A cell phone can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You can use it to stay connected on the go, away from home. On the other hand, you might find yourself getting smacked with huge data bills and headaches from trying to figure out the technology. Be at peace with your cell phone by using the following tips.
Every few days restart your cell phone, especially if it's a smart phone. You may not realize it, but you're carrying around a miniature computer in your pocket. These computers eat up memory over time, and that can lead to poor performance. All you need to do is restart your cell phone to get memory back into play.
Don't waste money calling information. Try for instance the 1-800 number, 411-FREE. You will listen to an ad, then ask for the information you want.
Don't always get the newest phone. Generally speaking, you won't get much reward. Companies like to put out new phones often, but you'll find that many times the updates are only minor. Look at cell phone reviews prior to purchasing a new one. Many times, you won't.
Think about the insurance that you are purchasing and whether or not it is really worth it in the long run. Sometimes, plans will be very valuable though, and for 10 dollars a month can replace your phone for free if you break it. This could save you hundreds of dollars if you were to replace your phone at retail price.
Keep in mind that smartphones do get slower as they age. The best way to keep your phone "new" is to download the latest updates to give it the latest technology. These updates tend to get bigger and more powerful. It is possible that it will not even be able to handle the upgrades at some point.
Haggle a bit when shopping for your next phone. You generally wouldn't expect haggling to work in a retail setting, but it is often effective in the case of buying a new cell phone. Try it for yourself. It can't hurt, and people often get between 50 and 100 dollars knocked off the price.
If you have a smartphone, be aware that it will probably need to be replaced within a few years. Like a computer, cell phones are consistently using up memory and require newer operating systems. Eventually, your smart phone will become outdated and there will be no memory, meaning your phone will not properly function.
Use Talkster if you want to have free international calls during the day and night. This service will give you more ads than you are used to but will reduce the high costs that you will have to pay for calls outside of the country. This will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Audit your cell phone plan for a few months to make sure you have the right one for you. If it looks likely you're almost always going over your data limit or talking minutes, then you likely need to upgrade. If you're constantly well under your limits, you may be better off saving some money with a lesser plan.
Consider getting your smartphone through a prepaid carrier. For example, Cricket offers the iPhone 5, and customers that switch over to them often save as much as $20 every month. Some even save more. Keep in mind that the phone itself will be expensive. The savings, therefore, come in over time.
When in the market for a new cell phone, know your options. You might assume from past experience that you have to get your cell phone and service from the same provider, and that you must even sign a multi-year contract. This is not always the case. Unlocked phones can be bought separately, and some wireless service providers do not require contracts.
If your children want a cell phone, you need to make certain that you understand what type of coverage you have. If the phone will be used a lot, a plan with unlimited calling and texting may be a good idea. Otherwise, you could end up with outrageous charges due to their calls and texts.
Do you barely use your cell phone for talking? Think about dropping the minutes from your cell phone plan and going VoIP (like Skype) only. Using your data plan, you can use Skype or another VoIP instead of paying for actual cell phone minutes. This is very smart if you find you only talk a handful of times each month.
Try to avoid using any sort of animated background as your phone's wallpaper. If you're concerned about your phone's battery life, choose something a bit more simplistic as your phone's background. Any sort of gif is going to drain your battery faster than a normal picture as your background would.
Scan and share the unique images that you come across by using your phone as a scanner. If you do not have a scanner on your phone, you can simply take a picture with your camera if you have a smartphone. Phones are coming with higher and higher resolution cameras to give you crisp, clean images.
As you can see from the above article, understanding cell phones and how they operate is real simple when you have great tips to follow. Stick to what you learned here, and use it whenever you searching for a quality cell phone. You don't have to be scared of this technology any longer, and now you have good tips to follow.
