Smart Users Guide to Smart Phones

So you’re in the market for a new smart phone, but feel like a dummy? Let me help you make your decision, or at least get better informed. You are not alone. Chances are, you know someone who owns a smart phone. Think of them: probably in glasses, wearing stylistically chic clothing that screams “I care!” in a non-caring way. They are always in touch, and sporting a rather large square mini-computer on their ear. Or even worse: a blue-tooth headset. What do they have that you want? Connections? A working Internet connection? No. What they have is a smart phone. Now a brief definition: the difference between a smart phone and a regular phone usually involves the added features that give it Internet browsing capabilities, e-mail checking, maybe even GPS or other applications of that Internet connection. The oldest smart phones I can remember came out of the PDA era. They had contact lists, calendars and maybe primitive applications that ran on the Palm OS or Windows Mobile 5 or 6.

New smart phones are light years beyond that and evolving quickly. The new iPhone 4 (not so new anymore) has a monitor with resolution to rival a computer screen. The Sprint EVO can play 720p video in high definition. But larger screens aren’t the only advantage to new smart phones. They also benefit from a high-speed Internet connection that goes anywhere with you, giving you access to your favorite websites, in mobile format, and your e-mail. Using the Internet connection also gives you access to either the Android Marketplace or the Apple App Store for the iPhone. Most of the applications in their respective app stores take advantage of your Internet connection and GPS location to give you relevant information about where you are and what you can do around there. There are also games and other wastes of time, like sound boxes, but those uncouth apps are the spam of the app store.

Now let’s talk price. Smart phones are expensive, by phone standards. The top providers in Knoxville are Verizon and AT&T, with Verizon being the much better service provider with less dropped calls. However you pay for that kind of coverage. For me and my wife to have two Droid smart phones and 2000 minutes is well over $200 month. But you’re thinking, I won’t need a home Internet connection anymore, so I’ll save that money. Hold your horses buckaroo. Your phone MIGHT allow you to “tether” (connect a phone to a computer and use its Internet connection) one computer to it, so there is no way you’re going to use it on more than one computer in your house. It’s also much slower, although still high speed, than your Comcast or AT&T connection at your house. You also won’t be able to have a home network, share files or printers, through your phone Internet connection.

Despite the price, there are still some affordable options out there. Cricket has two Android phones that are less than $200 for the phone (total price!) and require no long term contract. Their unlimited mobile, texting and web package is only $55 month, which is much less than your major providers, but you’ll lose the better coverage and some of the other features.

Finally, I want to briefly mention technology creep in the context of mobile phones. The itch cycle of mobile devices is like 3months, so whatever you get, be prepared for it to be replaced by a bigger and better phone almost immediately. I’ve seen it happen with both my iPhones (3G and 3GS) and my Droid phones. The ability to stay content with your smart phone will take an almost Zen-like centering and constant reinforcement that “My Phone is Cool Enough!”

About the Author: Daniel Buchanan of GetMorePC.com is a local IT consultant and technophile who loves gadgets, computers, networking and any other device with a processor and memory. You can find him downtown in the Art Market building tinkering with broken computers.