Love at first byte

Buying a cell phone? Considering a new contract phone?
MXit plays Cupid and offers 15 tips and questions to help you find your perfect phone.

You buy a handset because it’s cool, or you sign a contract in a hurry, and then you’re most probably stuck with the phone for a couple of years. The next thing you know, your friend’s bought a handset and it’s even better, and you wish you’d chosen that one instead.

Don’t decide on an impulsive whim, or just because the phone is really sweet. Understand what’s important to you, and make your choice based on some definite considerations. Then someone else’s nifty handset won’t seem quite so appealing after all.

1. Does it have a speakerphone? Or does it have an earphone, or Bluetooth for hands free calling - essential for in the car.
2. Is size or weight important? Would you rather have something small and slim to fit in your pocket?
3. Do you really need a 5MP camera or stacks of storage space for pics and music?
4. Check the speed of the user interface – important for overall ease of use and enjoyment of the phone.
5. Are you mad about music – is a good music player with ear-meltingly audio quality essential?
6. Do you want programmable ringtones – check if you can download them for free.
7. Is a touch screen important, and what about the size of the screen?
8. What’s the display quality like? Can you see the screen easily - contrast and backlight are important to make text and graphics easily viewable
9. Would you rather a large or small keypad?
10. The layout of the keypad and user-friendliness of the navikeys are important – especially for MXit. So make sure they are easy and quick to use because it will make a huge difference in the overall usability.
11. Will you be sending lots of emails – if so, is a Qwerty keypad important?
12. Are you always scrummaging around for your charger? Do you need a phone with a long battery life?
13. What design would you like? Flip-open, clamshell, or candybar? Slider-style (slide open) or swivel (twist open)? Try them all and decide which is best for you. A flip phone is not always so easy to open with one hand and if you go for a non-flip candybar style, make sure it has a locking device so that you don’t dial someone by mistake when you put it away in a hurry.
14. Do you want to be able to access the Internet? Most phones connect at slower speeds on the GPRS network; on EDGE. 3G networks are faster.
15. And most important of all: Ask - is the phone compatible with MXit?!