Mobile Phone Buyer's Guide

Making and taking calls

Cheap Pay-as-you go mobile phones

1. Sony Ericsson T250i
   From £30 to £60
2. Samsung SGH J700
   From £40 to £70
3. Nokia 6300
   From £70 to £90

If that is all you want to do then any basic handset will suffice. You will be able to make calls, access voicemail, and send text messages. But even on the simplest phones there is more on offer, including games, the chance to download ring tones and some additional services. There will also be a calculator, calendar, address book, and alarm clock. And even with all this functionality the handset will still be smaller than you might think. With a pay-as-you-go tariff you can guarantee that you will never have any nasty surprises with the bill, (though it will limit the choice of handsets) and while full access to the mobile internet may not be available you will definitely be able to stay in touch.

Phones Plus - exploiting technologies

Mid-range mobile phones

1. Sony ericsson W980i
   From £25 to £258
2. Nokia N78
   From £35 to £172
3. Samsung SGH U900 Soul
   From £15 to £278

More and more technologies are converging in phone handsets to give the savvy user the chance to communicate with more than just speech. Mobile phones that include digital cameras are becoming the norm. The ability to take a picture and send it to a similarly-equipped friend is an increasingly common phenomenon. Picture quality will be limited by the resolution, most camera phones use only 2.0 megapixels rather than the 8-10 megapixels now common in digital cameras, but they do work and convenience seems to be outweighing quality. You will also find full-colour screens to facilitate game-playing and to display WAP information (web pages redesigned for the small screen size of the phone). And most phones will now take video clips which can be sent via multimedia messaging. Colour flip screens for viewing digital images are also common and are a big benefit for the dedicated games player. Also available are phones with built-in radios and/or MP3 players for listening to music. To get a feature-laden phone for free you will need to be on a monthly contract tariff.

The office in your pocket

Top-range mobile phones

1. Sony Ericsson X1
   From £45 to £348
2. Nokia N95
   From £25 to £375
3. Apple iPhone
   From £45 to £194

For the truly mobile worker the ability to connect to all of the tools back at the office is a major plus. Now available on an increasing number of handsets, operating systems like Symbian and Smartphone turn a phone into something closer to a laptop computer providing connections to data through browsers, e-mail clients and other custom-built applications.

The long-promised third generation (3G) phones have arrived and although take-up is not quite as quick as that desired by major manufacturers, network coverage permitting, full mobile internet access to reach your e-mail, video phone calls, and video services like TV and sporting clips delivered straight to you are now all possible. All this comes at a cost, of course, with charges for the amount of data transferred or specific content prices being the norm; and even now network coverage in the UK, for example, is limited largely to urban areas. But things are moving fast and where 3G does not work it reverts to 2G - so you may find it worth investing in the near future right now. The number of features on phones of this type mean that the connections between it and your PDA, laptop or desktop computer become important as you try to co-ordinate your activities.

As with many electronics goods, features on handsets come in two types, the essential and the differential. The former is what you really need to think about because these will dictate how well the handset works for you. The latter are more for entertainment, but knowing something about them will help you make the right choice.

Ergonomics: With the exception of 3G models, which need to retain at last some screen size to make the most of their multimedia content, handsets have reduced in size rapidly. A common weight for a handset is around 100g. This is partly to do with the fashion element - small being beautiful ? but flip-tops, rotating screens, flip-out and fold-out keyboards have all been tried by manufacturers as they struggle to add more features while retaining at least some ease of use.

Battery life: Expect anything between 40 and 100 hours between charges depending upon the particular phone and the usage it is put to. Recharging time will also vary between models. Other factors that will affect battery performance are: colour screens and video transmissions and poor network coverage where the battery has to work harder to maintain a signal.

Predictive text: If you are going to be doing a lot of texting - remember the 160 character text feature is largely an accident - then predictive text can help you reduce the chances of thumb strain and let you converse more quickly in the lingua franca of our times.

Camera phones: Almost standard these days on anything except the most basic handsets, the digital cameras in phones have a smaller number of mega pixels available than most digital cameras, typically 0.3 rather than the 3.0 common in dedicated digital cameras. This means picture quality will suffer. But it does not seem to stop the unfettered use of them at sporting and cultural events.

Colour screen: Increasingly common, the main advantage of a colour screen is that it displays web pages and pictures on your phone better and can be useful for games players.

GPRS: General Packet Radio System is the means by which second generation or 2G mobile phones can connect to the Internet. A GPRS enabled phone can collect e-mail and view WAP pages. Costs for such services are based on the amount of data received, though some contracts include elements of GPRS time.

GSM: The Global System for Mobile Communications uses three frequencies for phones, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900 MHz. A dual-band phone will work on two out of three frequencies (900MHz and 1900MHz). These are the frequencies used in Europe, Asia and most other places except the United States (which uses 1800MHz). A tri-band phone will operate on all three frequencies and therefore, in theory, will work anywhere in the world.

Bluetooth: This is a technology that enables electronic devices to communicate with each other without being physically connected. Bluetooth equipped phones can be used via a wireless headset and can connect to PCs wirelessly to transmit information. Infrared enabled phones have similar capabilities but the infrared ports of the various devices you are transferring data between need to be in line of sight.

MMS: Multimedia messaging is used by camera phones to send pictures, sound and text all in one message. The recipient needs to have an MMS phone; otherwise they receive a text asking them to access a website that will display your message.

Ringtones: Part of the fashion element of the mobile phone, polyphonic ringtones can be downloaded straight to your phone and even linked to specific callers.

Services: As speeds of transmission increase and video quality improves providers are increasing the number and types of service available to subscribe to. The latest news, weather, and sporting results can all be accessed via the latest mobiles.

3G: The 3G set of technologies available in the latest phones allows the delivery of multimedia content to you in a device that you can hold in the palm of your hand. Content providers have barely scratched the surface of what they can, in theory and for a price, beam to you whenever you want it. Sporting highlights, latest films, video messages, and online gaming all are likely contenders for services your network provider will offer through your handset. The drawback so far is that the "killer application," live video calls to other handsets, is not, because of a combination of poor network coverage and new handsets, of high-enough quality to make subscribing to such a service worthwhile for anyone but the earliest of early-adopters. If take-up does increase you may find your voice calls getting cheaper via this route.

WAP: WAP pages, essentially web pages adapted for the smaller screen, are now accessed by mobile phone users to get the latest information on a range of topics from results to shopping.

Tariff choices: Getting to the bottom of tariffs can be extremely difficult. Most tariffs are scenario-based and rely on you knowing what pattern of calls (daytime, evening, weekend), texts, voicemail and other services you are going to be using. If you can not find a scenario that fits your profile exactly in the various online calculators that let you compare tariffs across all the networks our advice is to take a pay-as-you-go package for a short time, with an itemised bill, and then review your choice with real data to hand. There are two basic choices of tariff: pay-as-you-go or a monthly contract.

Pay-as-you go, or more accurately, pre-pay calls allow you to make calls on the handset as long as you have sufficient credit. You can top up your credit with vouchers, swipe cards, and in some cases even from cash machines. The advantage is you only pay for services you actually use (and there's no surprise bill at the end of the month). The disadvantage is that call rates tend to be higher than contracts and that your choice of handset may be restricted.

On a monthly contract actual call rates can be cheaper, but you will need to sign up for a minimum of 12 months and normally pay by direct debit. For your set amount each month you get a number of call minutes, texts, and other services. But if you exceed the amount in your plan then you will pay for the extras at a per call rate. Contract users usually have more choice of handset - the more expensive ones are often only available for contract payers. Most networks charge less for calls to users on the same network. And if you are signing up to a tariff that offers free minutes make sure these are cross-network - so you can call whoever you like.

Porting authorisation code (PAC): If you are switching networks and want to keep your current number then you will need a PAC from your existing provider which you give to the new provider. Tariff changes and upgrades with the same provider usually mean you can keep your old number.

Headsets

1. Plantronics Headsets
   From £10
2. BT Headsets
   From £20
3. Sony Ericsson Headsets
   From £10

Headset:
Using Bluetooth technology to communicate with the handset, a headset can be a convenient way of using the phone. And while the debate on the long-term effects of heavy phone usage continues a headset is a sensible option for people likely to be on the phone all day

Hands-free kits:
Essential for using a mobile in a car in some countries, hands free kits use either a wire (cheaper) or Bluetooth to let you use your phone safely by using a headset and a microphone rather than the handset. Whatever your choice, check the compatibility of the kit with your particular make and model of phone.

Car kits:
Some mobiles can be plugged into a car kit to utilise the car's battery power, a speaker and an aerial to give better sound and reception. Other car kits have just a charger and a hands-free kit.

Speakers:
Ideal for use in the car or the office a separate speaker will give you improved sound quality.

Insurance:
Mobile phone theft is a problem and insurance premiums are correspondingly high. In financial terms you probably only need it if you have bought your handset separately rather than as part of a contract. Whether you choose to take out a policy or not, keep a record of your phone's 15-digit IMEI number (key in *#06# and it will be displayed) to use if you have to report a phone as stolen.