The Top Cell Phone Features to Consider

1. The View: Do you want to see who is calling quickly? Buy a candy bar phone or make sure that the view screen is on the front cover of flip or slide phones, so that you don’t have to open it to see the caller ID. This will save you a lot of time and frustration.

2. The Phone Book: If you plan to use your cell phone to call a lot of people, make sure that you get one that has a large capacity phone book so you can store lots of numbers. If you use a headset or make a lot of phone calls while you are driving, voice dialing is a must. This feature allows you to dial the phone without looking at the keypad.

3. Quick Communication: Text messaging, emailing, and instant messaging can all be done from your cell phone now days. These features are a great way to communicate with someone without using up your plan’s minutes. If you plan to do a lot of this kind of communication, buy a phone that has an integrated keyboard. Your fingers will thank you.

4. Picture This: You can purchase a phone that includes a camera, video camera, and/or picture sharing programs. Keep in mind that the quality of these pictures aren’t near the quality of a digital camera, so if you think a camera phone will do for those all important moments, you might be disappointed. But for a fun snapshot of the kids to send to the grandparents or an evidence photo of the license plate of the car that sideswiped you and kept going, a camera phone works great.

5. Look Ma, No Hands: If you like to do more than one thing at a time, but don’t want to wear a headset, the speaker phone option is for you. Most phones come with a speaker phone option, but they work sort of like a walkie-talkie. You don’t have to push a button to talk, but only one person can talk at a time. If you get a phone with a full duplex speaker phone the problem is solved.

6. Speaking of Walkie-Talkies: When you use a push to talk phone, you don’t use a cell signal. This means you don’t use your cell minutes either. If you are on the phone a lot, this can add up to a great savings. However, you can only use this feature when you talk to someone that has a walkie-talkie phone. The other thing to keep in mind is when you use this feature everyone around you can hear your entire conversation. This is a great phone for small businesses that need their employees to be in constant communication.

7. Wireless Connections: If you want to be able to connect your phone to wireless external devices such as Bluetooth, consider a phone that will allow you to do so. If you constantly need to connect to your PDA while you are on the road, this feature is a must.

8. Multimedia Madness: The cell phone of today is furnished better than most people’s first apartments. There are phones that include MP3 players, streaming video, and even FM radio. It can be very convenient to carry just your phone instead of carrying several multimedia devices around. The biggest warning when it comes to buying a phone that is chock full of multimedia perks is that you need to make sure your plan allows for those options. Also check to see how much those options cost. Having an MP3 player on your phone might not be worth it to you if it substantially raises your monthly bill.

9. The World Wide Web: If you just can’t get enough of being online, purchase a phone with a microbrowser. The technology is still limited and it will cost you extra for the service, but if it is important for you to stay connected to the internet, then this option is a great way to do so.

10. Accessories Make the Outfit: If you want to personalize your phone with a special cover or faceplate that might affect the kind of phone you buy. Not all covers fit on every phone and faceplates are only for candy bar phones. Make sure that you consider the kinds of accessories you want before you purchase your phone.