Off the Hook: Smartphones

2010 was without a doubt the year of the smartphone. It’s not just the handsets themselves you have to consider when making a decision on a purchase. There’s also a choice of operating systems, applications, and service providers. Choose a phone that will best suit your style, usage and budget.

Much like computers, mobile phones have operating systems, and the OS has a big impact on how you use your phone. The major players in the market are Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

iOS: The iOS is the only operating system that runs on Apple’s much-lauded iPhone. The latest version as of printing is iOS 4.1, which is a responsive, easy-to-use OS.

Apple is all about simplicity, and this shows in the look and feel of iOS 4.1 - it’s as shiny and pretty as ever.

Android: The last few months have seen an explosion of Android devices hitting the Kiwi market. Because Android is open-source, smartphone and other mobile device manufacturers have more freedom to tweak the software to meet their needs, opening up a wider range of options than most other cellphones can offer.

Windows Phone 7: After a ridiculously long wait, Microsoft has finally released Windows Phone 7. It isn’t really like Windows for a PC at all, but it’s designed to be familiar and accessible even if you’ve never picked up a smartphone before in your life. Phone 7 focuses less on applications and more on the ability to ‘glance and go’, meaning you can touch your phone’s screen and even if it’s locked you can see how many emails, text messages, and missed calls you have.

CHOOSE A NETWORK

In New Zealand there are three main choices when looking at smartphone mobile networks. Telecom’s much-hyped XT network has been plagued by outages all year, but seems to have sorted out the issues it had. Vodafone has released phones with all three operating systems, making it the place to go when looking for a handset. Most phones can be used on any network, though, which means the real concern is the pricing plans.

Vodafone: Vodafone is the only network that includes data even in its lowest priced plans, which start at $41 per month. For a limited time (who knows how long) Vodafone is offering an extra 3GB of data for anyone on their smartphone plans.

Telecom: Telecom’s phone plan is great for the casual user who doesn’t plan on using mobile internet every day but wants to have the option when they need to. You can have a casual data plan which allows you to add 10MB onto your regular plan for $1 a day, and only on the days you actually use the internet. If you only use mobile internet on three or four days a month, your plan can be under $35. If you need the reassurance of knowing what your bill’s going to be, you can add 50MB of data for $6 and 240 MB for $18.

2degrees: 2degrees prides itself on undercutting the competition, and they've recently started doing so with their Pay Monthly plan, which starts at $29 a month and comes with 60 minutes, 1000 texts and 50MB of national data. You can also buy data in increments of 50MB for $6, and you can’t buy it in bulk to get a better price unless you live in a certain areas of New Zealand. That said, you can carry over your unused minutes for up to a year on 2degrees, so if your calling varies from month to month then you can save up minutes to use later.

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