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

2. 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, and 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

3. What is important to you?
Budget smart phones are more than capable of making phone calls,
texting, making appointments, s 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

4. Reception - Sensitivity

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

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

9. Finger print Reading. Front or back?

10. Telco Plans or buy unlocked mobile outright?

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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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
         

15. Trevor Hudson

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

21. 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

22. Questions ?