Guidelines when buying your next Mobile Phone Dale Gardner-Berry 15th August 2018

Price Look for older Models Models are updated nearly every year Compare prices over a period of time Specials aren’t always special Buy online but be aware of the following ‘Build numbers’ that can vary even for same model number Same model numbers having different years of release eg Samsung A5 has 2015, 2016 and 2017 models Some phones are advertised as refurbished but what about less honest suppliers Usually the charger is included but it may be a generic charger This now more important when phones have capability of smart charging meaning faster charging

What is important to you? Budget smart phones are more than capable of making phone calls, texting, making appointments, emails and web browsing Physical handling Unfortunately with ageing our manual dexterity does not improve Try before you buy – very personal Call Quality Not always mentioned in reviews and does partly depend on your carrier More important as our hearing deteriorates with age Phones use noise cancelling software in an attempt to reduce background noise Some are better than others

Reception - Sensitivity

Screen size and quality Larger screens are being fitted into smaller cases as the bezels around the screen become smaller High resolution screens are only necessary if you wish to show off your videos and photos They are very nice if you enjoy ‘you tube,’ ‘catch up tv’ or ‘video streaming’ Large screens use more battery power – average battery now 3000 to 3300 mAh Non replaceable 16/9 ratio now being replaced by 18/9 This allows more screen real estate without the phone being too wide to hold

Camera Are your photos for social media, or a replacement for your digital compact camera? Don’t just look at pixel numbers. Sensor size and processing are just as important Do you need optical stabilisation? How fast is the camera to start up and and how fast to take pictures? If you make regular skype calls you need a decent front camera, many phones only have 2 meg front cameras which does save data Latest cameras have 2 ‘f-stop’ settings f1.8 and f2.2

Sound If you regularly watch video, good sound makes a big difference Be aware that more mobiles are now relying on blue tooth to connect headphones. If you have good quality wired ear or headphones make sure your phone comes with a earphone jack The position and number of loud speakers vary. They may be mounted either front or back. Front speakers create a better sound stage, but there is more room to fit larger speakers on the back The higher specked phones have better amplifiers and tone (equaliser) controls If you regularly listen to music you need to listen to some of your own recordings This can be tried in store by taking an OTG cable and a ‘usb’ stick with your recordings to the store. Ask first If you have decent earphone/headphone take your own

Radio Not all mobiles have FM radio Not to be confused with digital radio using streaming

Finger print Reading. Front or back?  

Telco Plans or buy unlocked mobile outright?  

IP ratings – What are they? International Protection rating or Ingress Protection rating A rating or IP of 68 is excellent for a mobile phone  

Effective against Description — No protection against contact and ingress of objects 1 >50 mm Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part 2 >12.5 mm Fingers or similar objects 3 >2.5 mm Tools, thick wires, etc. 4 >1 mm Most wires, slender screws, large ants etc. 5 Dust protected Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment. 6 Dust tight No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact (dust tight). A vacuum must be applied. Test duration of up to 8 hours based on air flow.

Dripping water when tilted at 15° None 1 Dripping water 2 Dripping water when tilted at 15° 3 Spraying water 4 Splashing of water 5 Water jets 6 Powerful water jets 7 Immersion, up to 1 m depth 8 Immersion, 1 m or more depth

https://www.androidcentral.com/android-one Android One What is it? Started 2014 for budget mobiles 2018 more sophisticated midrange mobiles Main companies are: Xiamomi, Motorola, HTC and Nokia          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_One https://www.androidcentral.com/android-one

Trevor Hudson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7bnsuR4yI

Useful Web Sites Techradar Engadget Cnet Choice consumer magazine gsmarena Techradar Engadget Cnet Choice consumer magazine

Don’t throw away your last mobile phone just in case you lose or damage your current phone Take your spare mobile on holiday either for a 2nd sim card or if your primary mobile is lost or fails

Questions ?