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Mobile Phones Selection Criteria

Currently, there are hundreds of smart phones in the market; some are meant for just calling and messaging while
others are multi-purpose. Few mobile phones have advanced camera capability while others are sold with gaming
as their USP. There are huge-display bearing smart phones too which are suitable for executive who are always on
the go and thus need a device that would not only serve as a mobile phone but also can act as a computing device.
In a nutshell, mobile phones can be categoriesed into different genres, each suitable for some purpose. But since
each genre has several contenders, finding the one that would suit your requirement is certainly an arduous task.
Thus to help you find the suitable phone as per your needs, we at The Mobile Indian tried to segregate different
aspects of a mobile phone in this article.
Screen Size/Display
Measured diagonally, the screen size of a mobile phone is the most important factor. Currently, smart phones are
coming with screens ranging from 2.4 inch to 6.5 inch. Below is a general segregation of the smart phones on the
basis of their screen sizes and their appropriateness for you.

Less than 3 inches: Go for it if they have a physical keypad too, else neither you could enjoy the touch
screen benefits nor the fruits of a keypad.

3 to 4 inch: screen based smart phones are decent for the average user but dont go for it if you are looking
to play games a lot or to do emailing and checking documents.

4-5 inches screen: Smart phones with 4-5 inch screen size are considered as the best as they are neither too
big nor too small.

5 inch and bigger: screen bearing smart phones are really bulky and tend to have lower battery back up. Go
for these if you are comfortable carrying a bulky device all around but many prefer such big devices as they
find these as a replacement to their notebooks!

Keypad
There are various types of keypad which serve various purposes.

Alpha Numeric: It is not very common to smart phones and are traditionally found in older and features
phones. Typing on such keypads are very tiresome and time consuming

Half Qwerty: Though considered better than alpha-numeric keypads, these too are becoming extinct and
are found in few feature phones

Physical Full Qwerty: This is the most popular keypad form where each button carries one word thus
making it easier to type.

Touch screen: With increasing size, most smart phones these days come with touch screen keypads which
can be a full Qwerty one or an alpha numeric one you can switch between them at will. Some advanced
touch screen keypad applications also claims to make typing faster by recognizing your typing pattern.

Battery:
Battery life or talk time is important for any smart phone user, as some batteries hold a charge longer than others.

Type

Li-Ion & Li-Po: Usually smart phones these days come with either Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer
battery. The later considered to a bit advanced; for a given mass, the Li-Po battery said to be sleeker and
hold more charge than their Li-Ion counterparts.

Removable/Non-removable: Smart phones with non-removable battery are tend to be sleeker than those
with removable ones. Also, non-removable battery means there is extra security as the back cover would be
more secure and there is less chance of water getting into the phone and damaging it. However, in case of
removable battery based smart phones, you can take out the battery to restart the phone a facility that is
not possible in handsets with non-removable battery. Also in the long run, you cannot change batteries in
non-removable battery based smart phones.

Size- Size of the battery does matter - the bigger the battery, higher would be the running time of the smart phone.
However, with increasing size, weight of the smart phone would also increase considerably.

If you are buying a smart phone with 5.5 inch or bigger screen, look for a battery that should be above 2500
mAh. The bigger, the better it would be.

Handsets with 5-5.5 inch screens should have 1500 mAh battery atleast

Similarly, handsets with 4-5 inch screen must have a battery of not less than 1200 mAh

Talk time-It tells you how much the smart phone can be used with one full charge. It is differentiated into 3G and
2G talk times that denotes how much it can be used continuously on the respective networks. However, you should
also check its video playback and music playback time.
Standby Time-It denotes for how long the smart phone can hold the charge while not in use. This is very important
while you are travelling as in those times you may not get a chance to charge the phone in between.
SIM slots:
A smart phone can have a single SIM, dual SIM or can even have three SIM slots which though is quite rare these
days. Choose the smart phone on the basis of your requirement.
Besides, watch out for micro SIM and mini SIM and full SIM slots.
Network:
2G: Many low cost smart phones these days come with 2G only connectivity which mean that you cannot use your
SIM connectivity to access 3G.
3G: However, in dual SIM slot bearing smart phones, usually one SIM is meant to access 3G network while the
other is meant for 2G networks. There are few smart phones though in which both SIM slots can be used to access
3G networks
4G/LTE: Though many operators set to launch their 4G or LTE services in India by the end of this year, there are
currently no handsets in the market to support the 4G network. Note that 4G handsets launched in other countries

are not meant for India as in our country apart from Videocon all other operators are set to offer the FD-LTE version
of 4G while in most other international markets like the US and the European countries TD-LTE version is being
launched.
Connectivity:
There are various other connectivity options mentioned below:
WiFi- With this feature you can connect your smart phone to a nearest WiFi hub to access internet or to share files
WiFi Hotspot- It allows you to create a WiFi hub and to share your mobile phone internet with others
Bluetooth- It is another kind of wireless technology using which you can exchange data over short distances with
other Bluetooth enabled devices without using wires
USB port- Usually micro USB ports are found in smart phones using which you can transfer files from your smart
phone to your PC or vice-versa quickly
NFC- Near Field Communication or NFC a set of standards for smart phones and similar devices to establish radio
communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more
than a few inches.
HDMI- With this you can connect your smart phone with your HDMI TV via an HDMI cable. However, no smart
phone as of now come with full HDMI port for size concern but many these days come with MHL port which
allows you to connect the device with the HDMI TV via a MHL cable. Few also come with mini or micro HDMI
port
DLNA- Digital Living Network Alliance or DLNA allows you to wirelessly connect your smart phone to an HDTV
or other DLNA-enabled device. This is ideal for sharing movies, videos, and pictures on your HDTV. FM receiverWith this you can listen to FM radios
GPS- To take full advantage of maps applications like Google Maps and Map My India, your smart phone should
have GPS or Global Positioning System that helps you accurately pin-point your current
Camera:
If you are planning to use your smart phone as your first choice of camera, then give due attention to various
features mentioned below:
Resolution- It is usually measured in megapixels. A higher number of pixels means the cameras light sensor has
more receptors per given area, which results in higher-quality images.

Rear camera: Currently even the cheapest smart phone come with atleast 2 megapixel rear camera (the
highest being 41 megapixel of Nokia Lumia 1020). However, a 5 megapixel rear camera is considered as the
bare minimum and anything below that is not for photography.

Front camera: These are meant for self-portraits as well as video chatting. For the later even a VGA or 0.3
megapixel rear camera is sufficient but for decent self-portraits pictures you would need atleast a 2
megapixel unit.

LED Flash It is necessary for close low light photography. Moreover, double LED flashes is much better than
single LED flash

3D Capture Few smart phone with dual rear camera can capture 3D videos.
Autofocus This feature allows the smart phone to automatically judge which subject in the frame of view to focus
on. Some cameras include face detection that helps with taking pictures of people in groups. Thus it is a highly
desired camera feature in any mobile phone.
Burst Mode This will allow you to capture a short, rapid fire burst of photos over a few seconds. Thus it is very
useful when you want to capture images of a sport event or of something moving
Zoom- There are two types of zoom optical and digital. Most smart phones come with digital zoom which is
basically an in-camera adjustment where the outside of a picture are cropped. However new genre camera smart
phones like Galaxy S4 Zoom come with optical zoom where lens is adjusted to take a close picture of the shot.
Thus optical zoom is better than digital zoom.
Image Stabilization- This feature reduces blurring associated with the motion of a camera during exposure.
Panorama It is a feature which stitches multiple images together to create a wide, panoramic image.
Sound & Shot New age devices have this property which allows a phone to record a video with sound bytes in
the background.
Video Recording- Most smart phones can record videos with their rear camera but check out at what rate they can
do so. The best rate so far for smart phones is 30 frames per second. Note higher the frame rate better the video
would be to watch. Also check whether the front camera can record videos or not.
Processor:
No of Cores: Speed and multi-tasking level of any computing device including smart phones is directly
proportional to the number of cores its processor has. So a dual core processor is expected to be faster than a single
core processor and so forth. Currently smart phones come with single core, dual core, quad core, and even octa core
processor (Samsung Galaxy S4, Note 3). If you are buying a phone for gaming go for quad core or octa core
phones. Dual core phones can also handle most available mobile phone games.
Clock speed- It is the speed at which the processor could execute instructions. Naturally higher the clock speed the
better the performance of the phone would be
Type- You would come across a range of processors like Snapdragon, Nivdia, Intel, Mediatek etc each of these
processors have their own disadvantage and advantages. Mediatek chipsets are cheaper and you would find these in
most low cost handsets while Nvidias Tegra processor are considered as best as of now for gaming.
Memory:
RAM- Smart phones like any computing device need random access memory to execute programs. Thus higher the
RAM amount, the smoother performance would be. However, in smart phones you cannot upgrade RAM as you
can do in computers
256 MB- This is the bare minimum for a smart phone. Devices with 256 MB RAM are slower and cannot do multitasking.
512 MB- A well-optimised smart phone can handle mild games and do multi-tasking (2-3 programs at a time) but
this is considered as only the average amount of RAM one should go for in a smart phone

1 GB and above- For current level of computing in a smart phone, 1 GB and above amount of RAM is sufficient.
But go for 1.5 GB and above RAM for ultra-smooth performance.
Internal:
Many apps cannot be installed on external SD card. Thus internal storage is so important. Most smart phones these
days come with 4 GB internal storage while the maximum is 32 GB.
External:
You can upgrade the smart phones memory by inserting a micro SD card slot. In general, smart phones come with
32 GB external card slot but many high end devices offer up to 64 GB of storage slot. You can also read our
External Vs Internal Storage article (http://www.themobileindian.com/news/13267_Which-is-better:-Internalmemory-or-external) to know more.
Sensors:
Ambient Light Sensor- It detects the amount of light around the user and automatically adjusts the brightness of
the screen.
Proximity Sensor- It senses when you hold the phone against your face and disables the touch screen so you don't
accidentally hang up during your call
Accelerometer- It detects movement and is thus required for screen rotation and gaming
Gyro sensor- It senses the angular momentum and is essential for some games
Other Features:
Scratch-Resistant Glass: It protects one of the most important parts of your smart phone.
Water Proof: Water proof mobile phones can be immersed under water. Usually, mobile phones get IP
(International Protection Marking) code underling their resistance against water. Any device with IpX7 (X stands
for their dust resistance capability) or above rating can be immersed under water.
Water Resistant: Phones with water resistance can withstand splashes but won't survive if immersed under water.
Many devices come with water repelling coating which are considered as water resistant. However, officially water
resistant devices get IPX6K to IPX0 rating (X stands for their dust resistance capability) for their water repelling
ability.
Dust Proof: Mobile phones are classified in a scale of 0-6 depending upon the level of protection against dust.
Usually, the first digit in IP rating (ex. IP67) indicates the level of protection. For instance, if a phone is gets IP67
rating it means the phone's internals are fully protected from dust.
Shock proof: Handsets sometime get some extra layers of protection which ensure minimum shock to their
internals. These handsets can withstand falls from certain heights or can still work even if get hit by a certain
measure of force. Such devices are suitable for people working in industrial or certain risky jobs where the mobile
phones are susceptible to damages.

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