Get smart (about your phone)!

Today's tech world is very confusing to the lay person (notice how I expertly
avoided being perceived as a sexist). In order to make it simpler for a few and to dumb it down so the average person can understand Geek, I took a set of most commonly asked questions, and prepared my highly opinionated answers to them.
I will probably take one question at a time and discuss it to my satisfaction in individual posts with the mindset 'use em or leave em, your call'
(But I do hope that you find them useful). Feel free to comment and add your perspective for the greater good.

Q: What is a 'smart phone' and why do I need it?
Aditya says: I myself find the term 'smart phone' very misleading. Is it a phone for smart people? or is it a phone that is smart for dumb people..who knows? or rather who cares?
From my perspective, a 'smart phone' is the evolved phone which can do more than just make phone calls. The more things a phone can do besides making calls, the smarter it is in my opinion. Thats it, its as simple as that.
The harder question to answer is, do you really need it? I suggest, before you decide that for your self, just make a list of all the things that you want to be able to do with your phone. Then pair your needs with the most cost effective device and provider in the market. Please, do not get sold on the hype and buy the most expensive thing in the market, and then wonder if your usage is worth the money you spent on it...that makes me sad. Here are the 2 most common set of usages (not unless you are a socially hyperactive teen), and my perspective on getting the best value:

Basic Scenario 1: Talk and text.
This is a very common scenario, which I think is the most common denominator for all communication needs today. This is simplest to solve. In today's world, every phone has that capability. To pick the right phone for this need, look for the phone that you find easiest to use, and that has a good battery life. I find that the low end Blackberrys are still the best in this aspect, so I'd have no problem recommending a Blackberry for this. Please note, Blackberry's are notorious for dying during an upgrade, so please do not muck with your Blackberry system settings unless you are adequately supervised. But again, for this need, there is a seemingly unlimited number of choices you will have today, and very economical too.

Basic Scenario 2: Talk, text and email.
Now we enter the realm of 'data' aka email. Remember, texting aka SMS messaging is NOT the same as email, and do not really require a data plan. Anyone telling you otherwise should be subject of your suspicion. For getting the ability to connect to the internet, you will need a basic data plan from your carrier, and a device that can connect to the internet and get your email. Note, the need is for you to be able to have access to email only, not really all the internet has to offer you. In this department too, Blackberrys do a decent job, but so does every other 'non-touch' enabled 'smart' device. Every carrier usually has a bunch of them on hand, but remember the sales rep will try their best to sell you the most expensive device, not the device that meets your needs the best. My advice is that you should just pick the device that does the above three tasks the best, with the least overhead and costs.

If your needs are above and beyond the two basic scenarios I described above, then you definitely need a smart phone. Get ready to enter the world of highly evolved devices (which are nothing but highly compacted computers running on batteries) with multiple capabilities, which you will need to spend a bunch of money on, and will continue to spend money on through out your carrier contract. In this realm, in today's world, you will have 3 primary choices: Android Phones, iPhone, Windows Phone. Note, I did not mention Blackberry here. While Blackberry makes solid devices for the basic needs, they need to play catch up to the other three. I do hope they do so, I wish them all the best! With more competition, the consumers win, and I am all for that.
In a subsequent post, I will talk about this realm, and attempt to demystify it from my POV. However, I will talk about them not from the perspective of the manufacturer/carrier, but from the perspective of the consumer.


In summation, get a device that serves your needs, and nothing more. It is not wise to try and do the work of a needle with a sword. NASA spent a million bucks researching and inventing a pen that could write in space, the Russians used a pencil. 
That says it all, and so says I   !!