Gone are the days when mobile phones were only used to make and receive calls. With the advances being continuously made in technology there is nothing that the mobile phones of the present day cannot do. Right from the basic utilities of make and receiving calls and text messages you can browse the Internet, send and receive emails and even take pictures or shoot video clips too. There is such a fantastic variety of phones in the market with such a wide range of features that it can be pretty challenging for you to select a phone that would best suit your requirements.
Let’s looks at the different features that you will find in mobile phones so that you would be able to decide what you would like to buy depending on your tastes and interests. They are available in a variety of colours and you could even have more than one phone to match the dresses you are wearing.
MP3 players and cameras
A lot of people enjoy taking pictures. As such having a good digital camera in the mobile phone could come in handy. There are mobile phones that have varying degrees of mega pixels for their cameras, some of them even have up to 8mega pixels, so if you have a penchant for shooting pictures or videos, you would like to look for one that has a high resolution camera.
Certain mobile phones also have built-in MP 3 players and radios that help the owner enjoy music especially when on the move. In some mobile phones, these features are taken a step ahead, and pause when there is an incoming call, so you do not need to stop the music when you receive a call.
Shape and style
As you can well imagine, the smaller the device the more comfortable it is to carry with you. Among mobile phones the three most important styles are the candy bar, which is the normal mobile phone in the shape of a bar, the slider mobile phone where you would have to slide the top part of the phone to use the keypad and the clamshell style that has a flip open cover.
In the candy bar design, the screen and the controls are all available on a rectangular board. They are sturdy and simple to use and are generally not damaged easily either.
The same is the case with the clamshell mobile phones, as the display screen is safeguarded from scratches by the flip cover. In the clamshell design the screen on the flip cover that fold on to the keyboard. When compared to the candy bar phones, they have larger screens and keypads though when folded over they appear smaller. Another benefit of the clamshell phones are that the keypads are protected, which means there are no chances of accident dialling when it bangs into something when placed in a bag. The clamshell phones also have different varieties, like twist phones where the screens can be turned to 180 degrees so that everything is seen even if it is not flipped open.
The slider designed phones also like the clamshell safeguard the keypad. In this design too the screen can be larger and is quite useful particularly if you have plans to utilise it as a personal diary and organiser.
Size of the Screen
Depending on how you use your mobile phone the screen size also has a lot of significance. The present day mobile phones have beautifully large full-colour screens. If the phone is only being used for making and receiving calls and text messages, you would not require a big screen. In addition the smaller screens offer more battery life and talk time. On the other hand if you are one who surfs the Internet using your mobile phone, it would be definitely advisable to go in for one that has a large screen and one that has a screen resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. It would also display the calendar, list of contacts and your T0-Do list.
Other Interesting Features
Normally all mobile phones are linked to the GSM network in the UK, but there are a lot of the mobile phones that are also connected to the GPRS data network systems for light data and email checking. More and more phones have 3G capability today. 3G refers to the high speed data network where you can upload and download data faster. So for someone who uses the Internet frequently a 3G enabled phone would be very useful.
Now Bluetooth is another very handy feature especially for someone who is always on the move and particularly for people who drive their own vehicles. It allows for hands-free talking, and with traffic rules strictly imposing rules that drivers should use their hands to hold the mobile phone when driving. The Bluetooth ensures that both your hands are on the wheel and your eyes on the road. In fact the Bluetooth device is what links your phone to a wireless headphone or a satellite navigation gadget inn the car. In addition you can transfer or receive data form similar Bluetooth enabled devices free of cost.
Consider mobile Accessories too
While on the search for a mobile phone it would be in your interest to have a couple of mobile accessories too. For a start keep a spare charger handy so that you can keep one for use in your work place and one at home. If your phone is Bluetooth enabled, get a hands-free wireless headphone kit. Usually all Bluetooth devices are compatible with any Bluetooth enabled phone.
In case you have a penchant for music and would like to load plenty of songs into your mobile phone, it would be a great idea to have some extra memory space in your phone, in which case you could always get yourself extra storage space by buying a Mini-SD, Micro SD or an M2 card. Only remember to ensure that which ever card you buy it should be compatible with the model of your particular phone.
One important point to bear in mind is that a mobile phone that can access the Internet is in no way similar to an Internet Phone. If you have the Skype software you can access the Internet on your mobile phone, however accessing the Internet using your mobile phone can be a pretty expensive affair and run up your mobile bills sky high.
Internet phones
Internet phones are devices that can be easily connected to any computer system and these phones utilise your domestic broadband connectivity to make calls via the Internet. This implies that your calls charges will be far lower or even free of cost when you are talking to friends or elatives overseas. The other plus point with such phones are that because they are very like the usual landline phones, there’s nothing much you need to know about how you can get hooked up to the Internet to make or receive calls.
Working of the Internet phone
Usually all Internet phones come loaded with all the necessary things and all you have to do is to get connected. In fact you are even provided with a handy start guide to get you on your way to connecting the phone.
These phones function utilising the VoIP also known as Voice over Internet Protocol, to transfer your voice communications over the Internet. When you utilise the Internet all calls that are made from one Internet phone to another are totally free; it’s just like sending emails to people in no matter whether they are in the same or in two other countries. If you are using an Internet phone and calling someone outside your country it will not cost you a penny, or alternatively if you call someone on their mobile phone through your Internet phone, you would probably have to pay a few pennies for it. Whichever way you look at it, it’s extremely cheap. You can also have a standard phone number and get people from anywhere call your Internet phone from any telephone they wish.
In addition, you can exchange videos, pictures and even music files and really make the most of the potency of the Internet using VoIP connectivity. However having a computer will help you save all the phone numbers in the address book and with just a click you will be able to call anyone of those numbers.
How to select a network
You can select from a variety of Internet phone network providers like Skype and BT Broadband Talk. Very akin to the mobile network providers most of them provide more or less the same facilities though their charges and benefits may vary. Therefore when selecting an Internet phone it means that you would be selecting a network too.
Your bill payments are made via a pre-paid account similar to your mobile phone accounts, the only factor being they are far less expensive. There are providers like BT that offers bundled package providing both broadband and Internet phone accounts together in one bill that you can pay every month.
Variety of internet Phones
There are many kinds and styles of Internet phones.
There are the USB phones that are the easiest means of starting off. They can easily be inserted into the USB port of the computer system or laptop, therefore they are perfect to make calls while you are seated at your machine or travelling to and from work or even when you are on a vacation and are carrying your laptop.
You then have the Desk Internet phones that also utilise the USB port, but the difference is that they look very akin to the conventional cordless phones and come in handier when you have an office at home or when you need to talk more often.
The DECT Internet phones are actually cordless phones that make use of the broadband connectivity rather than your telephone line network. Being wire-free you have the convenience of moving around from to room or even out in the garden while you are talking. In addition these phones also come with more than one handset, so you can have a phone in various rooms.
The Desk and the DECT phones can be availed of as dual phones. The advantage is that you can use one handset for both standard calls and calls that you make over the Internet by simply clicking a switch.
Accessories
There are lot of accessories that can be utilised with Internet phones like webcams, which are tiny cameras that permit the person calling you to see you, and you too would be able to see who you are talking to if they also have a webcam. A headset is another accessory that is handy because your hands are free when you are talking and this is particularly helpful when you are doing some work.
It would also be advisable to have a wired phone in the home in case of emergencies, for the simple reason that both cordless phones and Internet phones do not work when there is no electricity.
