Do You Need the Latest “It” Phone? Nope.

I don’t have the “It” phone. Sure, it might be nice to have the latest and greatest phone, but I have reservations. Between escalating prices and features, there comes a time when you have to say enough! Just give me a reliable phone already.

Hi, this is Chris with Laughter on Water. If you’re tired of slick sales pitches for the latest It phone, and you want a reasonable approach to buying a phone, this is the episode for you. If you’re new to this channel, I discuss technology, software and internet. If you’re into that kind of thing why not subscribe hit the bell icon and tell others about this channel? Let’s go.

When I buy a cell phone, these are the criteria that I think about:

1. Durability. I’m not buying a phone every year. If the phone becomes a lemon within the first year of my using it, I’m not going to buy that brand again. It has to be durable.
2. Cost. If this thing flies out of my fingers and crashes to the ground, I don’t want to cry about it. I want it to be inexpensive enough that I can buy another one quickly and move on.
3. Unlocked. I’m not buying a contract. Contracts are just a way to make you buy more than you need. You probably don’t need a contract either.
4. Responsiveness. If the phone is sluggish, or I can’t have more than one or two apps open at a time, I’m going to be frustrated and send it back.
5. Battery life. If I can’t go at least a day of normal use, maybe two without charging the phone, I’m sending it back.
6. Screen legibility. If I can’t see the screen in full sun, it’s going back.
   I don’t care as much about screen density. I have 20/15 vision with my glasses on, and if the pixels are too small for my eyes to detect them up close, I’m good. A 120Hz 4K 5.5inch screen on a phone is truly a resource hog. I don’t require it, and you probably don’t either.
7. Decent signal. Don’t make me hold the phone at a particular angle just to send a text or check my email. And don’t make me hold my phone up to the router to surf the web. If I can’t get a decent signal, it’s going back.
8. Operating system. If it’s not the latest version of the operating system, I’d like to be sure the phone maker is going to at least update my phone’s OS when there are security risks.
9. Replaceable battery. All the cool phones have trended toward fixed batteries. When the battery dies, they want you to buy another phone, rather than replace the battery. Except batteries usually die in less than two years. That’s a wasteful design plan, and I’m ordering phone manufacturers to knock it off.
10. Provider. Choose a cell provider and cell platform. I’m not going into a local cell phone store or one of those booths in the mall. I’m going to research online which providers get the best reviews in the region where I live. Once I know my preferred provider, that will give me an idea of the platform I’ll be choosing.

This video has gone long, so I’m splitting it up. In this video, we established 10 parameters for deciding on a phone. In the next video we’ll flesh out some of the particulars. I hope you found this video helpful. I hope you’ve learned something. If you have, please that like button, subscribe, and hit the bell icon so you wont miss the next video.

This is Chris with Laughter on Water. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video.