Cell Phone Comparisons – Comparing the Options

David Berlind, Executive Editor, ZDNet tells "Apple's iPhone to step aside, there's another phone in town called the Helio." [ Watch Video ] [ Helio on Sale! ]

Buying the wrong type of cell phone is an irritating mistake indeed, but with so many great cell phones available from brands like Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Kyocera, Sanyo, Siemens, NEC, Panasonic, OKI, Bosch, and others, it can be a bit confusing as to which contender you should choose from amongst their shiny ranks.

So as well as concerns over cell phone safety, one of the most frequently asked questions about cell phones is just which one to buy.

Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this, if one phone stood out a mile from the crowd in cell phone comparisons then that would be the one everyone purchased, and the world of cellular phone comparisons would be a much simpler place. However, you can make things easier for yourself by deciding to compare cell phones yourself carefully before you buy.

This will have to be an individual thing though, because no-one but you will know exactly what you rate as of greater or lesser importance when making cell phone comparisons.

What do you want from your cell phone?

• Good battery life is a starting thought that most customers will be interested in, so check out the standby time and talk time given.
• Some brands and models have many more cell phone accessories available than others, so if you’re interested in such things, then weigh this in to your thought process as well.
• A color screen looks lovely, and certainly brightens things up when browsing the mobile web or playing games and admiring your animated screensavers / wallpaper; but if you just want your phone for talking to people (some do!) then a monochrome (black and white) screen will suffice (and they’re cheaper as well, which may count unless you’re looking at free cell phone offers).
• Another thing to take into consideration when running cellular phone comparisons through your head is SMS text messaging, if you do this a lot then a predictive text feature can save a lot of time.
• Does size matter? Some people like their cell phones to be as small and lightweight as possible, thinking that they look cuter - this may or may not be your opinion.
• Whether you want a digital camera phone or not is another matter as well. If you are particularly keen on this type then don’t get sidetracked by other non-related issues. Listing your preferences in order of importance can make the whole business of cell phone comparisons a lot easier for you. Make up a short list of cell phones first that have what you really want on them, and then only look amongst this group for making other subsequent comparisons on features you’re not quite so bothered about.

So having to compare cell phones is not as troublesome as it first may seem, and a cell phone FAQ can often be of further help as well.

Motorola, Nokia, LG, Handspring, Palm, Audiovox, Qualcomm, Philips, Denso, Hyundai, JRC, Mitsubishi, Neopoint, Novatel, and more, the list of cell phone manufacturers just goes on and on, but remember that they all want your custom; this has seen more features becoming available as time has gone on, which is supposed to help the choice but can also complicate matters as well.

So compare cellular phones with what you want in mind at all times, and new video phones might be a feature you’d love to have, or one that should not distract you from your needs if the cell phone is not so relevant to you in its other characteristics.

Remember as well that the cellular carriers like Cingular - T-Mobile - AT&T Wireless - Verizon Wireless - Nextel - Voicestream - Tracfone - Sprint PCS and more do not always support the cell phone you might want in their cell phone plans, so don’t fall into the trap of snapping up a cell phone for you, if you are locked into a service plan for a two or three year contract, without first seeing that you can use it!