Smartphone Buying Guide

When you buy a smartphone, you’re also committing to an operating system. That’s what makes them “smarter” than your typical cell phone. It’s the operating system that allows for all those great features such as desktop synchronization, and the ability to view office documents on the go. More than anything else, it’s the operating system that will dictate what kind of smartphone you’ll need.

Your choices are BlackBerry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. Although they all perform the same basic functions, each has a different specialty. Palm OS devices are geared toward PDA functions such as calendar and task syncing, while Windows Mobile smartphones lean heavily toward PC-centric desktop computer-like functions. When shopping for a smartphone, keep in mind what your primary needs are, then choose an operating system based on those needs.

Also, keep in mind that Symbian and Windows Mobile operate on a wide range of smartphone devices, whereas BlackBerry OS and Palm OS run only on their proprietary hardware systems. Not to confuse you even more, but you can get a Treo (Palm hardware) that runs Windows Mobile.

Smartphone operating systems generally accomplish the same tasks; they just have different ways of going about it. The one big difference you’ll find is support for creating and editing Microsoft Office documents and the amount of individual e-mail accounts (these can be web-based e-mail accounts, such as Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL) each support.