How to Buy a Cell Phone

With hundreds of handsets to choose from, it can be tough to find the right one. Here's what you need to know to dial up the perfect phone.

These days, smartphones get all the buzz, but the vast majority of handsets sold in the U.S. are actually feature phones: camera phones, music phones, rugged phones, messaging phones, or just plain voice phones.

Unlike smartphones, feature phones are a matter of "what you see is what you get." They don't receive magical software upgrades or run thousands of additional apps, as does the iPhone, for example. That doesn't mean they only make calls, though you can find phones that only make calls, if a basic phone is what you want. But most feature phones include some combination of a camera, a basic Web browser, e-mailing and text messaging apps, and music and video players.

Feature phones are typically less expensive than smartphones. They're available in a much wider range of shapes and sizes, and on a broader range of plans, including prepaid options. Monthly service fees for feature phones are generally cheaper too, which can make a multipurpose feature phone a good bet.

Ready to find your phone? Here's what you should consider before you start shopping:

First, Choose Your Carrier

Because all the national carriers sell a wide variety of phones, choosing your service provider should be your first move. Here's a quick rundown of what each of the primary U.S. carriers offers:

AT&T boasts nationwide coverage and a terrific selection of phones, particularly for texting. But some folks, especially in the Northeast, complain that AT&T's coverage isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to reliability and quality.

Cricket and MetroPCS are new "unlimited" carriers that offer much lower rates than their competitors and don't require contracts. But they aren't available everywhere, and they have a somewhat limited selection of phones.

Sprint is relatively inexpensive, and offers some neat media services and a solid high-speed network. It also has the most open approach to third-party apps, running the best e-mail software and letting its subscribers add a wide range of Java applications to their feature phones.

T-Mobile offers cutting-edge phones at relatively low monthly rates and enjoys a reputation for good customer service. But its nationwide coverage isn't as complete as AT&T's or Verizon's.

Verizon Wireless is famed for its excellent network quality and good customer service. Its prices, however, can be higher than the competition's, and the carrier is typically slow to offer new handset features, like 5-megapixel cameras. But when it comes to voice quality, many Verizon phones excel.

Virgin Mobile is a nationwide prepaid carrier that uses Sprint's network but can undercut Sprint's rates. Virgin has relatively few phones on its roster, and those it does offer are mostly low-end.

You may also see unlocked phones on the market that work with GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile but aren't sold by the carriers. These handsets are often imports. Because they're generally more expensive than carrier-approved-and-subsidized phones, few are sold in the U.S.

Next, What Are Your Feature Priorities?

Because feature phones do almost everything, you should decide what capabilities you need or want most. Start narrowing down your choices by first ranking the five major categories of features in order of importance: voice, messaging, camera, media playback, and Web/GPS/games/miscellaneous. Once that's done, you'll be able to concentrate on a filtered-down selection of feature phones.

If you're big on text messaging, you want to focus on messaging functionality. If you've got a small child, a camera is probably important. If you want to ditch your iPod, keep an eye out for good media features.

Since it's a given that you want your calls to sound good, you may feel you should focus mainly on voice rather than other features. You don't need to worry too much about that. The vast majority of phones sold today have solid voice capabilities. Paying attention to the other features you like, and then double-checking to make sure the phone you choose delivers on voice quality, makes it easier to sift through a long list of handsets.