Your Guide For Buying Samsung Smartphones

It seems like newer, bigger smartphones are being revealed every month, making it more difficult than ever to choose a phone you’re going to be happy with for a few years, especially if you’re entering a two-year contract. When you’re shopping for a new handset, there are some important things to consider, even if you’ve already decided on buying Samsung smartphones.

Your Guide For Buying Samsung Smartphones

1. Consider Your Carrier

Samsung has phones for all major carriers, but there are some Samsung smartphones that are only for one carrier or another. You’ll find the widest variety of phones at the lowest prices if you go with Verizon or AT&T, but they have higher monthly rates for their plans. You’ll have to decide whether you’d rather save money right now and pay more per month or pay a bunch more upfront for your phone and have lower monthly rates. If you already know the carrier and the plan you’re going to have, then you can look for Samsung smartphones that work with that carrier. Your plan can influence your choice, too. If your phone plan includes a mobile hotspot, you want to make sure your phone has hotspot capability.

2. Consider Your Operating System

Samsung is perhaps most associated with the Android name, but it also makes phones that use the Windows 8 OS, so you’ll have to decide which one you want to use. The Android OS is made by Google. It has several strengths – it is highly customizable, has plenty of apps, and comes with useful features like Google Now and offline voice typing. Updates on the OS are slow in coming, and there are occasionally malware concerns, but overall Android is one of the leading operating systems in the country for a reason.

Windows has just recently entered the mobile phone game, but they’re making a name for themselves quickly. If you’ve never had a smartphone before, Windows 8 might be a good option. They pride themselves on being extremely user friendly and accessible for kids. Since they’re new, the downside is that there aren’t as many apps and features yet for their OS.

3. Consider Your Screen Size

Before you buy a smartphone, pick it up and see what it feels like in your hand. Can you comfortably hold it in one hand and work the touchscreen with your thumbs? If not, is that important to you? The average smartphone these days has a screen size of between 4.5 and 5 inches, but there may be reasons you want to go bigger and smaller. Smaller screens can be more comfortable to use and fit in a pocket more easily, but bigger screens are better for watching movies or playing games. You might even be interested in a “phablet” – a phone that’s nearly tablet sized – like the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It all depends on how you will use the phone.

Looking at these three options and determining what you want will cut down your options significantly. From there, you can consider additional options like camera size, battery life, fast processing speed, and simply how the phone looks. Samsung smartphones are high quality, so whichever phone you choose, you’re unlikely to have many complaints about it.

This Samsung smartphones buying guide is written by Jason Fields of BestInCellPhones.com where you can buy free cell phones with a new contract.