With so many Smart phones on the market, the question is what should I look for?

There are a number of important factors, from a buying perspective the questions are which provider should I go with, which tariff is best for my purposes, should I go pay as you go (PAYG), contract, or SIM-only and which model is right for me?

From a handset perspective, it comes down to the Operating System, the Connectivity, the Screen, and the Applications that are available to the phone.

Let’s take a short look at each; with the operating system there are essentially five to choose from: Symbian, Google Android, Windows Mobile, Palm’s Web OS and Blackberry. It’s fairly easy to see which operating system goes with who, with the exception of Symbian which was acquired by Nokia for use on theirs, and other manufactures handsets.

With regards connectivity here the choice is a bit easier, as most Smart phones now have similar offerings like, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, and HSDPA which provides the mobiles with broadband connectivity.

They say size does not matter, but with regards to Smartphone’s it does. With access to playing games, internet, social networking sites, and television, the bigger the screen the better. However it’s not just the size, the resolution is also very important and should start from at least 480 x 320, and add that to a good touch screen interface and its game on.

Applications are now becoming as essential as the Smartphone itself, and despite Apple leading the way, the chasing pack is fast on the heels of the market leader. However right now the Apple iTunes store is so far ahead of the pack, it’s not even a two horse race yet.

Which ever Smartphone you go for, make sure you check them out against the above, ask the advisor selling plenty of questions relating to your specific requirements, and don’t buy on looks alone.