MOBILE

Smart Phones, Smart Savings (Part 3)

4/13/2013 9:11:12 AM

It might seem unnecessary to replace a working smart phone at the end of the customary 24-month contract period for most plans. But two factors make it smart to consider spending $200 or so to get a new phone when you’re eligible to do so:

 
When to get a new smart phone?

When to get a new smart phone?

You’ll pay for a new one, anyway.

Unless you opt to switch to a prepaid plan once your contract obligations are fulfilled your monthly bill will probably continue at the same cost as before. That bill will include the amount the carrier sets aside to repay itself the difference (usually at least $300) between what you paid for the smart phone and what the carrier paid the manufacturer for it.

In other words, after your contract is up, you’ll essentially be paying toward a new phone whether you get one or not. So why not get something for your money?

You old phone will show its age.

Operating systems and apps are designed and updated for the newest smart phones, with their faster processors, expanded memory, larger and sharper displays, improved cameras, and more. Accepting over-the-air updates to your operating system and apps when prompted to do so helps stave off obsolescence, and deleting apps you no longer use helps. But within a few years, you phone could struggle to muster the processing power, memory, or features it needs to make the most of new apps or an upgraded operating system – if it can accept them at all.

 
Within a few years, you phone could struggle to muster the processing power, memory, or features it needs to make the most of new apps or an upgraded operating system – if it can accept them at all.

Within a few years, you phone could struggle to muster the processing power, memory, or features it needs to make the most of new apps or an upgraded operating system – if it can accept them at all.

Did you know?

Sell, trade, or recycle

You can sell your old phone privately on Craigslist or eBay or to a company such as Gazelle, which in November was offering $160 for a 16GB iPhone 4S for example. Some phone manufacturers have trade-in programs. You could donate it to an organization such as Recycling for Charities or give it to someone. (Make sure you delete personal data). Or simply keep the phone in case you lose or damage a new one and don’t want to replace it until your contract expires and you’re eligible for a new discounted phone.

Android phone, iPhone, or Windows Phone? How they compare

You now have three flavors of smart phone to choose from: android phones, iPhones, and Windows Phones. (BlackBerry is still around but is geared mostly toward business use, so we won’t cover it here.). Here’s how they compare, with examples of available phones:

Android OS

Android OS

·         The phones

If you want a wide choice of phones, you’ve come to the right place. There are half a dozen brands offering scads of phones that run on the Android operating system. Displays are the biggest around as large as 5.5 inches, and this platform is the only one other than BlackBerry that has phones with a physical keyboard. Android phones stand out for innovative features such as Wi-Fi Direct, facial recognition, NFC for wireless sharing and mobile payments.

·         Apps and more

Google Play carries a wide selection of music apps, e-books, and other content from phone carriers, phone manufacturers, and providers such as Amazon.com. Payments through your Google account are easy, but sometimes you have to pay the carrier or app provider.

·         The interface.

The Android OS is as customizable as they come, thanks to a wide variety of widgets and other built-in tools for tweaking phone controls, as well as its look and feel. You can organize apps into folders, and you don’t’ have to clutter your home screens with every app you own. Little-used apps can remain in a separate app drawer until you need them. But the interface and features can vary significantly from phone to phone, and OS updates can radically change features.

Samsung Galaxy S III Price range $200 to $330 with two-year contract, including rebates. A brilliant 4.8-inch display, clever HD cameras, and ingenious options for sharing make the Galaxy S III ideal for social networkers.

Samsung Galaxy S III Price range $200 to $330 with two-year contract, including rebates. A brilliant 4.8-inch display, clever HD cameras, and ingenious options for sharing make the Galaxy S III ideal for social networkers.

Apple iOSApple iOS

·         The phones

There’s only one product line to choose from, and only one new model is introduced each year. These models complement their sleek, trend-setting designs and intuitively simple operation with top-notch displays, camera, and music players. iPhone 5, the first iPhone with a 4-inch display and support for fast 4G LTE data networks, is the best one yet. But these LTE phones can’t simultaneously support a phone call and an Internet-based connection over the cellular network.

·         Apps and more

If it’s apps you want, Apple is the hands-down winner. The selection of music, video, games, and apps from iTunes and the App Store is simply unrivaled. And it’s easy and safe to buy via iTunes account. You’ll also find accessories galore- cases, compatible devices, and more.

·         The interface

The simple iOS interface is ultra-easy to master. Consistency is another plus: iOS, which hasn’t changed much in years, is the same from carrier to carrier and almost identical to that of the iPad. You can create folders to organize apps, but you can customize the interface only minimally and the screen can become cluttered.

 Apple iPhone 5 price range $200 to $400 with two-year contract, including rebates. The innovative iPhone 5 is a major step up from earlier models, including the recommended 4S. it retains its simple, familiar interface while boosting the IQ of Siri, the savvy voice assistant and making the top-notch iPhone camera even better.Apple iPhone 5 price range $200 to $400 with two-year contract, including rebates. The innovative iPhone 5 is a major step up from earlier models, including the recommended 4S. it retains its simple, familiar interface while boosting the IQ of Siri, the savvy voice assistant and making the top-notch iPhone camera even better.

Windows Phone

Windows Phone

·         The phones

Windows Phone is still playing catch-up, and there’s only a small selection of phones from HTC, Nokia, and Samsung. Many of them have screens 4 inches or larger, and all let you launch the camera from a locked screen, even when it’s protected by a personal identification number. The newest models support NFC technology for wireless sharing and mobile payments.

·         Apps and more

You’ll find a fairly small selection of music, video, apps, games (including Xbox), and other content form Microsoft, phone carriers, and phone manufacturers, nothing yet to compare with Android or Apple. You can pay via a Microsoft account in many cases, though sometimes you have pay the carrier or app provider directly

·         The interface

Windows Phone is simple yet flexible, residing on two scrollable main panels. One panel houses apps, and the other has resizable Live Tiles that can display updates from social-network feeds and other sources. Large, colorful fonts provide a clear, distinctive presentation of e-mail, calendars, and other phone content. It has a similar look and feel to Window 8 computers and tablets. But you can’t create folders to organize apps, and panels can get unmanageably long.

 
Nokia Lumia 920 price $100 from AT&T with a two-year contract. It has unique advanced features such as wireless charging based on magnetic induction. One cool feature: you can erase people from photos, say, when shooting a landscape

Nokia Lumia 920 price $100 from AT&T with a two-year contract. It has unique advanced features such as wireless charging based on magnetic induction. One cool feature: you can erase people from photos, say, when shooting a landscape

Protect the data on your phone

Protect the data on your phone

In a recent survey, half of our readers who own a cell phone told us they use their phones in ways that put their passwords, account numbers, and other sensitive information at risk. Yet one out of three of them didn’t take any steps to protect themselves. If they were to lose their phone, strangers could pore through their data, send malicious texts or email that seem to be from them, and order merchandise from accounts they’ve set up. Here’s how to minimize your risk:

Lock your phone

Consider using a personal identification number or password on your phone so that others won’t be able to browse your life history or embark on an online spending spree. That tactic requires you to balance security and convenience, because you’ll have to enter a code every time your phone screen locks. To minimize the hassle, you could set a fairly long interval before your phone times out, say, 30 minutes.

Install an app that can locate a phone and remotely lock it or even erase its data. Options include Find My iPhone (free on iTunes) and Lookout for Android – based phones (fee at Google Play). The Lookout app can back up your data. Other free backup services are the iCloud for iPhones and, for Android phones, Google Cloud Storage, Verizon’s Backup Assistant, and AT&T’s Mobile Backup. For Windows Phone devices use SkyDrive.

Keep apps in check

Many consumers realize there are at least some inherent risks in downloading apps to a phone but don’t understand the extent to which they compromise privacy, according to a nationally representative survey conducted recently by the Consumer reports National Research Center.

Eighty- one percent of respondents recognized that apps- even from reputable, well-known companies –can access personal information stored on a phone and share it with others. But almost 60 percent of those surveyed believed sharing data was illegal unless the phone’s owner explicitly agreed to that. And 53 percent thought it was illegal for an app maker with a privacy policy to share the user’s personal information with other companies. In fact, there are no legal protections against sharing this information. But three-quarters of survey respondents did realize that app markets, including Apples App Store and Google Play, don’t’ prevent app developers from sharing their information.

With smart-phone apps from any source:

·         See what permissions you’ve granted installed apps (under setting/Apps for Android phones and Settings/Privacy for iPhones). Uninstall any that are too nosy.

·         Before downloading an app, scrutinize the permissions it request. Reject any that want to do something suspicious, such as tracking your location if that seems unnecessary.

Don’t get personal

When going online, be careful about disclosing personal information. Before selling or discarding a phone, wipe out your data by resetting the phone to the factory default. And remove SIM cards and memory cards, if applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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