5 Things to know before you buy your next phone

Yes, I have compiled my own list of 5 things to know before you buy your next phone after going through a harrowing time before n after buying a phone ... and this is all the learning of buying 8 phones in 10 years.

1. Research on the options available in the market, not just the specification and price but concentrate on the user review and feedback available at the touch of our fav. search engine. Of course I will also tell you however well you research there are certain things which will never pop up in them and usually those are the killers. But the research or too much of it can confuse you so talk to people you trust and take their opinion, remember, they can have their favs. but you need to decide your self. No one for eg: tells you how hard it is to type on a touchscreen if you have long nails or that your ear lobes can disconnect an important call at a single touch.
   
2. Decide on the most important use of the phone, yes, ask yourself what will I use this phone for? This is an important exercise because now a days phones have gone beyond being gadgets to make / receive calls. Break down the use to its most basic part.For Eg. I bought a QWERTY smart phone bcz I wanted to sms wit ease and my previous phone keypads were jammed with overuse.
3. Read up on the extra bundled "stuff" the smart phones give you, and see if you really need them, or are you just paying premium to get something which you will never use. This is important because eventually this will come back to haunt you. Like a LED / Xenon Flash is very imp to me, I learnt it the hard way, a 2 MP cam with no flash is useless when you want to capture the group at the party :) However, music changing option with a jog of the phone with motion sensor is absolutely useless.
   
4. Once you have narrowed down on the choice look at the price changes, for eg: certain brands have a history of downgrading their price, or launching cheaper versions of the same stuff. Trust me you will hate yourself when this happens becz the jerks around will carry a similar looking ph and ask you how much you spent on it. One of the Reason I don't like Blackberry ... Exclusivity is dead in today's consumer market.
5. Last and most importantly not for once imagine that this purchase will last you many years bcz it is expensive, a human beings span of excitement for something New dips very much like the Utility curve in Economics... it will happen may be a few months later or earlier as the case may be. So, be very sure you have checked your bank balance before making this committment, bcz like all material possession this too will loose its charm.

Best of luck with making the choice, for now I am happy with mine ... or so I am convincing myself :)