Guest Author - Jeremy Fore

One would think that with all of the different cell phone service providers out there, and the stress and time that go into choosing one, they would make it easy when it comes time to pick your phone. Wrong! There are so many phone options out there, and it can be rather daunting switching to a new style or getting your first cellular phone. Your choice in what style of phone you get should reflect on your lifestyle, and how you plan to use the phone. There are several styles and features to consider. I’ll go over some of the main ones in this article.
One thing to consider is size. If you carry a purse or bag often, size won’t be a big issue. If you’ve more minimal in your daily accessorizing, you may want a small, thin phone that you can keep easily in your pocket. One pet peeve of mine is overstuffed, bulging pockets. I usually carry my phone in my front pocket or a jacket pocket, so I prefer a thin phone. Another factor, especially when purchasing for a business, is price. Make sure you’re not paying extra money for features you won’t use. As we go over the individual types of phones, I’ll mention some other things to keep in mind when making your selection.
I’ll start with the basic bar phone. These are great, simple phones. They usually don’t include many of the bells and whistles, which has a big impact on price. These phones are great if you mainly call and text. For small business, these are good phones to use “in the field” for repair work, contracting, or other types of businesses where you may want to send a phone along with an employee doing a task, or for an on-call employee. Just one note about a small issue I have with bar style phones. The buttons are exposed, so I highly recommend you use the key guard feature if you keep the phone in a pocket, or any other spot where the buttons may accidentally get pushed. If not, you’ll end up making mysterious random phone calls from inside your pocket. I know this from experience.
Next we have slider phones. They are called sliders due to the action of sliding the key pad out from behind the screen. These phones usually appear with just the screen visible. Because of the extra room provided by tucking away the keypad, sliders usually have nice, large screens. There are also slider phones available with small QWERTY keyboards. This is a great feature if you do a lot of text messaging. Sliders are typically rather thick, but there are sleeker models available for a higher price. The only real drawback I see with sliders is the actual sliding mechanism. Some models wear out over time, and may no longer slide properly. I imagine this flaw will be engineered out by most manufacturers over time.
Flip style phones are probably the most common type you see. Five out of the seven different phones I’ve had were flip style, so I suppose they’re my favorite. I think it goes back to the early 90’s when the first flip phones came out and they were cooler than cool. Flip phones are among the thinnest and most compact phones on the market, and they come with a variety of features, thus the price range is fairly wide. One cool feature with flip phones that I find particularly handy is what I call the “stealth camera”. With most flip phones, the camera will work with the phone closed. It’s great for getting candid shots of your friends embarrassing moments. The ones you’re sure they won’t want to forget. However, again with flip phones, there is one negative to mention. Like sliders, flip phones have a hinge that allows them to open and close. Over time this can wear out. However, this problem is seen mostly in older models. The newer ones tend to have more heavy sturdy designs.
Finally we have the smartphones. Some of these are basically pocket computers. With capabilities ranging from e-mail and web browsing, to spreadsheets, these phones are ideal for business on the go. You can combine a phone, appointment book, PDA, and a lot of computer features and programs into one neat hand held package. These phones typically have full keyboards and impressive operating systems. Unfortunately, smartphones are expensive. You typically have to purchase a date plan for web and e-mail access, and Blackberry devices usually have their own plans that can be pricey with some providers.
There are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing your phone. The key really is to just know what you want out of it. It’s easy to get talked into buying a phone with a lot of cool features. You just need to know if you need them or not. If you’re setting up a wireless phone system for your business, keep in mind whether you need something to keep in touch with employees, or if you need the capabilities of a smartphone. I hope this guide helps you put the right foot forward when getting the best phone to fit your needs.