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Nath Balakrishnan

TILL a few years back, it was considered hip to sport a mobile phone. Nowadays, with the gadget acquiring ubiquity, one makes a fashion statement if one decides against going mobile! Much as the market for cellular services has evolved over the years, a parallel evolution has also been under way in mobile phones.

From being instruments that offered purely functional benefits, the modern-day mobile is loaded with a dizzying array of add-ons. The legendary Bob Dylan's number, `The Times They Are A-Changin', could not have been more appropriate.

Chunky instruments have made way for phones that are small enough to fit your palm, antennas have become a thing of the past and staid monochrome displays have been replaced with rich colour. What's more, the new-age mobile boasts of a still/video camera and packs enough features that enables you access your e-mails and surf the Net.

And yes, just in case you are wondering whether at all it would serve its basic function, rest assured that you can still speak into it and be heard loud and clear at the other end.

Ok, so you went mobile a few years ago and purchased one of those tried-and-tested models; carrying one such model now would make you look rather ancient. And you are desperately looking for an upgrade that'll ensure that you keep up with the Joneses, as it were.

We'll run through some features that you ought to look out for when hunting for that next phone of yours.

The world of colour

Phone displays these days are a far cry from the monochrome interface that used to dominate the scene. Colour displays offer the user a richer experience and have become the standard for current-day phones. In any case, if your phone supports only monochrome display and you're looking for an upgrade, a colour display should be the next logical step.

However, the quality of the display is a function of the number of colours the phone supports and the resolution. If you need a richer interface, you'll need an instrument that supports more colours.

The camera conundrum

Camera phones may have taken a knock lately, with instances of they having been put to unscrupulous use.But that has not prevented them from becoming a rage. Would you need a camera phone? Logically, it may be argued that if your camera does not come with a phone attached to it, there is pretty much no reason why your phone should come with a camera attached to it!

The point here is about the clarity of the images you get with the camera phone, which are not of the same quality as what you'd get with a conventional still camera.

If you are the type who gets a kick from capturing Mark Knopfler in a concert, with the intention of preserving that image for posterity, then you could consider such a phone. But be prepared to fork out that extra amount for the add-on.

Things are hotting up on the camera phones front. There are mobiles that enable you shoot a video up to a specified time limit and subsequently edit them on the phone.

You could give expression to the short-film maker that was lurking in you with such an instrument. But such phones are not exactly what one would call affordable. But then, who said making films was going to be cheap?

A Net case

Are you a Net addict? A compulsive e-mailer? Gone are the days when you could access these services only from the comfortable confines of your workstation.

Present day mobiles let you access the Net on the go. If you've all along been used to a workstation environment, the phone interface would take some time getting adjusted to ( punch in a mail on a regular keyboard and attempt the same on a phone keypad, and you'll get an idea of the magnitude of adjustment).

Even if you decide that such a phone is just what you need, you could also pick up an accessory such as a wireless keyboard, which should considerably ease the pain (quite literally) arising out of using the mobile keypad.

Other useful features

If you are the type who travels a lot, do go in for a hands-free kit. Also, look for a model that supports voice dialling, which makes calling easier while on the move.

Another useful feature is the loudspeaker option which, when activated, will enable you speak at a good distance away from the mouthpiece and still be heard clearly by the person at the other end.

For those who prefer to listen to music on the move, there are phones that come loaded with a FM radio feature. With radio stations belting out music ranging from rap to carnatic, there are choices aplenty.

Mobile entertainment may be cool, but do remember to carry your charger along in case you decide to use this feature extensively, as it does tend to be a battery guzzler.

The choices

Now that we have a fair idea of the features that one should look for before homing in on a purchase, it finally boils down to the brand.

Leading names such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson have all unveiled their top-end offerings here. It is important to strike a balance between the features a particular model offers and the price tag attached to it.

Do test the model and get comfortable with it before you make the purchase decision. Your decision, after all, in the words of management guru Tom Peters, will either make you distinct or extinct, in a crowd of mobile phone users. Make that call!

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