What to look for in your new cellphone

What should you look for when choosing your next cellphone? Well, an integrated digital camera such as the one found in Nokia 7650 or Sony-Ericsson P800 would be nice. Like many other technologies, the integrated camera has evidently created more problems than it has solved.

This has led to such cameras being banned in a growing number of places across the world. Yet, to be able to capture rare and interesting moments without having to frantically take out your digital camera from your handbag would be nice. It would be better if you could wait until more models appear with an optional memory storage expansion.

In addition, there are standard features that you will want to check out, such as the Personal Information Management (PIM), the polyphonic ring tones, the SMS facility and a long battery life. You will also want features such as a wide screen with good contrast so that you can read text messages more easily. The MMS (multimedia messaging system) is still an expensive service and may take some time to pick up, but it is nice to be among the first to try it out.

A cellphone with a loud and clear speakerphone feature will be great, so you do not have to hold the cellphone to your ear to talk to the other guy. The feature will also allow you to let everybody around you in the meeting room join in the conversation with the caller. Try to find a model that allows you to turn it on or off manually.

With the advent of GPRS, using a cellphone as a modem is not an impossibility. It is a costly service, but when you are stranded in a place where there is no free telephone line, it can save your day. However, you need to make sure that the infrared can work well with your notebook or PDA. If you can afford a Bluetooth module for your notebook, you must also make sure that your cellphone has Bluetooth capability that can communicate with it.

Another feature to look for is perhaps the small joystick such as the one found on the popular Nokia 7650. The joystick is a joy to use, and-combined with a menu that uses a lot of icons -- it can make you very efficient in choosing the function that you want to use.

A cellphone that allows you to compose your own ring tones would be a good choice, too. With this capability, you can create a tone that is different from all the other guys in the crowd. So, if you hear some cell phone ringing, you can distinguish it from yours.

Cellphone users seem to have insatiable appetite for games. Perhaps it is better for you to get a cellphone with support for the Java programming language. That way, you will have access to a growing collection of Java-based game programs that you can download.

Voice tags are audio cues that will enable you to tell the cellphone to automatically dial a number. You have to record "Call home!" once and attach it to the entry for your home phone number, and the next time you no longer have to scroll down the list of your contacts to get to that important number. Of course, the speed dial feature that allows you to press a single digit on the keypad to call a pre-assigned number is another must-have.

Other necessary features include call diversion and usage meter that keeps track of the length of your calls and the number of bits you have downloaded. Usually a data-capable cellphone will already have this feature. Also, if you use English in your text messages, perhaps the predictive text input and the dictionary will help. If you use Indonesian, however, you had better turn it off.

The list of features can be extended with other gimmicks such as animated screen savers, picture greetings, SMS templates and picture messages, MP3 player, FM receivers and many others. However, more important are perhaps the multi-level, PIN-based security protection, which at least will make the cellphone unusable when stolen. -- Zatni Arbi