The Constant Change in Buying a Cell Phone

The Constant Change in Buying a Cell Phone

or

Questions you should ask yourself

•I know exactly what I want in a smartphone.

•My network provider gave me the best deal available.

•I have a contract free phone.

•My unlimited plan fits my needs.

The Constant Change in Buying a Cell Phone

What is the Method of Choice for 90 percent of US

buyers?

(A)Through your Carrier

(B) Online

(C) Big Box Retailer

(D) Phone Maker

YOUR TASK: Narrow all this goodness down to one.

Here are some of the favorite phones right now at any price:

•High-end: Samsung Galaxy Note 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8

Plus, Galaxy S9, Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, LG V30, Huawei

Mate 10 Pro

•Midrange: OnePlus 5T, Motorola Moto X4, Huawei Honor 7X

•Budget: Motorola Moto G5 Plus, Moto E4

New phones to look for in 2018

I'm not sure when BlackBerry will follow up its KeyOne.

Things change, so here's a sample cycle:

•January: Midrange phones announced at CES show

•February: Phones announced for all tiers (MWC show) Mobile World Congress

•March, April sales: Samsung Galaxy S phone, LG G line, Huawei P family, Motorola Moto

•May, June, July sales: OnePlus update, iPhone SE

August, September sales: iPhone, Samsung Galaxy Note, Moto Z Force

October, November, December sales: Google Pixel line, LG V series,

OnePlus update, Huawei Mate family (global)

HTC, BlackBerry and Nokia updates are more fluid.

TOP TIPS: Dropping your phone is inevitable. A case will save you money and

help preserve your phone's resale value.

•Know what you care about most: Is it screen size, camera quality, battery life? This will help narrow

down your choices.

•Don't discount the midrange: You can get a great phone that does almost everything that a premium

phone can do, for a fraction of the price.

•Shop the sales: Look for deep discounts around major holidays. And find out your grace period in case

you need a quick return or exchange.

•Last year's phones are a great deal, too. Wait for this year's launch to get last year's phone for less.

•Hold the phone at a store first: You may love or hate the way it looks and feels in person.

•If you buy a global phone, make sure it works with your carrier bands first.

•Have you already bought a lot of iPhone apps and iTunes movies? Stick with iPhone if you still want

access to them. Likewise, if you've invested in any Android-only software, you'll want to stay on that side

of the fence. Otherwise, it's simple enough to switch platforms.

•Buy a case and glass screen protector: You'll protect your phone from costly damage, and will

increase the phone's resale or trade-in value for when you're ready to move on. Learn how to recycle your phone for cash.

If you're buying an Android phone

Android has the better native maps app and assistant by far (known as Google Assistant or Google Voice Search).

Another Android benefit: It ties into the same Google services many people already use.

Major updates are typically announced in May or June. A "pure" Google phone will be first in line for major OS

updates, whereas phone manufacturers take longer to upgrade Android. Pricier and more popular phones are

more likely to get the update.

Look for: •Android 8.0 Oreo or higher: This current OS will get you the most recent goodies, including autofill in

Chrome and shrinking a video to a small thumbnail you can move around while doing other things.

•Android 7.0 Nougat: Last year's version is still going strong. Any older than this and you'll start to lose out

on navigation speed and extra features.

If you're buying an iPhone

iOS updates come right on time for almost every phone.

iPhones seem to develop fewer weird tics over time and they

play better with other Apple products, like Macs.

Apple usually announces the latest major iOS version in June,

and releases it in September.

Older iPhones are cheaper, but run the risk of losing out on newer

hardware-based features in future phones.

Big phone or small screen?

The iPhone 8 looks puny compared to the iPhone 8 Plus, far right.

If you insist on a phone with a small screen (under 4.5 inches), you

pretty much have a choice of one: the iPhone SE. Otherwise, you'll

need to scrounge up an older phone, like 2016's Sony Xperia

Compact or get used to anything from 4.7 to 6 inches (or even larger).

For screens 4.7 inches and larger:

Look for a minimum screen resolution of 1080p.

A 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution is even better, especially for

5.5-inch screens and larger.

If you plan to use a VR headset like the Gear VR or

the PlayStation VR, the higher the resolution, the better --

when the phone is inches from your face, pixel count matters.

Camera quality Higher megapixels don't

always equal higher

quality shots Phones with 8-

megapixel rear cameras

only appear on budget

phones these days.

Optical image

stabilization

Battery life and performance

Most phones from the middle price range and up can handle a basic day's worth of phone calls, email, gaming

and music needs, though some internal tech is more refined than others. Some mid-priced phones even use the

same chips as those with nosebleed prices.

In general:

•You'll need to charge most phones once a day, so plan accordingly -- stock up on an extra charger for

your workplace or your bag.

•You'll typically get longer life from a 3,000mAh battery or above.

•Maps and music streaming suck down battery life faster than other activities. So does keeping brightness

on full blast.

•An octa-core processor isn't always "better" than a quad-core chipset.

•For Qualcomm's processors, higher-numbered chips are the most recent. So the Snapdragon 845 is

newer (and faster) than 630 and 425.

Bonus features

Not every phone has cutting-edge tech like this in-screen fingerprint reader. Are these day-to-day extras nice-to-haves or need-to-haves for you?

Fingerprint scanner -- usually on the back, power button or home button. 2018 showed us the first

in-screen reader.

MicroSD storage on some Android phones.

Water-resistant, IP67 and higher is best.

Wireless charging is available on many Samsung Galaxy and Note phones, the iPhone 7 and

newer.

Stereo audio speakers or enhanced audio through headphones.

USB-C connector, the most recent standard for Android phones.

Headphone jack -- is on the endangered species list.

Removable battery -- this feature is almost extinct.

Bad Battery no problem

Just Take it apart

What about budget phones?

If your phone doesn't have a headphone jack, you'll need to buy a dongle.

When a low price is the most important thing about a phone, you're guaranteed to make

some compromises. But there are still some great budget phones that give you more for

their price than others. Right now, I like the Motorola Moto G5 Plus most, but there is

also other alternatives that I will be talking about.

Other questions to ask yourself •Does it have a USB-C port, are adapter dongles (for example USB to USB-C) included, or will you need

to buy one?

•Does it have a headphone jack or will you need to buy an adapter dongle?

•If the phone breaks, what are the steps to fix it?

•Does the phone support Wi-Fi calling?

•Is it locked to a carrier or can you add a SIM card for any network? Do you lose any features either way?

•Can you travel with it internationally by simply swapping the SIM card?

•Is it the same price if you pay in full or in installments? (It should be.)

•Will the warranty cover your needs or will you pay for an extended warranty?

What the cell phone

companies and network

providers aren’t telling you

There are choices that are not from

mainstream network providers and

cell phone companies.

They are from MVNO’s

What about the Network’s

Big 4 Verizon AT&T Sprint T-mobile

MVNO Mobile Virtual Network Operators

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators

ECO System Choices

Yes they want you to buy cell phones that cost $600.00 and up.

But what they don’t tell you that that a 4 year old cell phone that originally

cost

$600.00 can now be bought for about $150 if you know where and what

to look for.

The phone technology that’s 4 years old will run the same apps that the

new cell phone will run.

In fact a lot of apps are older then 4 years when they were first created

Networks – Why be tied to a single network?

With the right phone you can have 3 Networks to switch between along

with Wi-Fi Calling

.

So with a little knowledge and research you can get a cell phone

For about $150 with a monthly cost around $30. My cellphone bill

last October was $28

Motorola Nexus 6 XT1103 32GB / 64GB Full specifications of the Motorola Nexus 6 XT1103

32GB phone, detailed technical information, specs,

features, price, review. Everything about phone.

Published on Thursday, October 16, 2014 7:54 PM -

Updated on 10/22/2016 12:59 PM

Good Android phone with 2.7Ghz Quad-Core processor provides good performance

and great system execution of the Motorola Nexus 6 XT1103 32GB.

With one SIM card slot, the Motorola Nexus 6 XT1103 32GB allows download up to 150

Mbps for internet browsing, but it also depends on the carrier.

Great connectivity of this device includes Bluetooth 4.0 version with A2DP, WiFi 802.11

a/b/g/n/ac and NFC to make payments and allows connection to other devices.

Device with 184 grams including the battery. The Motorola Nexus 6 XT1103 32GB

phone is relatively thin with 10.1 mm thickness.

Project Fi automatically switches between

networks.

It automatically connects to Wi-Fi hotspots

with data encryption.

Phone calls seamlessly transition between

Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

With all networks combined, Project Fi

covers more than 135 countries around the

world.

Plans are based on a flat rate

A subscription costs $20 per month for unlimited calls

and messaging.

A data allowance costing an additional $10 per

gigabyte.

Money for any unused data is credited back to the

user's account.

A Group Plan, which lets users add members to their

subscription, costs an additional $15 per user per month,

A data-only SIM card can be used on supported tablets.

Be Wi-Fi Smart