Once considered a trendy luxury for tastemakers and the tech elite, smartphones are now decidedly mainstream. As of July 2013, 56% of Americans own a smartphone of some kind. They're quickly becoming the de facto standard in the mobile world. Surprisingly, there's still quite a few smartphone misconceptions circulating that can confuse first-time buyers. Worse still, the average consumer often doesn't know what to look for when purchasing a smartphone either for work or for personal use. If you're in the market for a smartphone, these factors will weigh heavily on your decision.Hardware & Form FactorFor many, the size of a phone's screen is an important selling point. Screens run the gamut from the BlackBerry Curve 8900's 2.4-inch display to the Samsung Galaxy Note II's 5.5-inch LCD. In between those extremes there's something for everyone. In addition, you'll have to choose between a physical QWERTY keyboard and a touchscreen-based virtual keyboard. Finally, there's the question of internals. If you don't feel like upgrading to a new phone anytime soon, you'll need at least a dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and a microSD slot.Operating SystemAnother important distinction that should be made between competing smartphones is in the operating systems that they run. The four major options dominating the mobile market are Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry. Each has its own particular upsides and downsides. Android and iOS are very powerful, very easy to use and support hundreds of thousands of apps. Windows Phone is a platform on the rise that should be familiar to anyone that's used a Windows PC. BlackBerry occupies a fairly small niche but manages to retain a die-hard following in the corporate world.App EcosystemTo get the most from any smartphone, you'll need to download and install a few apps. As alluded to previously, iOS and Android boast a massive amount of apps at 800,000 apiece from iTunes and Google Play. BlackBerry offers access to plenty of apps as well through its own BlackBerry World market even if its sheer numbers aren't as impressive. BlackBerry phones also have the unique ability to run most Android apps. Windows Phone's app count is the lowest of the major four but is catching up fast.Carriers & NetworksYet another central consideration to take into account is the wireless backbone that'll be supporting your smartphone. The appropriate smartphone for your own individual purposes depends greatly on what's compatible with your carrier of choice. Though the major telecommunications companies like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all support 4G LTE to some extent, some are better than others when it comes to speed and coverage. If you're looking to save money on your monthly bill, a prepaid carrier like Virgin Mobile or Boost might be a more prudent choice.Budget and ValueLastly, there's the little question of overall return on your purchase. There's no sense in getting a free or very inexpensive smartphone if it means being tied to a cellular bill of $100 or more per month. Sometimes, it's wise to pay a bit extra for a contract-free phone that will give you more options in terms of carriers as well as voice and data plans. Furthermore, savvy shoppers often buy a slightly outdated phone that's still far from being obsolete to save some money upfront. Making the Call In the end, the perfect smartphone for you depends on a variety of complicated factors that can't always be quantified precisely. Thanks to the World Wide Web, finding the best deal on a smartphone whether new or used is practically effortless. In light of how much time you're likely to spend with your cell, it would behoove you to do a bit of comparison shopping before pulling the trigger on a specific model. A little homework goes a long way when making a sensible smartphone purchase.
