7 Things to consider before paying for your next phone

n the world of today, the mobile gadget is one of the high selling products in the market due to its relevance. People troop into mobile phone stores daily to buy one or two mobile phone(s). But the question is �what are the likely things to consider in a potential phone to buy?�?�

There are several things we all consider when we want to buy our new phones. However, our research has proven that this consideration is based on individual priorities and interest.

What do I mean?

What a selfie freak will consider most important in a phone to buy will differ from what a researcher or a programmer will consider. Therefore, the bottom line is that what people consider before buying a phone depends on what they consider most important to them and what they want to use the phone for.

We have outlined some of the things you may wish to consider before paying for a phone.

RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Phone RAM is what actually determines the speed of your phone. As you open an application on your phone to perform a particular task, it is the RAM that holds every data stored in that application as it is running. Therefore, the RAM space of your phone will determine the number of applications you can run on your phone at the same time without slowing your phone down. The bigger the RAM, the more apps you are able to run on your phone at a time without your phone hanging or heating up. Invariably, it is the RAM size that determines the speed of your phone.

By this, if you are among those that run several applications at a time, then you

will need to consider phone RAM the most important thing to check out for in a phone to buy. Very big Ram may not really matter to a phone user who is only using WhatsApp and Facebook. Some people assume RAM is a storage feature of a smartphone but it is not. RAM only holds information and application as long as the phone is on and the application is running. Once you shut down your phone or an app, all the information is wiped off the RAM.

As at 2015, the standard RAM size was 1-2GB but currently, the standard RAM size for those interested in RAM is between 4GB and 12GB.

INTERNAL STORAGE CAPACITY

Another important thing to consider when buying a mobile phone is the inbuilt storage capacity. This is because every information on your phone is stored on your storage space. Thus, the number of information or files your phone is able to keep depends on the internal storage capacity. This means that the more the internal memory space, the more the picture, videos, Apps and documents you are able to store on your phone. Even though there is another way of getting around this which is getting an external storage card (Memory card), it is always better to have higher internal memory than banking on just external memory.

BATTERY CAPACITY

The battery of the phone is another thing you need to check out before settling for any smartphone. If you are in the part of the world where there�?`s constant power supply, then, you may not need to bother much about strong battery. But am also sure you wouldn�t want to always get your phone connected to power source because of poor battery capacity. If you are resident in the part of

the world where there is an issue of constant power failure, then you need to consider battery capacity before buying any phone. Don�t forget that constant charging of your cell phone is not healthy for your phone, so look out for phones you can use for long before needing to charge it. The latest smartphone battery life is between 4500mAh and 5000mAh. So if you are checking out a phone do not go for phones the battery capacity is far below this.

PHONE NETWORK

It is also important to check whether the phone you want to buy is 2G, 3G or 4G enabled. The G stands for generation and deals with connection or browsing speed. It is likely that the recent generations will be better off than the old generation. For instance, a 4G phone will browse faster than the 3G enabled one. It is advisable never to go for a 2G phone in this dispensation. You can either go for 3 or 4G to enjoy browsing with the phone, except you have nothing to do with connecting to the internet.

CAMERA

Camera quality is also an important feature of a phone to consider depending on what you bought the phone for. If your work demands taking a lot of pictures, then you must consider a sharp and high-quality phone. If you are also a �?`selfie�?� freak, this may be the first of your consideration before concluding on a phone. The latest and higher megapixel phone camera is between 48MP and 108MP(MegaPixel). So you know you should choose something close to that at least to get the kind of pictures you would want.

SCREEN SIZE AND QUALITY

Another important thing to put into consideration when buying a smartphone is the size of the screen and the quality of

the display. Smartphones come in a variety of screen sizes. Depending on your preference and need, when buying a phone you would get to choose between a small screen, medium, and a big screen.

If you like using a very portable smartphone, you may want a smartphone that comes with less than 4.5-inch screen size this is a perfect choice. For something bigger then consider a smartphone with a medium screen size (4.5-inch to 5.5-inch). A smartphone with a large screen is an excellent choice for people who like watching videos or playing games on the go, reading text on a big screen etc. People in this category may consider a screen size of 5.5, 6.0 inch or more when buying a phone.

Display quality also needs to be taken into consideration when buying a phone. The screen resolution has a major impact on the quality of display � the higher it is the better. Also phones with AMOLED screens tend to offer richer hues than the LCD screen.   Phones with low screen resolution can�t display all the details and offer that exceptional experience the ones with high resolution can.

There are a lot of phones in the market with higher resolutions like 2560�?1140 pixel. However, this high display quality always put the price of the phone on a high side. But even if you are not able to afford these higher resolution phones, you should as well not go for phones less 1920�?1080 pixels resolution, except you�ve got no interest at all in camera quality.

PRICE

Price is an essential factor when considering buying a phone, especially when comparing two phones with similar features. Would you be willing to pay an additional price for a stylish looking phone compared to a not so stylish phone with

similar features?

Most of the people start choosing a phone by deciding on the price range that suits their budget. No doubt, the budget of a bank manager or a company executive will defer from that of a dependent or a middle-class father with family responsibilities to cater for. As such, people take their budget into consideration when buying a phone.

Smart phones come in varied price brackets. There are various high range, mid-range, and low range phones with competitive features. So even if your budget is low, you can still pick the best within the range of your budget when you know what to look out for in a phone. But don't trade quality for the price because you will end up paying more in the long run when you have got a not too good phone at a cheaper price.

  WRAPPING IT UP

Smartphones keep getting better. Manufacturers are giving their best to introduce some new and exciting features created to improve the user experience. There are things such as fingerprint security, wireless charging, a slot for Micro SD card for expandable storage, water-resistance feature, and so on. These features boost the overall experience. The high-end smartphones come with most of these features.

We have listed all the things you may wish to consider before paying for your next smartphone. There are tons of great phones out there for every budget and taste. With these things in mind, you will know what to look for.

Article was written by Nnoruka Ebere