How To Buy a Mobile Phone Handset

If you asked 100 people the factors that drive their choice of a cell phone, 80% would say the ringtone or the flashy design. Though personal preferences may determine how we buy our mobile phones, it is considered prudential that we factor other elements into our purchase decisions so we derive full value for our money and do not rush into extra expense after using the device.

Buying a simple device like a cell phone can be an overwhelming experience. The device may cost just a few hundred Dollars but there are so many of them on the market and each company is inundating the television and newspaper with so much publicity.

But in the face of all the ad tactics, consumers can work out their own checklist and then screen off manufacturers who do not conform to them.

Let's try to see some of the factors you may have to consider when making a decision to acquire a handset:

How deep is your budget? You should examine your funds and determine whether the phone you have set your eyes on is affordable. You may want to note that an affordable or cheap phone may have all the features you are looking for. Generally phones which sell for $100 and below are quick bulky, have minimal features and have sharp edges. If you are on low budget, seeking second hand phone or simply want basic features, this is the area you may have to venture.

Phones priced $300 thereabout are usually sleek, come with web features and may have voice dialing features. Some may have dual band characteristics and calendars.

Phones selling for $300 and over are the smallest in design, come with advanced features like cameras, video, mp3 capabilities, voice recorders and radio.

You may also have to critically examine the features of the phone to see if they appeal to you and will serve your objectives. If you would like to record appointments, then you may need a phone with an appointment setter or calendar.

If you a traveler, you may have to buy a dual band phone. You may also have to consider dual mode, that is a phone that will work for both analog and digital services. You would also need to get a phone that will accept double SIM so you can have access to multiple services without changing SIMs.

If you are the busy type , you will have to look for phones with long lasting battery and long talk time so you can carry for long without recharging.

Internet users will have to go for phones with more lines of display that is a bigger screen to display about 6 lines so they can be able to read text without much discomfort and too much scrolling.

Buying a cell phone handset is not a chore at all but it is helpful for one to find one that will meet the pocket and at the same time satisfy lifestyle and business objectives.

About The Author
Peter Lenkefi
For more more information about buying mobile handsets please visit http://www.cheap-cellular-phone-rates.com
plenkefi@yahoo.com.au

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Cell Phone Batteries

Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries: Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium.

Lithium Polymer is the most recent type and applies the latest technology in DC power. This type of battery is light in weight and will not explode even if pierced. The battery elements are enclosed in platic pouches and do not have memory defects. They last about 50 times longer than Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.

Lithium Ion is also memory efficient and longer lasting than Nickel Metal Hydride batteries but they are quite lighter. They tend to be expensive and would only fit new models of phones. Most Lithium-ion batteries apply a fast charge technique to quickly charge up your cell phone up to 80% capacity and then slowly bring it up to full power in about two hours.

Nickel Metal Hydride is also memory efficient and lasts longer than the NIM type about 40 times. This type of battery is good for people who need rapid charging and if used with a car charger can be fully charged under 1 hour. The special formula permits the concentration of energy in a single pack – sometimes about twice the power of Nickel Cadmium. This type is preferred by a lot of mobile phone users because it lasts long and is cheap. Again, they are non-toxic and appeals to environmentalists.

Nickel Cadmium are the oldest type and has a lot of memory defects. Another severe disadvantage is that they will have to be totally discharged before you can charge them again otherwise you may irreversibly damage them. Again this type is highly toxic due to the presence of Nickel Cadmium and is gradually being phased out by cell phone manufacturers.

Batteries typically have 300 to 400 charge cycles in their life span. It is so because anytime you charge your battery, the battery loses away some of its potency and thus become diminished in power.

Cell phone batteries can be pretty expensive items if you consider the fact that a Nokia 3310 battery can cost up to $24.95. Here are a few tips to prolong the life of your battery:

Dont allow materials to get stuck on the terminals as that causes the battery to lose contact with the terminals resulting in improper connection.

Keep the batteries in a cool place and allow them to adjust to room temperature before charging as the sharp rise in temperature upon charging can damage them.

The life of your cell phone depends on the potency of your battery. Knowing how they operate and how to care for them can ensure that your cellular device runs and runs well for years.

About The Author
Peter Lenkefi
For more more information about cell phone batteries please visit http://www.cell-phone-battery-search.com
plenkefi@yahoo.com.au

The Pleasures Of a Luxury Watch

Purchasing a luxury watch that is a good investment.

Many people consider luxury watches an extravagance. To them it makes little sense to spend thousands of dollars on a Rolex or a Cartier, when there are essential payments to be made. The same is true about cars. They say why spend 90,000 dollars on a brand new sports car when a sedan or a station wagon in 9,000 dollars would do just as well. After all, they both have four wheels, an engine, a steering wheel and a gas pedal and they take you where you have to go.

However, luxury watches are different! They serve many purposes. They are precision instruments that are fine-tuned for perfect accuracy, and give you the right time all the time. That's their purpose, no doubt. But luxury watches adorn the stylish and fashionable wardrobe. It's a matter of style. Some people feel naked without a belt, others feel absolutely desolate and deserted without their luxury watches. And it is not about time only. Even if they are surrounded by scores of digital clocks, cell phones, microwaves and other time-telling devices they are ill at ease without their luxury watch.

Aside from their functionality and sharp looks, luxury watches also confer a sense of status on their wearers. A stunning Rolex or Breitling can denote great taste and class every bit as much as a Jaguar or Mercedes. In fact, with the premier foreign car manufacturers diluting their brands with 30,000-dollar versions of their classic autos, one could argue that some luxury watches are a greater status symbol than some high-end vehicles.

To buy a luxury watch you need a discerning eye. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and only a true connoisseur can tell the difference. They have a flair for style and quality. They choose their watches with as much care as they would choose a home to live in. They compare brands, quality and prices. They consider various factors such as mechanisms, escapements, complications, dials and many more aesthetic factors like watch bands and bezels. They enjoy looking at various brands as much as they love buying the watch that's close to their heart.

So if you want to add some style to your life, think of buying a luxury watch. For one thing, it's easier to carry around than a luxury car!

About The Author
Argentonio Vigilanza is the owner and webmaster of Fa Watch, a leading Internet directory for watch information. For more watch information and resources, please stop by: http://www.fawatch.com.

The Skinny on RFID

RFID is the abbreviation for Radio Frequency Identification. RFID is a method used to store and retrieve data using RFID transponders or tags. RFID tags have antennas that allow them to accept and respond to queries from the RFID transceiver. There are passive and active RFID tags. The difference between the two is that passive tags do not need an internal power source, but active tags do. RFID technology is already used in many technologies today. The future of RFID technology seems limitless as new ways to utilize its effectiveness are discovered frequently.

Passive and Active Tags

As stated before, passive RFID tags do not have an internal power supply. There is a minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the radio signal it receives. This small current is enough to power the tag to respond to the signal. Passive RFID tags have a very brief response because of their limited power. They are very small, and may be used in the future for medical purposes or, as some fear, tracking devices. Passive RFID tags can be embedded within the skin because of their small size. The smallest RFID tag in existence in 2005 was 0.4 mm by 0.4 mm. Passive tags have a read distance that ranges from 10mm to almost 6 meters. Passive tags are cheaper than active RFID tags and as a result are more commercially available. Active RFID tags have a longer range and larger memory capacity than passive RFID tags and may therefore be able to store a significantly higher amount of information. Active RFID tags may have a battery life of up to 10 years.

How it Works

In order to understand the uses, and potential uses, of RFID technology, one must understand the RFID system. RFID systems consist of tag readers, tags, edge servers, middleware, and application software. Having an RFID system will allow data to be transmitted by a tag, which is then read by the RFID reader and processed in accordance with the application's specifications. Data transmitted can have information about the location of the tag, or specifics concerning the product tagged. Typical RFID systems have a small and inexpensive tag on a product. There is then an "interrogator" which has a certain range in which to detect the RFID tag, activate it, and receive the response.

Current and Potential Uses

RFID technology is used in every day life. RFID tags are found in CD stores and in library books. When an alarm goes off because an item was not purchased or checked out, that is the RFID tag responding. Wal-Mart has even used RFID tags on shipments to improve supply chain management. Other RFID tags are used to track trucks in shipping yards. More recently, RFID tags have been used in automated tool booth systems like the E-ZPass system on the east coast. Mobile gas also implemented RFID technology to allow customers to simply pull up to the pump, pump gas, and then leave without having to scan a credit card or pay a cashier.

RFID technology has great potential and is constantly being improved. RFID workers are constantly trying to improve the current usage in systems like E-ZPass. It was recently announced that the eastern states will be improving E-ZPass so that cars can move faster through the tool-booth (35mph rather than 5mph). RFID technology may also be used to monitor inmates, and potentially parolees. Some consumers worry as to citizen privacy invasions by the government. RFID technology is always growing, and the government may be able to use RFID to inspect citizens, or keep track of them. Currently, however, RFID technology seems to be limited to the innovation sphere. RFID technology has been utilized to make the lives of consumers easier and more efficient. Despite the qualms of some citizens, RFID has a very bright future.

About The Author
John Hanson enjoys writing about new technologies, especially RFID technology.
johnhanson31@yahoo.com

Cell Phone Antenna May Pose Health Hazards

There is growing consensus that cell phone antennas may be harmful to humans due to the huge volume of electromagnetic waves that get concentrated around it during the receipt and placing of calls. This danger is even further aggravated by cellular manufacturers who place the internal antennas close to the earpiece.

Mobile phones are basically radio sets and therefore emit energy radio signals that can penetrate the body and cause harm.

There have been several commissions on the study of the effect of mobile phone on the human body and the most pronounced has been The Stewart Report which suggested that radio waves indeed penetrate human bodies from mobile phone antennas and specially recommended that children who obviously have softer skulls be extra careful and use the device sparingly. The report further went on to state that the brain cells of children are not as fully developed as those of adults and can therefore be at greater risk as they absorb the radiation more than fully hardened adult skulls.

These hazards may exist but cell phones have become part of everyday living like cars and cannot be dispensed with. In the light of this fact, doing away with our phones may not be a practical approach to solving the health hazards issue. Rather we can adopt some habits to mitigate the effects of the radiation.

Children should not use cell phones for long calls. They should sue land lines instead so as to minimize the length of contact with the radiation emitted by the device.

Consumers should buy phones with low specific absorption rate (SAR). Mobile phones should be kept away from the body as much as possible. They can be put in the purse or bag and only brought into contact with the body when there is the need to make or receive a call.

Users should try to keep their conversations short.

If possible, SMS messages can be sent instead of calls so that there is less contact with the body especially around the skull area.

Keep switching between both ears so that one particular ear does not absorb the full brunt of the radiation all the time.

Radiation emission is at the highest when the phone is trying to connect so keep the phone away from the skull till you see the call fully connected.

Weak signal results in higher radiation so avoid making calls in areas where reception is poor as the device will try to boost its power to get you a connection and resultantly bombard you with more radiation.

We cannot do away with cellular devices looking at the convenience they have ushered consumers in. Nevertheless, we can adopt some helpful attitudes to minimize the harmful effects this technology is bringing to mankind.

About The Author
Peter Lenkefi
For more more information about the hazards that cell phone antenas may pose please visit http://www.cellular-mobile-phones.com
plenkefi@yahoo.com.au

How To Choose A Camera System

There are many reasons to install a camera system. If you own a business, you may want to be able to identify or avoid theft or keep vandalism from your property. Or you may just want to be able to keep an eye on things without actually being there physically. As a homeowner there are a bunch of other reasons to have a camera system. You may be having trouble with a neighbor, trespassers, vandals, or perhaps you have kids and want to be able to keep an eye on them but you can't be there every minute of every day.

Whatever your reason for wanting a camera system if you don't get the right kind of equipment based on your needs, you will just waste your money. So if you are thinking of getting a camera system, you will need to look at your situation in order to get the right system.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Is what you want to see indoors or outdoors?

2. How many areas do you want to see at your location?

3. Is there a lot of light available throughout the day and night?

4. Do you want to see a wide area, such as a parking lot, or a specific location, like the front door?

5. Is it important to see the small details or is a general idea good enough?

6. Do you need to see the picture only on sight or is off sight viewing necessary?

7. Do you need record what the camera sees?

8. Do you need to record for a long or short period of time?

Okay, now that you have an idea of what you are trying to view, we can take a closer look at the equipment.

Camera-

First let's look at the camera itself. There a hundreds of cameras to choose from. There are even fake cameras that you can use if you only want to give the illusion of having a system. Of course there are different prices ranging from cheap (poor quality) to the ridiculously expensive but does everything. If you don't know what to ask for, you could be disappointed in what you get.

Do you want color or black/white? If you need to see the details clearly and you have good lighting throughout the time you need to keep watch, then a color camera is probably going to be the way to go. Color cameras are typically more expensive than black/white and they don't see very will in the dark.

If you only need to have a general idea of what is going on in the area then you can go with black and white. Don't misunderstand me, you can get a nice clear picture with a black/white camera but if you are looking to be able to identify someone and not have there be any question, then color is for you. If the lighting in the area is bad then color may not be the best camera for the job. If you only have lighting issues at night then you can get a day/night camera. That will get you a color picture in the daytime and a black/white picture at night.

Lens-

Now let's focus on the lens for a while. The type of lens you want will depend on what you want to see, how far away it is, and how wide of an area you want to see. For most applications you can get a lens that is adjustable to fit just about all your needs. There are some cases where only a very specific lens will work, but those usually only occur in high end jobs. If money is real tight, then you can get a camera that has the lens built in. I would like to caution you here and say that once you get a camera like this, you can't just go and adjust it to get the picture you originally wanted. So, make sure you get a camera with the right lens.

Quads/Multiplexers-

A quad processor will give you the ability to view more than one camera on one screen or one at a time. If you have a system with four cameras you can see all of them on one television screen or if you see something going on one camera you can choose to see only that location. Caution – the recorder you put on a quad will only record what the quad is allowing you to see.

A multiplexer is a step up from that. You can view your cameras any way you want. You can see each camera individually and multi cameras on the screen, in intervals. The playback, allows viewing the cameras in any form you like.

Recording devices-

First you must decide how long you want to record. If you have a business and you are closed on the weekends and holidays, you may want to record for at least 72 hours. If it's for your house and you go out of town for long periods of time you may want to consider a longer recording time. There is a time lapse recorder (very reasonably priced) that can record for 960 hours. That's 40 days and a whole lot of video to watch if you are looking for something that happened a week ago.

Something that has been on the market for a while and is finally coming down in price to something that is almost reasonable is the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). The DVR comes with so many features it's a little scary. First the picture quality is improved because you aren't viewing it from a tape that has been recorded over again and again and again. Second, it has a built in multiplexer that will let you view more than one camera at a time on the same screen. Third, it's easy to upgrade so that you can view your cameras remotely. So if you want to go on vacation and still keep an eye on things you can. Forth, the video is stored internally and it's a whole lot easier to view video without having to rewind and fast forward. Plus there is no need for a tape library. There are probably a few more things a DVR can do but these would be the most popular.

Monitors-

What do you want to see the picture on? Monitors can vary in size and picture quality depending on your budget and how much space you have. You can view cameras on your existing television or you can view them on your computer screen or over the Internet.

Wireless Systems-

A word about wireless systems. Wireless technology has come a long way. It's more reliable and the picture quality has improved greatly. I also like the idea that you can easily move the system. There is a system that just came out that has an awesome price. I have no idea how long the system will last, what the range is or if there are some environmental factors that can interfere with the picture. But if you are on a serious budget, this could be the answer for you.

I would like to thank you for reading this report. I hope this report has helped you learn a little more about camera systems. It's not easy to make an informed decision when you know very little about the subject. I hope now that you have read this report you have gained some insight into what kind of system would work best for you. If your system is driven only by cost, then please don't expect to get a great quality picture. If your system is driven only by features, then you had better open you wallet a little. I would highly recommend that whatever you are looking for, that you talk to a security consultant and discuss what is available for you in your price range.

Listen I have only scratched the surface when it comes to cameras. There are so many varieties available today it can be a little overwhelming for someone who doesn't know what they are doing. There are cameras that can Pan-Tilt-Zoom. There are covert cameras that would make James Bond proud. You just have to know what you want and how much you can spend. I'm sure you wouldn't go shopping for a car or a house and not know what your budget is or have an idea of what you wanted. Take this information and use it wisely

About The Author
Amy Howard has been in the security industry for more than 13 years. She understands the frustrations that people can go through when trying to find a camera system that will fit their needs and not break the bank in the process. She has created a website for people to get more information on camera systems and camera equipment. You can visit her website at www.cctvhomeonline.com.
success4acb@yahoo.com

10 Questions About Cellular Phones Answered

1. What's the difference between analog and digital phones?

Analog phones operate on an older and less effective technology. This technology doesn't scale well and is more costly. Analog service is not compatible with numerous new features. Digital phones are lighter and more compact and have a longer battery life. When you are inside of a calling area the quality is better than analog. Digital phones support new features like caller ID, text messaging or wireless internet services.

2. What is a Dual Band Phone?

A Dual band phone is a phone that can operate on an analog and digital service.

3. What type of battery has the longest life?

Lithium-Ion or Li-Ion batteries have the longest life. They also happen to be the lightest in weight. The two pluses means there is minus attached, which is price. A li-ion battery will always be the most expensive type of battery available.

4. What's the difference between the Stand-by time and Talk time?

Your phone is in standby mode when your phone is on but you aren't talking. The power consumption is minimal and the phone can stay in this mode for a longer period of time. When you are using the phone you are using talk time. This consumes battery power at a much quicker rate. Your battery life will be somewhere between talk time and standby time

5. What is a roaming charge?

A roaming charge is when you make a call from outside of your calling area. Your calling area is defined by plan local, regional or national.

6. What are peak and off peak hours?

Peak hours are during the day when the cellular networks are very busy. These minutes are at premium and your plan will typically include the smallest amount of these. If you use more than your allotted peak minutes they will be billed at a much higher rate than off peak minutes. Off peak is the exact opposite of peak time. Each cellular provider has their own definition of off peak.

7. What are anytime minutes?

Anytime minutes are simply put minutes you can use anytime, peak or off peak. On most plans you will use anytime minutes first.

8. Do I pay for the call when someone calls me?

Usually yes. You are billed for the airtime when you receive a call. However some service providers are offering unlimited in network calls.

9. Should I buy a cell phone or look for a free cellular phone?

Free phones generally speaking don't have the latest features, they are anywhere from 6 to 12 months behind. Also, free cell phones generally come with longer contracts. But, it is still possible to get a great deal on a free cell phone.

10. What to do if you want to upgrade/downgrade or cancel your service plan?

You can usually upgrade to higher plan without any cost. Some may force you to extend your contract for 1 to 2 years from that point. Downgrading your plan is often times not an option and when it is there is usually a penalty or fine.

About The Author
Alex Fit
If you are planning to buy cellular phone visit Wireless Cell Phone Center for the latest news and information. http://www.wirelesscellphonecenter.info/