Your Questions about Mobile Phones answered.

1. What's the difference between analog and digital phones? Analog phones operate on an older and less effective technology. This technology doesn't scale well and is more costly. Analog service is not compatible with numerous new features. Digital phones are lighter and more compact and have a longer battery life. When you are inside of a calling area the quality is better than analog. Digital phones support new features like caller ID, text messaging or wireless internet services. 2. What is a Dual Band Phone? A Dual band phone is a phone that can operate on an analog and digital service. 3. What type of battery has the longest life? Lithium-Ion or Li-Ion batteries have the longest life. They also happen to be the lightest in weight. The two pluses means there is minus attached, which is price. A li-ion battery will always be the most expensive type of battery available. 4. What's the difference between the Stand-by time and Talk time? Your phone is in standby mode when your phone is on but you aren't talking. The power consumption is minimal and the phone can stay in this mode for a longer period of time. When you are using the phone you are using talk time. This consumes battery power at a much quicker rate. Your battery life will be somewhere between talk time and standby time 5. What is a roaming charge? A roaming charge is when you make a call from outside of your calling area. Your calling area is defined by plan local, regional or national. 6. What are peak and off peak hours? Peak hours are during the day when the cellular networks are very busy. These minutes are at premium and your plan will typically include the smallest amount of these. If you use more than your allotted peak minutes they will be billed at a much higher rate than off peak minutes. Off peak is the exact opposite of peak time. Each cellular provider has their own definition of off peak. 7. What are anytime minutes? Anytime minutes are simply put minutes you can use anytime, peak or off peak. On most plans you will use anytime minutes first. 8. Do I pay for the call when someone calls me? Usually yes. You are billed for the airtime when you receive a call. However some service providers are offering unlimited in network calls. 9. Should I buy a cell phone or look for a free cellular phone? Free phones generally speaking don't have the latest features, they are anywhere from 6 to 12 months behind. Also, free cell phones generally come with longer contracts. But, it is still possible to get a great deal on a free cell phone. 10. What to do if you want to upgrade/downgrade or cancel your service plan? You can usually upgrade to higher plan without any cost. Some may force you to extend your contract for 1 to 2 years from that point. Downgrading your plan is often times not an option and when it is there is usually a penalty or fine.

Choosing a Cell Phone

Considering the innumerable varieties of cell phones in the market, it is quite a challenging task to choose the best one. However, the basic criterion of selecting the best cell phone is to be absolutely clear about what your needs are. The best cellular phone is the one that is absolutely right for you. And, of course, you can only have the best cellular phone when you pay for what you want. Tons of offers are also available. There are free cellular telephone offers, prepaid cellular, digital, mobile, web enabled and many more. No one can tell you which cell phone is best for you because every one has different needs when it comes to their cellular telephone. Some people want absolutely basic features while others want a lot of totally fantastic features. Some need a cellular telephone for e-mail, faxing and surfing the Internet. Many people want it to be top of the line while others prefer simplicity. The process of buying a cell phone is so confusing. There are simply so many different handsets, networks, deals and call costs to consider that buying the right phone for your usage and budget can be very difficult. Here are a few tips to help you choose the best cell phone. First of all, decide how much you want to spend and be clear on the features you need. Remember that the more the features, the higher the cost. Purchase a battery with a decent battery life and judge the mobile phone by the talk time it gives. The bare minimum should be 2 hours of maximum talk-time plus 90 hours of maximum standby time. Shop and compare for pricing and service. These days, quality phones are very cheap. There is a proliferation of cell phone makers including Nokia, Motorola, Ericson, Siemens, Samsung, Sony, etc. More importantly, cellular plans have come down enormously in overall price with some caveats. Some standard features include caller ID, phone book with fast dial, call waiting, voice mail and auto-answering. Some also have other added features like your first incoming minute free. The high-end cell phones will have voice-a ctivated dialing, SMS, 2-way paging, games, scheduling calendars, digital organizer and all the standard features. The main thing is to see what fits into your life style best and also to be sure when and if the features expire. While making a cell phone and service plan decision, remember that everybody's needs are different. So what's good for your friend may not be the best choice for you. Your best bet would be to search online for websites with good cell phone comparisons in order to get a quality cell phone offer. To make sure that your cell phone comparisons are complete look at Nokia cell phones, Ericsson cell phones, Sprint cell phones, Motorola cell phones and Samsung cell phones. Research the different free cell phone offers, prepaid cell phones and service plans from brand names like AT