What Is the Best Android Phone to Get? A Buyer's Checklist

Features to check first

• Does it have a camera flash and a front camera?
• Is there a wide range of accessories?
• How old is the phone, and what version of Android does it come with? Will updates arrive soon?
• Is a newer model coming soon? You do not want last year’s model.
• How much could you sell it for privately if you upgrade later?
• How much internal memory? Some phones had only 2 to 4GB, and adding more raises the cost.
• How is the battery life? Music playback claims ranged from around 12 hours to 32 or more, so read them closely.

Do your research first

Some stores say what you want to hear to close a sale. The author described a friend who bought a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate. It advertised 12 hours of music playback, had no flash and was nearly a year old. After learning how many newer, better models existed, the friend tried to exchange it within a week, but the store refused.

Return policy

The author advised paying full price at Futureshop or Best Buy, because both offered a 14 day return policy on undamaged phones. That works like a 14 day free trial. Return policies change, so confirm the current terms before relying on this.

Brands and cameras

Brand names hint at look, quality and features. HTC was known for its Sense interface, custom widgets and social media tools. Acer was a budget brand with a short history in Android phones, and the author rated its quality as less than desirable. Megapixels alone do not decide picture quality. Each company’s camera software differs, and low light, moving subjects and hand shake blur are where cameras often fall short.