Buying Guides

Buying Guide 101: When to Buy a Smartphone

Smartphones have become an integral part of our life. It is now simply horrific to think about life without your Smartphone.

Buying the ideal Smartphone that fits your budget is just one part of the equation. There are factors that are in effect that could make the buying of your next Smartphone a complete delight. This is majorly through riding with the market trends and getting the best possible price for your Smartphone.

Just like the prudent business that buys when the stock floods the market, there are a few pointers to guide you on how to get the best Smartphone deals.

The following pointers should guide you on when you should purchase your next smartphone.

Buy a Couple of weeks after the launch of a new Smartphone

It is very interesting how a previous year’s Smartphone model grays out soon after the launch of a new fancy model. Smartphone Buyers will most likely flood retail stores just to be among the first to purchase the latest model.

You can decide to ride on this wave, or alternatively just sit back and check out what exactly the new model has to offer that is missing in the previous one. The frenzy to grab the latest Smartphone model is often short lived and normalcy reigns soon after the launch of the new smartphone.

A quick comparison table will help you check out the differences and make you aware of what you are paying for.

If the new Smartphone model doesn’t really impress you in terms of its technical specs, you can take the advantage of checking out the previous year’s model.

The prices of the model would have in some cases fall to half their initial listing price and throw the savings into your piggy bank for a rainy day.

Buy a couple of weeks before a new model is launched

Smartphone tend to drop in value soon after the latest model is launched. This is because customers will be attracted the new hottie on the block and completely forget about what was existing in the market.

Prices of the previous year’s model will drop as retailers try to cut some costs from the dead stock in their inventory. If for example you have a Nokia Lumia 520, the second-hand price of that model will fall drastically as soon as the Nokia Lumia 530 is launched.

You have, therefore, have to think ahead of the herd and shift your Smartphone a couple of weeks before the newer model is launched. Check around awesome technology blogs (like this one) on the leaked info regarding the release of the Smartphone.

Sell your current Smartphone at the existing market rates a couple of weeks before the new model is released, use a cheaper alternative for a while, then go in for the new shiny model as soon as it is released.

Buy after Software Upgrades

I admit that the technical profile is a very important aspect of any Smartphone. I am, however, of the opinion that software is also of equal importance. It will make very little sense to have a device with the perfect hardware, but runs a buggy operating system that is unresponsive half of the time.

Android Smartphones will in most instances have very long software update cycles and thus often run outdated operating systems. This call for the need to ensure the Smartphone that you buy runs the latest operating system.

Most mobile operating systems providers release at least one major update annually. To ensure that you run the latest operating system check the release schedule of, for example Android and buy your Smartphone soon after the official release.

Smartphone manufacturers will most of the time ship their smartphone with the latest OS available and thus you will have a smooth out of the box operating system experience.

Buy during the Holidays

Holidays at this age have very little to do with the events as they act more as stimulus packages for businesses. Businesses expect a significant surge in their sales during this period and will simply slash their prices to attract extra customers to their products.

You can, therefore, save a lot if you purchase your smartphone during this period. Shopping around during Valentines or the Christmas holiday could get you some slick smartphone deals.

Shop around the various Smartphones retail stores to fish for deals that deliver the best value for your money.

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