Why should Paris and Lindsay have all the fun? While we don’t
recommend diamond encrusted CrackBerries (how do you say gauche and
nouveau riche?) you can commission The Black Diamond which includes a mirror-finished polycarbonate casing studded with
diamonds, a 4-megapixel camera and a borderless screen for about
$300,000. Or, we can help you upgrade your handset. These guys will
laser engrave a nice hello kitty on the back and that will just have to
do: istylecustom.com
Thing No. 1 Smartphone? PDA? You say tomato, I say whatever.
Your first point of confusion may be in understanding the difference
between these two devices. The truth is, these days it’s six of
one, half-dozen of the other. They’re both merging into the same
thing. For posterity sake, we’ll say that one stated out as a
phone and grew “digital assistant” features and the other started out
as a little secretary in your pocket and grew a phone. If you really
want to carry two gadgets, you can still get a separate PDA with
Bluetooth and sync data with your computer or your phone.
Likewise, you can also get built-in WiFi on this PDA for use in WiFi
hotspots or to access your wireless network. For lexicon
clarification sake, PDA/mobile phone hybrids are generally referred to
as Smartphones.
Thing No. 2 Form Factor.
As usual, choosing one will require
that you decide what you want to do with it. If you want it to
act like a little computer in your hand -- accessing files and the
Internet, composing emails with attachments etc. then you’ll probably
be wanting a fast processor (624Mhz), lots of memory (128MB is optimum
performance plus an expansion slot will let you store extra data)
synchronization with your desktop via a “hot synch” cradle, a spare
battery and a nice size (4”) screen display. And a big
pocket. If you just want to keep in touch and keep track of your
appointments but don’t plan to do actual work on it like editing Word
or Excel files, you can adjust downward accordingly. The former will
look more like a PDA and the latter will look more like a phone (i.e.
“candybar.”) Most new devices have MP3 players, video players and GPS
capability but if you’re a Gawker Stalker, you’ll likely forego a
camera (or at least a good one) for the more high-powered, office-like
functionality.
Thing No. 3 The device is tied to an operating system.
So, you
might want to let your operating system preference (if you have one)
drive your device purchase. You can size up their strengths and
weaknesses at cnet. For the most part, it’s between:
• Windows Mobile credited with running MS Office
applications more smoothly (naturally) Windows Mobile runs a version of
Outlook software for handsets (reduced functionality for Inbox,
Calendar and Tasks) as well as Pocket Internet Explorer, Microsoft
Media Player and Microsoft ActiveSync.
• Garnet (formerly Palm OS) is credited with being
more slanted toward PDA-type functionality --- contacts, calendar,
memo, calculator, phone, SMS and MMS messaging and third-party
applications to open and, depending on the application, edit Microsoft
Office documents. Third-party applications are available for
downloading at www.PalmGear.com and DataViz's Documents to Go, offers
applications that allow you to edit Word and Excel documents.
• BlackBerry has it’s own proprietary OS which was
originally designed to optimize email. Since then, there have
been a number of BlackBerry devices that have expanded the capabilities
of the handsets. More handset manufacturers are expected to build
devices with BlackBerry compatibility. BlackBerry devices download
email from an email server, support up to 10 email accounts and allow
email downloads to a PC.
• Symbian operating system is used for Nokia and Sony
Ericsson devices. These devices tend to have a complete range of phone
functions, including SMS/MMS, voice recognition and caller display
plus, PDA functions including applications for viewing documents and
spreadsheets as well as calendar, Internet, email and to-do lists. A
licensing agreement signed by Symbian and Microsoft allows Symbian
smartphones to access Microsoft email through a plug-in.
• Apple’s iPhone uses Mac OS X which claims access
to “true desktop-class applications and software” including rich HTML
email, full-featured web browsing, Safari, calendar, text messaging,
Notes, and Address Book. In addition. iPhone allows for
multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email
in the background.
Thing No. 4 Fancy features
Since you’re such a fancy-pants,
you may want a speakerphone so you can pretend you’re listening to your
meeting while you’re actually surfing Match.com or checking the surf
report. Consider getting a unit with a full-duplex one, which allows
both parties to talk at the same time so that you are able to talk over
the other people and get your way. Might want to make sure you can make
conference calls too.
Thing No. 5 Shop price online.
Comparison shop at the usual
spots my Simon or nextag as well as mobilephone.com ebayand amazon for unlocked phones in sealed boxes.
Online retailers usually have the best prices but try to avoid shipping
costs, restocking fees and sales tax. You can also search for
current rebate offers and promotions at Bright Hand or myrebates.com and carrier sites to see if there are any deals if
you purchase the device with the plan. This whole process can be
a pain because you may have to put everything in your cart before you
finally figure out what the total damage is. Stay focused and
breathe.
Thing No. 6 Get an unlimited data plan (see Five Things
cell plans).
Unlimited plans are a much better deal because data adds up
fast. The 3G wireless data technologies (UMTS, HSDPA EV-DO) allow
for much faster transfer speeds, averaging 300 Kbps for UMTS and 500 to
800 Kbps for EV-DO and HSDPA, which is roughly equivalent to a DSL
connection. Otherwise, you’re talking about transferring at 100
Kbps – not so nice.
Thing No. 7 Return to sender.
If you buy a new cell phone and
you hate it or you find you aren’t as smart as your smartphone,
generally, you have 15 days to return the phone (in the box that you
have held onto) and cancel the service (but do not assume that
returning the phone automatically cancels the service.) This way, you
can get your money back. Unlike throwing it out the window.