How to buy ... a mobile phone

Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the mobile phone, which allows you to be in touch (almost) all the time, (almost) anywhere.

By PC World Staff / Wednesday, August 23 2006

Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the mobile phone, which allows you to be in touch (almost) all the time, (almost) anywhere. And you can do more than just talk – modern phones let you send and receive email and text messages, and even surf the web. Sifting through the sea of service plans and handsets can be difficult, but we'll walk you through what you need to know to get the phone and service plan that's right for you.

The Big Picture

Mobile phones are more than just convenient communication tools: They allow you to sync with the calendar on your PC, dial a number by the sound of your voice, look up breaking news on the Internet, take photos, play games, send text messages, listen to music, and more. But choosing a phone – and the service plan to go with it – requires some legwork.

Your choice of phone will almost always depend on your choice of wireless service provider. In New Zealand, Vodafone and Telecom are the two main choices and the third, Telstra, piggybacks on the Telecom network. Vodafone and Telecom’s networks are built on different technologies and as a result, the phones available for one network are incompatible with the other network. In New Zealand, competition is fierce between the two main rivals so there is little difference between call plans and geographic coverage of the networks. Finding the right phone, network and plan for you will depend mostly on what you will use your phone for and may come down to the best deal on offer at the time.

Third generation or 3G data services add another level of complexity to the mobile communications market and it is here where most of the action is. Both Vodafone and Telecom have both recently upgraded their 3G offerings.

Telecom’s T3G service has been upgraded to the EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) standard offering peak data download speeds of 2.4Mbps and an average of 500kbps. It’s current upload speed is a maximum 153kbps but an upgrade to the system called Revision A is on its way that will boost this to 1.8Mbps.

Vodafone has upgraded its network to offer HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) service, which will offer an initial maximum download speed of 1.8Mbps rising to 3.6Mbps by the end of 2006. Average speeds will be slower at 800kbps to 1.4Mbps. The current maximum upload speed is 384kbps.

While these data upgrades are to be welcomed and rival many fixed line connections, they are not universally available throughout the country. In addition, the more customers that use the services, the slower they will go. Both Vodafone and Telecom are currently offering 3G data download plans with a 1GB cap that are priced around the $50 a month mark. Any data downloaded over this cap is charged per MB.

Key Phone Features

Wireless standard: World travellers are more affected by wireless standards than are users based strictly in New Zealand. Most of the world, including Europe, uses the same GSM standard as Vodafone but Telecom customers will find that the CDMA standard employed by Telecom is not nearly as widespread. Countries supporting CDMA networks include the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea and some others.

Wireless mode: Dual-mode phones, which send and receive both digital and analogue signals, can be handy in rural areas where digital service is often spotty or non-existent but in New Zealand, only Telecom stills runs an analogue network and it is due to be switched off in the near future. Best just to stick with the digital handsets when buying new.

Band support: The more radio bands a phone supports, the more frequencies it picks up. GSM networks worldwide operate on four frequencies, 850, 900, 1800 and 1900MHz. Vodafone New Zealand employs the 900 and 1800MHz bands. CDMA networks operate on 800 and 1900MHz frequencies and Telecom New Zealand uses both. If you wish to use your phone internationally you will need a dual-band phone in the case of CDMA or a tri- or quad-band phone in the case of GSM. This tends to rule out the cheapest handsets available.

Design: You can choose between flip-open, clamshell-style phones and, nonflip, candybar-style phones. Flip phones can be more difficult to use with one hand because the cover may be heavier than the base, and a few low-end models lack a separate caller ID screen on the cover. Fortunately, many new phones sport dual screens--a small, external LCD on the cover plus an internal display. If you buy a nonflip phone, make sure it has a keypad lock that prevents inadvertent dialling--a helpful feature when you put the phone in a pocket or bag.

Whether you get a clamshell or candybar-style phone, check its ergonomics. Is it comfortable against your ear, and can you hear callers without constant adjustment? Can you use the phone with one hand? How about hands-free use: Can you comfortably hold the phone to your ear by scrunching your neck and shoulder? Also, look for placement of the headset jack; a jack located on top of the phone is often more convenient than one located on the side.

Size and weight: Part of what makes a phone easy to use is its portability. A typical nonflip phone weighs about 100g and is about the size of an energy bar – 100mm long, 50mm wide, and 20mm thick. Anything above that is considered large. An exception is a PDA phone, which more closely resembles a PDA on steroids than a mobile phone.

Battery life: Most new phones allow at least three hours of talk time and two to six days on standby. Some phones can last up to 14 days on standby. Keep in mind that usage affects battery life, as does the signal strength of your cellular service. A phone that constantly searches for signals will run itself down quickly. Phones that are able to access data networks and play multimedia content will run their batteries down even faster. Depending on the phone, recharging the battery should take about an hour or longer. When you buy a phone, consider optional accessories such as a higher-capacity battery and a portable charging adapter for use in a car.

Screen: If you intend to send and receive text messages, surf the web, or use the phone's organizer, make sure the screen is up to snuff. Six lines of text are sufficient for most folks; anything less will make your eyes – and your thumb – sore from scrolling. Some handsets let you adjust the font size to fit more text on the screen, but the more digits you pack in, the tinier they get. Consider a PDA phone if you plan to go online or send lots of messages; many models come with a large LCD.

An LCD's contrast and backlight strengths are also important. The phones we've seen show marked differences in viewing quality. If your phone allows you to adjust such settings, you can make text and graphics easily viewable – even in bright places. These days most phones offer colour screens, which are easy on the eyes.

Keypad: If you can't figure out how to use certain functions on a phone within a few minutes (with or without consulting the manual), try another. The keypad layout and menu system should be intuitive. The buttons should be responsive and easy to press. Check out the navigation buttons on the keypad. A joystick-style knob on some phones can make navigating menus quick. Most handsets come with up/down and left/right arrow keys. Buttons that protrude slightly are much easier to use than flat or recessed keys.

Many PDA phones and a few mobile phones come with a small QWERTY keyboard. The tiny keys may not suit everyone, but for those who need them, they're easier to use than a software-based keyboard on a touch-sensitive screen.

Voice communications and organizer: Mobile phones bombard you with call-management features – voice-activated calling, voice recording, phone books, call histories, speed dialling, and so on. Enabling some of the features (such as caller ID, call waiting, and three-way calling) depends on your service plan. Most phones also provide security features that can restrict incoming and outgoing calls, lock the keypad, and protect or mass-delete phone book entries. Some handsets also provide a speakerphone. Some even function as two-way radios with a service called Push-to-Talk, connecting you with others on the same carrier; and in many cases, such communications don't count as airtime--a great benefit for IT personnel and other roving staff.

If you want to talk on the phone hands-free (a must if you use the phone while driving), look for a model that comes with a headset or an earphone. If you don't want to mess with cords, consider a phone that supports Bluetooth; it allows you to pair it with a wireless Bluetooth headset.

Wireless data: Nearly all new mobile phones are capable of doing tasks such as sending and receiving email and IM, downloading custom ring tones and simple games, or connecting to the Internet (usually through a minibrowser that's designed to work best with text-only versions of popular sites or through your service provider’s own portal like Vodafone Live!). Such features, however, are heavily dependent on your provider and your service plan. Note that you may only be able to send text messages or pictures to others who use the same network.

Going online while you're waiting for the elevator is a cool idea, but unless you buy one of the latest 3G handsets, phones connect at slow speeds making browsing a painful process.

Key Service Provider Features

Coverage: Both Vodafone and Telecom claim to have some 97 to 99 percent of the country covered with their networks. Anomalies exist where a Vodafone handset will have reception and a Telecom one won’t, and vice versa, but it is only really in remote rural areas where you will find no coverage at all. The same cannot be said for advanced 3G data services where coverage is far more restricted. It is important to check such coverage with the provider before proceeding with a 3G connection.

Plan type: Both Vodafone and Telecom offer three ways to get connected. You can go prepaid where you pay as you go by purchasing airtime minutes, you can go on a monthly account with a fixed base fee or you can sign up for a fixed term contract. New Zealand’s mobile market is unusual in that all customers must buy their phones at retail prices. In other countries the phone is often provided as part of a fixed term contract and is regularly upgradeable. This removes much of the incentive for New Zealand customers to sign up for a contract, although phone discounts are available with contracts and business users will often find that a contract suits them better. For private customers an account usually works out best because the plans include a number of preset minutes, you can add other services as you choose and the plan can be changed without cost if you find you are using your phone more or less than you thought you would.

Minutes: When choosing a plan, it's best to overestimate the number of minutes you'll be using but as mentioned above, it is possible to change an account plan without cost and Telecom has even introduced a FLEXI plan where your account base fee goes up and down depending on your actual monthly usage. Further options usually involve some choice about how to pay for off-peak and weekend calls, international calls and text messaging. Other service charges are made up mainly of data plans (for email, photos, video, IM, and web access

Contract: While the fact that New Zealand carriers do not subsidise the cost of phones removes most of the appeal of contracts for private users, business users will still appreciate the certainty of a known contract price and the additional cost savings and convenience some business services provide for larger enterprises, such as discounted rates for calls between employees of the same company and the ability to send a text message to everyone in the company at once.

Insurance: While it is possible to insure your mobile phone through your provider, this insurance is as good as useless. The policies provide so many get outs for the provider that they almost never pay when your phone is lost or stolen. Better to rely on your own personal contents policy.

The Specs Explained

While a mobile phone can make your life easier, just getting one can be a huge hassle. When you look at handsets and service plans, the sales reps may bombard you with terms and restrictions.

The two most important questions to ask yourself before you decide on a phone and plan are "How much will I use the phone?" and "How will I use it?" These two questions will help determine what plan to opt for and what type of phone to buy.

Mobile Phone Shopping Tips

Service Plans

Accounts vs contracts: Unless you know you are going to be a heavy business user, go for a monthly account rather than a fixed term contract.

Roaming: If you like to travel, bear in mind that with prepaid phones you must asked to have roaming turned on each time you travel. Phones on all other accounts will roam automatically.

Phones

Decide what you really want from a phone: Do you really want a camera, a digital music player, video calling and wireless connectivity or do you just want to make voice calls and send some text messages?

Get at least three to four hours of talk time: Make sure one battery charge on your phone covers at least that. This can save many headaches later.

Pick up a headset or earphone: Inexpensive hands-free ear-bud headsets let you safely converse while driving, working, or just walking. Some phones even allow you to set voice commands to dial frequently called numbers, so you rarely need to touch the keys.