Looks
or substance?
For most of us, choosing a cell phone often revolves around better
looks, easy usage, the number of features etc. Mobile communication
is a critical business tool and choosing the right cell phone should
always be a matter of substance over style.
Most of us start with a service provider, then choose from the available
phones.
This factor
becomes relevant if and when the type of network used by each provider
is different from another. For example, GSM and GPRS are two different
types of networks and it makes little sense to buy a phone which
has far too much beef than the bones could support. But GSM technology
has become the minimum standard for mobile communications and the
type of network that is available may not be such a critical factor
anymore. Since you’re no longer locked in to a particular
provider, you can choose the right phone based on design, features,
and service. Here are some of the key features to look for if you
go for substance over looks.
The
basics
Long battery life is essential. Look for phones that use a lithium-ion
(li-ion) battery rather than a nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) one.
Li-ion batteries weigh less and provide 10 to 20 percent better
performance than their NiMH counterparts. You’ll want a phone
with a rated talk time of at least three and a half hours, preferably
closer to five hours. If your mobile comes with a desktop charger,
splurge for the travel charger since it’s significantly smaller
and easier to pack when you are on the move. The long battery life
would also mean that you don’t have to spend half your vacation
charging your phone.
If you travel beyond your home or calling area often, make sure
your phone supports analog roaming. Although analog calls are expensive,
you’ll be guaranteed coverage even in remote rural areas.
If your travels take you overseas, you’ll want a GSM (Global
System for Mobile communications) phone, which operates on networks
(GSM 800/1800/1900) in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
You’ll
also want a handset that features a hefty address book of at least
300 names with support for multiple entries per contact. This can
make a difference because a phone that makes you enter multiple
entries for the same person not only takes up valuable memory space
but confuses you. Some phones allow you to include information such
as e-mail, Web, and street addresses with your contacts. You can
enter the information one key at a time or you can get a phone with
the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook on your PC. Also making
inroads in this area is SyncML, an open standard that establishes
a common language for synchronizing information between mobile devices
and other computing equipment.
More-advanced
features
Among other features, check to make sure the phone you want supports
conference calling, in case you have to conduct an emergency meeting
while you’re on the road. You’ll also be hearing a lot
more about two-way, walkie-talkie-style communication in the near
future. This technology was pioneered by Nextel. The company’s
Group Connect service lets you establish 200 groups with up to 25
members in each group.
Because you never know if you’ll need Internet access in a
pinch, it’s a good idea to purchase a phone that can connect
to your laptop as a modem. You’ll need to invest in the proper
software and cables and make sure that your notebook can support
such a connection. Or you can skip the wires altogether and get
a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. If your PC or PDA doesn’t
feature integrated Bluetooth support, you can purchase an adapter
to add this functionality. Then you can browse the Internet using
your phone as a wireless modem; you can also use Bluetooth to sync
phone numbers and addresses between your phone and other devices.
Even better,
skip your notebook altogether. Fast Internet access is rapidly becoming
a common feature in cell phones. Most GSM phones support GPRS (General
Packet Radio Service) networks, which offer always-on Internet content
and data services, enabling access to Web browsing, e-mail, and
multimedia content. For phones that use the CDMA platform, 1xRTT
(single-carrier radio transmission technology) typically provides
data services twice as fast as those of GPRS. EDGE (Enhanced Data
GSM Environment) technology, which is designed to provide data transfer
over existing GSM networks up to three times faster than GPRS has
also arrived in Sri Lanka.
Get
smart
If you spend most of your time away from home or office, you may
want to consider a smart phone, which combines cell phone and PDA
functions in one unit. These phones are larger and much more expensive
than standard handsets, but they eliminate the need for two separate
devices. Smart phones are available in Pocket PC, Palm, Symbian,
and BlackBerry platforms.
So if you are
planning on getting a new mobile phone for yourself, for a loved
one or for your company, make sure you keep these details in mind.
I thank each and every one of you who wrote into Techno Page during
the past year (the list is quite long and includes Sir Arthur C.
Clarke himself!). Keep those emails rolling in. And here’s
wishing all our readers a peaceful New Year.
Improve
your computer literacy
Skunkworks
Skunkworks is a typically small and loosely structured group of
people who research and develop a project for the sake of innovation.
The term typically is used in regard to technology projects. A skunkworks
often operates independent of a company’s normal research
and development operations and therefore often is subject to limitations
in resources.
Skunkworks
projects often are undertaken in secret with the understanding that
if the development is successful then the product will be designed
later according to the usual process. A famous example of a skunkworks
project is the first Apple Macintosh computer. The term comes from
the Skunk Works, the Kickapoo Joy Juice bootleg brewing operation
in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner comic strip.
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