5 things to consider when buying a new Phone this Christmas

Image: Razvan Baltaretu

I have blogged and published about Mobile technology for years. I've tried them all, Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Huawei, Nokia and even cheap knockoffs when times have been tough.

But its that time of year again and the rush to get that awesome deal in the leadup to Christmas is on. So what am I recommending this year? Well actually, Im taking a different tack this year. How many of us are awe inspired by all the amazing things these digital gadgets can do and base our purchases on the bells and whistles?

I would love a mobile phone that could make me a cup of tea in the morning (And if you connected the right technology together, this is now actually possible) However, I love my mobile phone because it enables me to work on the run and a lot of my work is other peoples play.

My mobile phone connects me to all the relevant social media platforms that I am monitoring, enables me to search for shareable content, research while on the go, send emails and of course make the humble phone call from time to time. So how did I choose my recent phone?

1. Resilience

The more you use your phone, the higher the probability of an accident. thats the law of probabilities. The more you spend on your phone the higher the risk of damage. Thats Murphys law.

So having over the years dropped my phone:

From considerable, height,
Into the bath (and once into the loo as well)
In a cup of tea

I have also

left it on the roof of my car and driven off,
left it on a bus, in a pub, in a public toilet, a restaurant and on a plane

So my interest in a new higher end phone has been directed to the survival statistics of the model. Is it water resistant, bang, bump and bomb proof (in other words shock proof) and can it handle my clumsiness both in terms of hardware and software.

2. Operating system

With Smartphones this boils down to a choice between iOS and Android. This post being written about new phones Im going to assume that the latest iOS will be installed on the Phone. its important to remember this because as new models are released, old stock is sold off with older OS versions installed. This is most likely not a train smash, especially if the OS can be upgraded to the latest version, but if functionality is important be sure to check.

3. Capacity

This is not only the amount of on board memory but also memory that can be added, usually in the form of a micro SD card. I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 32Gb with a 128Gb SD card. This means that I can install most apps to the SD card. Also meaning that the phone runs better and quicker when not running its own memory to capacity. The S7 can now mount SD cards up to 200Gb.

Apparently the iPhone 6 and 7 models also have the same water resilience as the Samsung.

4. Availability of Apps

I used to operate an Android tablet, but my phone has everything I need. All the Microsoft apps, an efficient email client, excellent image, audio and video capability, Social Media apps and additional apps that enable management of mobile apps as if they are on the desktop. Both the Apple and the Samsung product lines offer an abundance of apps, but I always return to Android because of the almost neurotic way that Apple controls the available apps from its store. Don't forget if the warranty on your Phone is something you're willing to compromise Apple phones can be jail broken and third party iOS apps installed. This is only recommended if you have a good iOS developer available should anything go wrong.

5. Cost;

I have always adopted the approach that you can never expect to pay plastic prices for gold. When it comes to phones, I find that this approach applies with no exception. Its unusual for me to buy a new model on the day of release. I always wait for the as yet unidentified bugs to be ironed out and I wait three months at the bare minimum. By the time a model is pushing six months since release we know pretty quickly if its met all expectations and works as it says on the box.

Most necessary product recalls have taken place if they become necessary. When paying something between £500 and £700 for a phone we want to be sure we're getting value. Also remember The higher the model specs the longer you can use it before it becomes obsolete. Spending that extra cash usually pays off.