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Checklist

1. Evaluating devices
1. SAR rating - Whether or not there is evidence mobile wireless devices cause harm to humans and other living things, if you are concerned, there is no harm in researching how your preferred brand or model does when it comes to emitting what is known as radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field.
2. Display visibility - Hundreds of times brighter than indoor lighting, sunlight will wash out some types of display that are perfectly legible indoors. Ensure you visit a phone shop during daylight hours and try your preferred models outside.
3. Speed - If a feature you use frequently is sluggish, such as sending a message, adding a calendar item or most importantly, launching and using the camera, you may end up throwing your device across the room/street/bus/hallway in frustration! So, test the following for speed AND usability:
1. Composing a text message or email.
2. If launching the camera and taking a photo is too slow or fiddly when that UFO flies past, you'll miss it and no one will believe you! When testing a phone camera, bare in mind that on models with a limited memory or slow processor, the camera app will need to launch before you can compose the shot. Once the camera is ready, check how long it takes to focus and take the shot. Ideally, find a phone with a dedicated shutter release to save you from struggling to find and press a touch screen button. Handsets with mechanical shutter releases are indicated with an asterisk (*) on the Device Advice list.
3. Creating a new calendar item, such as "Collect Pete" or "Meeting with Sue Jones"
4. Viewing a web page. To elliminate any connection bottleneck from your testing, ensure you are connected to any of the following signal types: 2.5G (Edge), 3G, 3.5G (HSDPA), 4G (LTE!) or WiFi. If you are in a phone shop owned by a carrier, they will often provide a strong signal and/or WiFi.
5. Browsing photos and other images in the gallery. Does each image slide onto the screen smoothly and without any jitter? Now try zooming. Due to the patent disputes between Apple and other vendors, you may find different phones use different methods to zoom. Pinch to zoom, double tapping, touching a zoom IN or OUT button etc.
6. If you enjoy playing games, ask a friend with the same model or try the demo games in the store. How long does the game take to load each time? How comfortable is the device to hold for a lengthy session? As covered in Device Advice, there are now dedicated tactile controllers to connect to your phone for those who dislike touch screen gaming! Or you could opt for the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, but see our comments in Device Advice first.
7. Multitasking - Essential for power users, this allows you to switch between apps and features without quitting the previous app first. For example, you may be browsing the web or reading an email when something reminds you to create a calendar entry. Multitasking operating systems such as Android, BlackBerry OS, iOS 4 (onwards) and high end Symbian OS devices allow this. Gear with slower processors and less memory will make the process painfully slow, whilst low end phones, such as Nokias running Symbian Series 40 and most non smart phones do not multitask. You need to quit an app (such as the calendar) to launch another app - slowing things down and making it impossible to return to what you were doing before. On the upside, most phones will allow you to listen to the radio or a music track whilst using a different feature.

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4. Social media - Fortunately, most of today's mid to high end phones feature quick shortcuts to Facebook and Twitter. In the case of Windows Phone, Motorola and some Sony Ericsson Android handsets, social media and messaging is embedded into the user interface so content automatically flows onto the screen without the need to locate and launch an app. If this matters to you, as always, check first.
5. Ring tone volume & vibration strength - One of the biggest complaints against some handsets is not being able to hear them ringing and/or detect the vibration. Try the volume and vibration first - with the phone in your pocket, purse or bag.
6. Notification LED(s) - Do you constantly grab and wake up your phone to check for messages and other alerts? Salvation is at hand. Some handsets feature small LEDs on the front that pulsate to indicate the status of the device. Green [•] or blue often indicates a message or alert, whilst red [•] will mean the battery is low or the connection has been lost. Which phones feature status LEDs? It is best you enquire before choosing, however, Blackberrys, most Nokia smartphones, and a mix of Android handsets do. In their quest for design simplicity, Apple's iPhone does not feature a notification LED, however, the display will light up and any messages will appear in the centre of the drag down notification menu, depending on your iOS settings. Of course, all phones feature vibration alerts, however, these do not normally indicate the type of notification unless the OS allows the vibration pattern to be adjusted. (Some phones do allow the vibration pattern to be configured depending on who is calling.)
7. Charging the battery & connecting to another device - Under recent European law, all handset manufacturers are obligated to build microUSB charging ports into their devices. This reduces the number of chargers and adapters you need to carry if using several different devices. For example, you may own a Blackberry and an Android handset. They both support microUSB, so you only need carry one charging cable. However, there are still phones out there (the iPhone included) that use older or different charging/data ports. In the case of the iPhone, it's popularity means there are plenty of universal chargers that can simultaneously charge an iPhone (or iPod Touch) and a device equipped with a microUSB port, including from Belkin and other peripheral vendors. So, with the exception of the iPhone, ensure any other device you choose features a microUSB port. (USB ports can also used to transfer data to and from your device, although Bluetooth allows this to be achieved wirelessly for smaller files.)
8. Got other wireless capable gadgets? - Ask your carrier if they support tethering and/or turning your phone into a WiFi Hotspot. The latter uses your phone's data connection to broadcast a WiFi signal that your other equipment, such as a laptop or tablet, can share. (Normally up to 5 devices can share your hotspot.) Tethering allows one other device to share your phone data connection over Bluetooth.

   NOTE: If you are unable to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, dedicated battery powered 'MiFi' wireless hotspot devices are available too from most if not all carriers and phone shops.

WARNING!
Using your phone as a WiFi hotspot will drain the battery very quickly, so bring a charger or connect your phone to your mothership device (laptop?) using the USB charging cable.

2. Miscellaneous
1. If opting for the latest sophisticated smart phone, wait a few months after launch for any bugs and hardware flaws to be discovered and fixed by the manufacturer. The left handed reception issue with iPhone 4 has proven that early adopters not only get to play first, they get hurt first. Patience pays!
2. Contacts, calendar and email syncronisation. As with social media integration, most modern smart phones make accessing email easy. However, different operating systems handle the way address book contacts, calendar and other information is shared between your phone and your other devices. FONEBOX.COM believes Google's Android handles all this the best. If you use Gmail, then when first obtaining an Android handset you create an account on the phone using your Gmail login details. Your contacts and calendar information is then uploaded to the handset. If you make any changes to your address book or calendar on any device where you are logged into your Gmail account, this information will be syncronised across all your Google devices (Android or Chrome OS), and accessible from any modern browser.

Android devices sync well with Google services
3. As you probably know by now, Megapixels (MP) are not all that matters with cameras - the lens and focusing mechanism are what count. An autofocus 3MP phone camera will normally lead to better results than a 5MP fixed focus lens and be more versatile too. Auto focus lenses allow macro (close up) shots to be taken, ideal for taking pictures of flowers, insects, documents and shop window advertisements. All the high end phones we list feature auto focus lenses and above average to excellent image quality.
4. Visit our carefuly compiled Device Advice on the FONEBOX.COM home page to help narrow down your choices.
5. If you have not done so already and need some insight, read our essential guides to:
1. Carriers
2. Plans
3. Final steps
1. If acquiring a new device on contract (that is, you have not purchased one for cash unlocked), check your carrier offers the model you prefer by visiting their website and searching or exploring. No luck? Give the carrier a call or visit their high street store.
   NOTE: THE UK's Three 3G network is as it says, 100% 3G, therefore devices that do not support 3G will not work on Three. Most of the devices we recommend are 3G.

2. To assist emergency personnel in contacting your loved ones in the event of an accident, insert the letters ICE (In Case of Emergency) before the names of next of kin in your device address book. For example, ICE Dad, ICE Jo etc.
4. Periodical checklist
• Every month, check your carrier invoice/bill. If you are going over your limit somewhere or missing out on a since introduced reduced calling plan tarrif, ask your carrier if they can adjust your plan. They will often oblige if you have been with them for a while. The onus is on you to avoid being taken advantage of!

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