Looking to buy a new smartphone, chances are that you might feel completely lost in pinning down the one that you would want to buy. Over the years smartphones have become more complex, both in terms of hardware and software and to add to that, the number of vendors supplying these smartphones has increased dramatically. And in such scenarios choosing the right smartphone becomes quite a task.
So we at DTP decided to come out with a primer, so as to help our readers choose the right smartphone. In this article, we will be sharing with you nuances of various jargon like Dual/Quad/Octa Core, Ghz, megapixels, mAh, etc….
Operating System
Do remember that OS is what makes your smartphone ‘smart’. It’s good to know about various ecosystems that exist before buying a smartphone.
Android OS– As it is developed by Google itself, so integration with Google services like, Search, Gmail, Maps, Hangouts, Youtube etc are ensured. Besides this you get access to over a million apps in its Play Store. The best part is that, the apps which might be paid downloads in iOS & Windows are sometimes available for free.
Other advantage of having an Android smartphone is that these are plug and play, i.e simply connect it to your PC and start transferring files. Android phones are available for as low as Rs.4000 to over Rs.1 lac.
Before buying an Android smartphone, make sure that you are putting your money on the latest versions – Jelly Bean & Kit Kat.
iOS– It is only found in iPhones and is quite user-friendly. Unlike Android, it is not open source and as Apple vets for any app that goes into the App store, thus ensuring high-quality digital content. iOS promises smooth operations and occurrences of the phone freezing are quite rare.
But on the downside, there is one thing that can be seriously annoying for iOS users, which is to use iTunes so as to connect the phone to PC.
Only buy iPhones from local authorized dealers as iPhones picked up from abroad are not covered under local warranty.
Windows– It is gradually catching up with Android and iOS, but still has a long way to go. Windows app store has just over 2 lakh apps. Still most popular apps have already made their way to its store.
Though Windows OS needs improvements to match with Android and iOS, but you get really good hardware with the price you pay for a Windows phone. With a windows phone you get ‘Here Maps’ and ‘Drive+’ which are undoubtedly the best map and navigation app.
Processors
Higher number of cores do not ensure performance of a smartphone. Even a dual core can perform better than quad core chips. It all depends on how the OS utilizes the hardware. Well it is precisely why iPhone on a dual core fares better than most quad core Androids.
Qualcomm Quad Core Snapdragon 600 & 800, Samsung’s octa-core Exynos and Apple’s dual-core A7 are some of the top-notch processors in the market.
Display
To judge a smartphone’s screen, look at it from different angles for changes in colors and also in different lighting conditions.
If you are buying a phablet go for a Full HD (1080p) display and for devices up to 5″ you can opt for HD (720p).
Avoid smartphones with less than 800×480 px resolution and TFT LCD screen.
AMOLED screens are best at displaying striking colors, so simply go for AMOLED screens.
Storage
We carry our whole digital world with us- emails, social networks, photos, music, videos etc. And for that, we need storage space in our phones.
Do remember that 1-2 GB of the phone storage is utilized by the phone itself, which cannot be accessed or used by the users. So when buying a smartphone, go for the phone with large internal memory and if possible opt a phone which supports microSD cards of upto 64GB.
Size
What we feel is that 4-5 inch screen size is most suitable. A phone with a bigger screen is not handy and is uncomfortable to carry it even. On the other side, large screens give you a better experience while playing games, watching movies etc. So it is totally up to you to decide on screen size.
RAM
Opt for higher RAM’s, as the more it is, the more good it is.
Camera
More megapixels don’t imply a better camera. Go for phones with Carl Zeiss lens.
Opt for cameras with BSI (backside illumination) sensors and ensure that the camera comes with a LED flash.
For secondary camera (front-facing), one megapixel is more than sufficient.
Smartphones known for their cameras are- Nokia Lumia 1520, 1020, Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, LG G2, Apple iPhones, HTC One etc.
Battery
Your smartphone can prove to be useless if it keeps running out of battery. Large screens and higher cores drain extra battery, so if you are looking for a 4.5+ inch phone you need a minimum 2000 mAh battery.
You can also opt for lithium-polymer battery, as they are known to be lighter and retains charge for a longer period. Also, prefer devices with user-replaceable batteries.
Do you have any other queries, feel free to ask us in the comments below. Meanwhile Happy reading 
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