Gadgets and Technology

Mobile phone is a must if you want to thrive in this fast paced world. Everyone needs to have information at their fingertips, and the ability to communicate at a moment's notice. Whether it's for business or for leisure, for loved ones or for colleagues, a mobile phone is truly an intangible aspect of people's daily lives.

There are five things you must look for in a dependable mobile phone. Let us go through the list one by one.

Image via Flickr.

1. Build Quality

The phone must have decent build quality. Its surface, keyboard, screen and edges must be robust enough to last multiple years. But if you are at the retail shop of a well known wireless service provider like Cricket offers consumers dependable phone, you won't have to worry about quality.

Check the obvious physical features of the phone. Make sure the keys of the keyboard are durable and not flimsy. The antenna of the phone should be well made so that it does not break away or shatter under mild or medium pressure.

2. Screen Size and Resolution

The screen size should be big enough for browsing websites, using navigation systems, and other multimedia activities. The screen resolution should be high enough so that all the lines and alphanumeric characters are clear and legible. Make sure your screen resolution is at least 125 pixels per inch.

3. Processor, Battery Life, Memory

The processor should be fast enough so that the phone operates smoothly without hardware related long lag times and lengthened pauses. Web browsing, navigation and other multimedia use such as picture and video texting may take significant power so the processor should be at least 400-500 MHz.

A full battery should last at least a day for normal usage, and at least 4-5 hours talk time, so that you can spend the day or an entire evening without the need to recharge your phone. Longer battery life is always desirable and the more, the merrier.

The phone memory can vary depending upon your usage habits. If you need a lot of storage space, then go for 32 GB phone, but if your needs are limited, 8 GB or even less should work just fine.

4. Software and Apps

Lets face it, everyone is obsessed with Apps and sophisticated software. So it is always worthwhile to check out if your phone has one of the big three operating systems, Windows mobile, Android, or iOS.

Use the phone at the store for a few minutes to see how responsive and intuitive the software is. Does it have applications for Weather, Calendar with notes, Alarm, and perhaps stock market information? How does it perform with these applications running simultaneously? If it works well for you and you don't have any problems even after these tests, then it's a good phone to consider.

5. Customer Service

Make sure the customer service is responsive and dependable, and the warranty explicitly states that they will replace defective phones.