Time to Get Smart About Phones

A number of my friends have asked me why I have not gotten myself a smartphone yet, considering how crazy I get about tech stuff and gadgets. I am a gadget freak, but I can’t justify buying something that I don’t really need or will use.

I have been thinking about buying a smartphone for the past couple of years. But, several things have held me back:

• My phone habits – I only do calls and SMSes. Nothing else.
• I hate reading on small screens.
• I don’t play games on my phone.
• I don’t like listening to music on my phone because of the small playlist and because it’s so tedious loading up the music on my phone.
• I don’t like the camera features on existing phones.
• I don’t like the fact that HD video recording was not available.
• I like my phones slim and small. I don’t like bulky phones.
• I’m okay with typing out long SMSes on my bare basics phone, but I hate writing on it. Does this make sense? I love to write, but I like writing on paper or on a keyboard. Maybe, I should get an iPad instead?

 

I also didn’t like any of the smartphone models then available. But, now, with some pretty impressive models in the market, I’ve been re-thinking my stand on smartphones:

• Better camera features means I won’t have to carry a separate camera.
• I can buy foldable keyboards for the smartphone.
• Fast internet connectivity (although I will have to study data connection packages to figure out if it’s worth it)
• Bigger storage space for music and stuff.
• Better apps.
• Bigger screens.
• Reducing the number of things I usually carry in my handbag – from camera, iPod Touch, notepad and phone to just one phone.

 

I haven’t done much research on new and upcoming models. But, I’m looking for the following things:

• Phone calls, SMSes, MMSes
• 3G and tri-band connectivity for international roaming
• Camera with at least 5 mega-pixel, flash and a wide-eye lens
• Camera with HD video recording (in full HD)
• Music/MP3 player (I can live without FM radio)
• Calendar
• A really LOUD alarm
• Touch screen preferably (will consider slide-out keyboard or candybar keypad)

 

Thing is, I don’t really want an iPhone, and I am not into Blackberries. I guess that I might eventually go with the iPhone since I have an iPod Touch already, and I’m used to the interface. But, I don’t really want a phone that’s so ubiquitous. I have been considering the HTC. Several of my friends have a HTC phone, and I’m pretty impressed by its design.

It’s a big step, and I keep hearing rumours about new models coming out. So, I’ll just keep researching until I find a phone that truly steals my heart.