Things To Consider Before Buying a Smartphone This 2015 (The Ultimate Smartphone Buying Guide)

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The Year 2015 is still a bit Fresh, some of us may have intentions of changing our phones, or buying for someone. These days, the power and functionality in a palm-sized smartphone would have taken up an entire storage room in the 1960's. Today, your cell phone is a constant companion, a pocket-sized link to the news, entertainment and social circles that color your world.
It's your office assistant, your bank, your game, your book, your radio, your music player, your source of entertainment, your bible, your qu'ran, your weight loss monitor and so much more.
That's why it's so important to find the right mobile phone that best fits your needs.
As culled from BambooNaija website, this post focuses on making sure you take informed decisions and serve as buying guide to advice you on the things to consider before buying a mobile phone this 2015.
 

Things To Consider:

1. What Do You Want To Use It For?

Do you want to use your phone just to make calls and receive calls? Or you need your phone to send text messages only? Alternatively, do you want to use your cellphone to take pictures? Browse the internet?
The thing with smartphone technology these days is that there are so many phones in the market and they are all the 'best' at one thing or the other.
Some phones have the best cameras, the best internet browsers etc. In choosing your mobile phone, focus on what you want to use it for. If you understand exactly what skills and capabilities you'd like to see in your new phone, it'll help you avoid paying too much for features you don't want or need.
For a good balance, we like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, Huawei Ascend Mate 2, Nokia Lumia 1520. For Apple iPhone fans, consider the iPhone 6 Plus. For monetary considerations try the Tecno Phantom Z and the Blackberry Z3.

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2. What's The Battery Life?

With many smartphones having dual-core, Quad-core (.... they may bring hardcore any time soon...) processors and big screens, smartphones have never been more powerful–or more power hungry.
Yes, specs and apps matter, but what good are they if you’re looking for a charger by Mid-day?
One way to tell how much battery life your smartphone will provide on a charge is to take a look at the battery capacity.
Typical phone batteries start in the neighborhood of 1,700mAh and go all the way up to 3,500mAh. Generally, the closer you get to 3,000 mAh (milli-amp hours) — or above, the better.
In The Laptop Mag battery test, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 topped the list and lasted for 14 hours and 43 minutes.
Other phones that put up a good result showing in the Battery Life test includes
- the Sony Xperia Z3 (12 hours , 9 minutes),
- Nokia Lumia 1520 (11hours, 28 minutes),
- Samsung Galaxy S5 (10 hours, 50 minutes),
- HTC One M8 (10 hours, 50 minutes),
- and Apple iPhone 6 Plus (10 hours).

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3. Does Size Matter For You?

All pun intended. Big-screen phones are growing on shoppers. In fact, Phablets (phones with displays 5 inches or larger) now account for about 20% of all smartphones sold in the Nigerian market. Bigger phone screens give you a lot more real estate for watching movies, playing games and enjoying photos. The trade-off is that the phone isn’t easy to operate with one hand, tends to be heavier and can be a tight fit for front pockets of your clothes.

Large Devices (Over 5.1-inches): So-called "phablets" (phone + tablets) have bigger screens, which provide a generous viewing area and easier on-screen typing. But they can be bulky. 

Standard Size (4.5 to 5.1 inches): The mainstream size for flagship phones like the Galaxy S5, Nokia Lumia and HTC One. 

Compact Size (Below 4.5 inches): Many phones, including the 4-inch iPhone and the 4.3-inch HTC One Mini provide smaller, more pocket-friendly form factors.

4.What Operating System (O.S) Should You Use?

If you're buying a smartphone, the operating system can make a big difference in how you use your device. At the moment there are four major operating systems vying or do I say Competing for your attention. Here's a brief overview of what each one has to offer.

Android

• Open source platform owned by Google Inc, that allows third-party developers to create apps and tools
• Designed as a consumer- and social network-centric platform
• Easy to customize to match your needs and tastes
• Over a million apps available via the Google Play store 

Apple iOS

• Integrates iTunes app and Safari mobile Web browser
• The same technology powers all Apple devices for seamless communication between Only Apple devices
• Thousands of officially approved apps available via the App Store 

BlackBerry

• Created for business users for easy access to e-mail and text messaging
• Updated BlackBerry 10 operating system creates a more interactive, user-friendly experience and possibly run Android OS, hence Android Apps too
• Ideal for international use.

Windows Phone

• Personalized, user-friendly experience that communicates seamlessly with Microsoft computers and other devices
• Easily customizable touch-screen interface
• SkyDrive app allows easy management of documents, photos, videos and other Large files.

5. Camera

A phone's camera depends on a whole host of variables. Though you might think that more megapixels is better, that's not always the case. You can get sharper images from a 5-megapixel camera than from an 8-megapixel shooter, so it's better to concentrate on other specs such as the quality of the lens as well as the camera sensor.

6. Storage & Expansion

Given that you’ll store everything from photos and music to videos, Games and apps on your smartphone, opt for as much internal memory and upgradable memory as you can. We recommend you choose a device that has a microSD card slot. Possible maximum of 16GB or 32GB.

What Next?

Do you intend buying a smartphone soon? Which Smartphone will you like to get this Year. Or Do you already have smartphone with cool features, are you satisfied with it?

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