It is a shocking fact of life that the telecommunications industry behaves quite differently to similar markets in terms of what is offered to the consumers. It seems like investing in a cell phone immediately places you in an awkward situation where it is not always best to throw in huge sums of money. Sometimes it is wiser to buy the cheaper product, even when you have the resources available for its top-of-the-line counterpart.

When purchasing a digital camera, the more expensive models tends to offer the stability of a few years with exceeding performance. A $400 camera will always be around five years after purchase, while a $200 model could last just half of that period, and never offer the features and functionality brought forward by the former. The same applies to notebooks. While Acers (a personal favorite) offer advanced characteristics at very reasonable prices, you cannot expect a lifetime that competes with a Sony Vaio that has cost more than double. It is generally best to invest the maximum amount possible to guarantee that you will be profiting from a significantly long lifetime, while enjoying advanced functionality.

As water-tight as the plan may seem, it is not always possible to buy the high-end products. If you can only pitch in with 700 dollars for a notebook, than you simply cannot afford the Vaio that boasts the specs that you are requiring, while brands like Acer, Dell and Toshiba satisfy your needs. Therefore, when making a purchase, you automatically place a budget depending on the maximum amount that you can pay, before you search for the best available option in that price range.

Having said that, it becomes evident that mobile phones do not follow that trend: Investing in a high end phone, means that the phone is a lot more fragile and susceptible to damage, more likely to have software failures, and will most probably disappoint you with a sorry lifetime. A cheap Nokia 1112 may not be fancy, nor will it offer any sort of eye candy, but it certainly boasts the following:

1. Very low price
2. Virtually unbreakable, survives swimming pool accidents no problem
3. Battery lasts up to a week or more
4. Never freezes, very quick software response time
5. Generally allows you to use its limited features very efficiently

Nokia 1112, your basic needs

You might not be able to browse the web or check our email, but you’ve got all of the basic functionality you would need from a cell phone. If we were to compare the Nokia 1112 with the Nokia E71 (which I had discussed in an earlier post), you would immediately notice the following:

1. Extremely expensive
2. The sound of the sea waves means it instantaneously starts falling apart
3. The battery will last up to 3 days, which is considered to be a revolution amongst similar-category phones
4. Inevitably causes software freezes and issues over time
5. It can take you ages to change settings like a ring tone, and SMSs are anything but a swift experience

Nokia E71 - bit off more than you can chew?

But it looks cooler, and gives you the possibility of doing things you never thought were possible with a small device that you keep in your pocket. To top it all off, a low-end cell phone like the Nokia 1112 will easily give you a handful of years without any problems whatsoever (and even if anything arises, it’s fixed at no cost, and on the go). On the other hand, you can consider yourself lucky to carry a high-end mobile device such as the E71 for two years, and you will have seen the best of it merely six months after purchase.

Thus, when you buy a car, bet on the best one within your desired budget. When investing in a laptop, make the most out of the money available. But when you are about to buy a cell phone, you might want to use only a small percentage of what you have available, as it could be the wiser choice.