coverage...

You'll need to find out which operators give you good coverage in your area. This is simple to do. Head over to the OFCOM web site and you'll find a coverage map that compares the coverage of all the major UK operators in all areas of the country. In urban areas you'll probably get good coverage with everyone, but in rural areas there are more problems. If an operator has bad coverage in your area, there's no point in signing up with them, since you'll have slow mobile data speeds and bad call quality.

Incentive or SIM Only?

Now you need to decide which kind of contract you want. There are two to choose from, incentive or SIM only. Both of these contracts will give you the service that you need, but an incentive contract will also give you a free or low cost mobile phone. The monthly cost for an incentive contract is higher than the monthly cost of a SIM only contract, which is how the operator makes you pay for your phone. Over the course of the contract you will end up paying a little more than retail price for the phone you get, though not usually too much more. If you need a phone and don't have the cash to pay for it, then you should sign an incentive contract. If you already have a phone, sign a SIM only contract. Also, if you have the cash to buy a phone immediately, then doing so and signing a SIM only contract will end up being a little cheaper.

Choosing a Calling Plan...

Whichever contract you sign you'll need to choose a calling plan. This is a set of limits for the amount of calling minutes, text messages and mobile data that you can use each month for a fixed monthly price. Choosing the right size of calling plan is important. A plan that's too big will mean that you pay for services that you don't use (since you'll pay the same monthly fee whether you use all of your limits or none of them). A plan that's too small will mean that you have to pay expensive extra fees for going over your limits. The best way to choose the right size calling plan is to look at your old mobile bills and see what your average usage looks like. Alternatively, you could track your phone use for a month or so to see what kind of plan you'll need.

How Long to Sign Up For...

Contracts come in different lengths. You'll generally be offered the option of twelve, eighteen or twenty four month contracts. Some SIM only plans will come with thirty day rolling contracts. This means that the contract automatically renews every thirty days until you tell the operator that you no longer want service. The longer your contract is the cheaper your monthly payments will usually be. This is especially true with incentive contracts, since the price of the phone will be spread out over a greater number of months. But you have to remember that once you sign a contract, it's going to be difficult and expensive to cancel it. This means that you won't be able to switch to another operator because they have better prices. It also means that should you decide to move or should your financial situation change, you might be stuck with a mobile contract that you can't afford to get out of. You'll have to balance the convenience of a short term contract with the affordability of a long term contract in your decision.

Comparison Shopping...

Once you have all the information above, you'll be able to start comparison shopping. By far the easiest way to do this is online. Find a decent mobile operator comparison web site, there are plenty of them around, just make sure it's UK oriented. You then put the calling plan limits that you're looking for into the parameter boxes, and the site will present you with a list of plans with different operators that match your needs. You can choose the plan that's cheapest with an operator that you like, remembering to make sure that it's an operator that has good coverage in your area. It's really that simple. When you have decided which plan is right for you, you have two choices. You can go to a high street branch of your chosen operator and sign a contract there, or you can go to the operator's web site and sign up online. Online prices tend to be slightly cheaper than physical store prices, but first time contract signers might find it easier to go to an operator branch and sign up.

Authro Bio:
Sam Jones daughter liked the idea of pay as you go phones.  Checking that they were the right option for her was easy with simple to use websites such as uSwitch.

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