How to make a Smartphone an Effective Cheap Communication Tool

Today everyone owns a mobile phone. In fact many people have one even before even owning a Laptop/PC or an internet connection. I myself as a technology enthusiast own an Android Smartphone which to me is mid range phone which covers all of my communication and information needs. Here are some tips and guidelines for an effective smartphone usage mentality:

• Spend at least one third of the money for buying a smartphone than you would for you Laptop/PC and avoid contract subsidies because in most cases phones are overpriced through carriers. Do some market search through your local shop crawler (www.skroutz.gr for Greece. kelkoo etc), try bidding on ebay or even search your local newspaper classifieds (www.xe.gr for Greece, Craigslist etc)
• Avoid subscribing to mobile carrier contacts because to my opinion are overpriced and send you nasty invoices if you are overdue with your payment.
• Use an economy plan that suits you best according to the people you want to speak most to. I use Cosmote GR Whatsup with 10 euros/month prepaid (600min & 600sms to Whatsup subscripbers & 60MB for data used by apps) and Cosmote GR Cosmocarta with 10 euros per month (180min to all Greek mobiles with a minimum call duration of 3mins). All that adds up to 15 to 20 euros per month (I usally fill up each prepaid plan every 35 to 40 days usually)
• Prefer buying a phone with Android OS. They range from rather cheap models to high end LTE capable devices. In the Android Market you can find many wonderful free apps which can enhance your everyday life. The Android OS is opensource so it is more easily implement to various hardware. Prefer using a custom built ROM which is built from the source without the nasty carrier spy apps (Carrier IQ)
• Use VoIP applications like Skype, Viber, GTalk, VoIP Discount and cover your communication needs free through your home or public Internet enabled WiFi Hotspot.
• Use whatever social networks you prefer using through your mobile phone apps (Twitter, Facebook etc) if that is what you truly need. I almost never use social network apps but some people do…
• Use hands free by any means and avoid exposing your head to harmful radiation by the Cellular and also being able to listen to FM Radio/MP3’s/Audiobooks/Podcasts wherever you may happen to be
• Do your market research and buy a phone that is sturdy and as not breakable as possible. My Motorola Defy water&dust proof has lasted almost a year with no hardware problem and will hopefully last for another 2 years.
• Spend more time talking to people in person than using a Mobile Phone/Laptop/Landline. Its free and you’re can communicate in in many ways apart from using your voice or video frame.

Today speaking i see that there is a tremendous competition between mobile manufacturers and some people tend to spend huge amounts of cash on a Smartphone. The iPhone is example of this overated smartphone piece which to me is by no means worth it’s money. I had the chance of owning iPhone 4G 16GB after fixing a minor part fallure while Apple claimed its warranty was voided and preferred selling it for some 400euro quick cash. The small mid-end Motorola Defy Android phone i own almost a year know covers my expectations i would demand from a phone. I hope the XDA Developers hurry up building Android 4.0 ICS Cyanogenmod 9 for my Defy soon enough so i can ditch the Motoblur ROM i phone is bundled with.

Eitherways many things are due to change in the mobile network technology in the following years. The LTE Network will eventually work allongside the GSM network (2G/3g) and may some day succeed it. I hope the Mobile carriers figure out that they ought to evolve as the landline networks did. PSTN > ISDN > ADSL > ADSL2+ > Fiber to Home (Not in Greece). The 1st time i used the internet was through a plain telephone 14k modem in the mid mid 90’s and today a 6Mbit wireless internet point which is included in the house rent. Mobile carriers must reseal that they should stop charging talk minutes, sms and data in the MB or GB scale. The technology is coming and i will be trully pleased in a couple of years now when i see ADSL carriers competing with the LTE carriers providing true IP services with a reasonable price.

~ by antyx on December 3, 2011.