Recently three family members chose to upgrade their cell phones. I found the process interesting and wanted to share it. The thinking involved can help you choose your next cell phone, or perhaps something more important. We three had different wants and needs. It was interesting how individual wants, needs, real world usage, and cell phone design all influence the decision making process. We are with Verizon Wireless, so your options may be slightly different, but the process is the same.

A twenty year old male wanted the following:

Flashy, eye catching features, major texting ability, internet access, and positive peer review

My Wife’s priorities were:

Calling and call answering, easy and powerful texting, overall ease of use, conservative design

My priorities were:

Water resistant, able to take a licking and keep on ticking (Timex slogan), scratch resistance, improved texting

I thought our needs were pretty diverse. I was responsible for researching our two phones as I am the one who likes to get on the net, read opinions, and I am willing to sit through YouTube demo videos. When making purchases such as a cell phone, the real considerations are what you do actually use the phone for, what the phone can do best, and are you compatible with the software.

Cell phones primarily make and receive phone calls, but also text, take pictures, connect to the internet, and can be substitute game playing machines. Software design varies among brands so it is important you find the software is easy to use.

I went to the Verizon web site and searched on features of the cell phones I found. I was able to filter on features on the web page making searching easier. After some different searches I had some possible choices. I wrote the names of phones across the top of a sheet of paper. I read the ratings, reviews and details of course. I then marked the features that were most important below each phone across from the feature it listed.

It looked something like this, except you have to use your imagination with the X’s (and n for no):

phone 1 phone 2 phone 3 phone 4

Internal screen X X n X

Flip X X X n

External keys n X X X

Qwerty n X X X

Camera X X X X

Long battery life X n X X

Rugged n X n n

I had created a chart of what was wanted in a cell phone for the two of us of us. Counting the X’s for each phone from top to bottom made it easier to see which phone was a better choice. By preparing myself before going to the store, we were better able to make a smart purchase as I already knew which phones we did not want to see.

This simple method of rating wants or needs works well for any decision making from simple choices for dinner, to a selection from a series of products with multiple options such as cell phones, or a new car. What is nice, is what your chart shows may not be what you had in mind.

In the end the twenty year old chose an LG Versa, which has about all the functions you can find in a cell phone. It has all the flash to appeal to a young crowd. A few of his friends have the same model phone, so it was a good choice for him. My wife chose a Samsung Alias 2 for its call and texting features. I chose a Casio/Verizon GzOne Boulder with camera mostly because it will not easily break (fingers crossed). We are each happy with our own choices, but I doubt we would be as happy using each others cell phones for very long.